Top Budget Plays

Centers

Christian Dvorak $3400 – The center is a punt play at the least. However, playing against Chicago may set up very good as the center will get some top line ice time. He is going to get decent opportunities. This is a good enough price given that DraftKings has been a bit strict in their pricing. The season always offers up some oddities. Dvorak has just two assists in seven games but playing with Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan is pretty good.

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 two assists after the first four 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. The long rest will likely keep him very low owned.

Defensemen

Mikhail Sergachev $3600 – Hey, why not! Pittsburgh gives up a lot of scoring chances and shots. They also are not so good at killing penalties. Sergachev is seeing more and more ice time. Playing with Victor Hedman does not hurt in the least. He has an ability to make quick decisions with the puck and has that above average shot arsenal that many talk about. He has a half-dozen points already as Montreal may regret that trade for a long time.

Goalie

Aaron Dell $6900 – This is a dangerous GPP play but if Dell plays, he is going to see a lot of rubber coming from the New York Islanders. The backup goalie has shown an ability to play well in small spurts when Martin Jones goes through a flat stretch. There is also the issue with the Islanders known as the “Rangers Hangover”. It is rare that they win following a victory over their hated crosstown rivals. If Dell does not play then Anton Khudobin or even one of the Arizona goalies could be used for total savings.                      

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.

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Centers

Jack Eichel $7100 – People will run to this as it will be a cheaper point chasing scenario. That just means this will be a dangerous pick. Sidney Crosby and Tyler Seguin will be the obvious chalk but Eichel’s price is reasonable. That is the product of the large slate. Eichel may be lower owned just because he is playing Boston. The Bruins have been more fun to watch at times (including against Vancouver) but Eichel does have Boston’s number in Beantown. With Evander Kane and Eichel as a duo again, Boston may have its hands full on Saturday night. Eichel may not get four points in a period but multiple points is a definite possibility.

Wingers

Nikita Kucherov $7600 – Though we may be going hard on the risks, Kucherov has been on fire with points in eight straight games. Pittsburgh 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 Patric Hornqvist in some other lineups as needed. Kucherov will be high owned on Saturday night.                  

Defenseman

Erik Karlsson $7100 – Again, he will be highly owned but Karlsson had a multiple point night against New Jersey and played 27 minutes as well. Toronto is guaranteed high-event mayhem which should mean lots of opportunities for the defenseman to jump into plays. There will be other options on Saturday but Karlsson represents the highest potential for DFS gold. John Klingberg and Kris Letang could be nice alternative who will be lower owned on this big slate.

Goalie

Sergei Bobrovsky $7700 – 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 beat from Tampa Bay. Bobrovsky has been incredible in the early going when facing a moderate to high workload. The problem was Tampa only fired 21 shots on him. Expectations are that Los Angeles may get into the mid or high 20’s on Saturday. The hope is that Bobrovsky delivers yet another quality start (two goals allowed or less).

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 ten game main 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!