DFS Thursday: Red Wings Taking Flight; Seguin’s Surge; Dunn’s Dominance
Brad Hayward
2023-04-06
Surely, this is how the NHL envisioned their schedule back in the summer of 2022. We have three dogfights for division leads, and both wildcard races are undecided with only a week to go in the season. It's a far cry from last year, especially in the East, where the eight playoff positions were largely cemented by January 1.
Every night will be important. Well, maybe not tomorrow when there are no scheduled games (Good Friday). Tonight, my late-night attention will be focused on the LA-Vegas rivalry, after I return home from watching those (frustrating, desperate, inconsistent, but hopefully victorious) Penguins, hosting Marc-Andre Fleury and the Wild. I generally stay away from fantasy bets on Pittsburgh because you can never tell which team shows up. Lately, when it's mattered most, they have been alternating stellar performances with awful ones.
My first stack tonight – ok, it's a hunch – will be from Detroit. Ville Husso ($7500), fresh off a shutout win over Montreal, should get the assignment against the visiting Sabres, as Alex Nedeljkovic has been re-assigned to the AHL (if Ned starts, he is acceptable). Dylan Larkin ($6900) and David Perron ($4700) each have 12 points in their last 10 games, and the "hunch" is that Devon Levi actually returns to reality after two quality starts. I've added Moritz Seider ($5300) to the Wings play. Seider has had a bit of a sophomore slump with 40 points this season after having had 50 last year. On an improving Detroit team, his potential upside is still sky-high.
It's hard not to play Dallas at home against Philadelphia – the Flyers do shoot and score (thus, no Jake Oettinger wager), but they've struggled in transition and in net. I'm playing the old guard this evening of Jamie Benn ($6300) and Tyler Seguin ($4600), largely because my roster couldn't afford Roope Hintz ($7200) without major revisions. Benn has 73 points on his season – 28 on the man advantage – and Seguin has been excellent after returning from injury, with three goals in four games played.
I really did think that the Seattle Kraken would, well, crack coming into the final stretch but after just one win in five contests from March 9-18, they have rebounded strongly, going 5-2-1 in their last eight. It would take quite a collapse to lose a playoff position at this point – and their next three matchups are Arizona (twice) and Chicago. Vince Dunn ($5000) is underpriced on DraftKings tonight against the Coyotes, and Jordan Eberle ($5000), with three points already this week, can be counted upon to contribute. Dunn has 63 points in his breakout season.
One pick left, and $ remains for Dawson Mercer ($4700) against Columbus. No, I don't feel consecutive hat tricks coming, but Mercer had just over 16 minutes of playing time and has earned more. New Jersey probably won't catch Carolina for the division title, but the 'Canes only have one home game remaining, and I see the Devils on full throttle tonight.
Good luck! Like the NHL, I'll be back Saturday.