Top Budget Plays

Centers

JT Compher $3400 – The center is a punt play at the least. However, playing against Dallas may set up very good as the center will get depth match-ups mostly. He is going to get decent ice time for the foreseeable future. This is a good enough price given that DraftKings has been a bit strict in their pricing. The start of the season always offers up some oddities. Compher has three points in his last three contests.

Wingers

Chris Stewart $3500 – There is just a theme here that we must go completely crazy. Keep in mind that Stewart is taking full advantage of his increased role. He has four goals and an assist after the first three games. Stewart is now seeing top six ice time due to several key Minnesota injuries. At the very least, he is worth riding the wave while he is putting pucks in the net. Facing Columbus who is on the back end of a back to back does not hurt either.

Defensemen

Brady Skjei $3300 – Hey, why not! The New Jersey Devils give up a lot of scoring chances and shots. They also are not very good at killing penalties. Skjei does not see much power play time but he does see steady even strength ice time. His speed on the rush will cause New Jersey fits. The Saturday tilt is expected to be a high event game. Expect very low ownership here because of the fourteen game slate.

Goalie

Keith Kinkaid $7200 – This is a dangerous GPP play but Kinkaid is cheap enough to make this worth something at least in some lineups. His numbers were more than solid last season and the Rangers will fire lots of shots at the goaltender. No one likes trying to start him but the price is so low compared to the top cash goalie plays on Saturday. However, if one feels some trepidation, Carey Price has some value and is moderately priced (still risky). At a certain point, the Montreal goalie has to get a little goal support.                     

Since we saved some money on the budget plays let’s look at the few of the pricey options that are worth paying up for today.

Enter the DRAFTKINGS $50,000 Forecheck …just $4 to enter or FREE if you deposit today!

Centers

Tyler Seguin $7100 – People will run to this as it will be a cheaper point chasing scenario. That just means this will be a dangerous pick. Connor McDavid will be the obvious chalk but his price is so much higher than the next tier. That is the product of this super-sized slate. Seguin may be moderately owned just because he is playing Colorado. The Avalanche have been more fun to watch in the early going. Gameplay from last season suggests this could be another one of those “Team Fun” Saturday specials. He has 29 shots through four games by the way. That may be enough for some to spend up alone.

Wingers

Nikita Kucherov $7200 – Though we may be going hard on the risks, Kucherov has been on fire with seven points in his first four games. He has at least a goal in each contest. St. Louis and Tampa could play a rather entertaining style of game. Moderately high event outcome is likely here. Tampa often gives as good as it gets too. This will set up well to try and sneak Vladimir Tarasenko in some other lineups as needed.                    

Defenseman

P.K. Subban $6300 – Again this could be a trendy pick because Brent Burns will not be as highly owned as usual on Saturday. People will be on Subban due to the injuries and that he is the number one option on defense. So far, he has delivered with a goal and five assists in just four games. The defenseman plays a higher risk style but there is just enough reward. Nashville at Chicago usually means a higher over/under from Vegas and also a way to get a contrarian Nashville stack going.

Goalie

Cam Talbot $8300 – The choices out there may appear to be better but this has potential to work well. He has had a few days to stew over the bad outing against Winnipeg. Talbot allowed five goals on 43 shots. This came on the heels of getting yanked in the start before that. He is a cash option only given Ottawa’s propensity to sometimes not produce enough shots. Also, Talbot is still one of the most expensive goalie choices on the night.

Chris Wassel has been playing DFS for the past couple years and has played Fantasy Hockey for three decades. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. We are targeting the 14-game slate to give readers more of a range on what to go on. Finally, please note that Saturday’s slate has several options. Thanks for reading and enjoy the slate daily fantasy hockey fans!