Welcome to the Saturday DFS series!  Last season, aided by a ballsy $5 wager that Florida would take out the Boston Bruins, and specifically in seven games, I finished the hockey season up just about $100. But yeah, I'm not a hard-core gambler – fantasy sports exist to be fun, to make us all better fans, and to provide exhilaration and suspense when our dime is on the line.  Bet comfortably and bet responsibly, and you'll never truly lose. 

I'm using DraftKings as my primary site and source for quoted odds. For their team lineups each day and costs per player, there are two centers, three wings, two defensemen, one goalie, and one utility player, with a total fantasy wager allotment of $50,000, and there are several games to play, ranging from a $3 bet up to a hard-core $500.  

You can also bet game props, over/under and individual stats, even in-game options, and I may reference a few extra ideas here during the season. Mostly, I'll try to offer DFS suggestions, add supporting stats, then post my personal lineup, wagers, and results.  

Saturday's matchups (14 games)

Low-risk, but low-reward?  Vegas hosting Anaheim.  Too easy.  Picking up all of the Knight's top line of Jack Eichel ($7900), Ivan Barbashev ($5000), and Jonathan Marchessault ($6900) would cost you most of your betting marbles in a DraftKings lineup, so instead I'd play Chandler Stephenson ($5200), still centering the first power play, and maybe Shea Theodore ($5800).  Adin Hill ($8500) in net – the Ducks were 31st in NHL scoring last season, and they're not likely coming in ablaze. Hill is the costliest goalie on the site, and for good reason. 

My middle stack comes from the Boston Bruins, hosting Nashville. Juuse Saros ($7100) was lights-out against the Kraken on Thursday, but the TD Garden isn't often friendly to the visitors.  Since I've saved some assets on my Vegas picks, Charlie McAvoy ($5900) and Brad Marchand ($6800) are good plays. The B's played Vezina winner Linus Ullmark ($8100) in their opener, so Jeremy Swayman (also $8100) would be a great option in goal.  Value picks Pavel Zacha ($4800) and Jake DeBrusk ($5800) are solid options, but also consider Matt Poitras ($3300), the 19-year-old 2022 draftee who exploded in the preseason for three goals and impressed enough to break camp centering the third line. Poitras has the motivation and the opportunity on a team that badly needs another center.

And finally, the free-for-all Montreal at Chicago. No, I wouldn't recommend a goalkeeper here, and I'd recommend the DraftKings OVER 6.5 goals (+100, even bet). The Boy Wonder Connor Bedard ($7700) should get his second goal (even with Taylor Hall out), and Cole Caufield ($4700) might match it, or more.  Depending on your cost of choices above, consider ex-Avalanche Alex Newhook ($3200) to fill a roster. 

Ok, ok, you can't play all of these guys, so decision time?  Centers Stephenson and Zacha, wings Caufield, Marchand, and Barbashev, defensemen McAvoy and Kevin Korchinski ($2900), goalie Hill, and utility man Zach Hyman ($6200), in the revenge match against Vancouver. And that's my roster for the $15 game.

Season-long thoughts

There have been so many (too many?) prognostications as to which teams will and won't make the playoffs next April, and no, I'm not going to add a list to all that. But rest assured that it absolutely will not be the same 16 teams, and a very safe bet is that ALL those predictions will fall short of 100%. Thirty-two teams started with high hopes this past Tuesday, and rationally 27-28 of them feel that the pieces could all come together. I was very surprised to be the only Dobber writer to make the Carolina Hurricanes my preseason pick to be Stanley Cup champions. And yeah, I'll likely be wrong too. 

This being a betting column, though, I'm sticking my neck out to examine the Arizona Coyotes, fresh off their shootout victory over the Devils.  They'll be better this season.   The top line of Clayton Keller (37 goals, 86 points in 2022-23),  Nick Schmaltz (58 points in 63 games, a 75-point pace), and Barrett Hayton (18 points in his final 20 contests) – yeah, they're good.  But the 'Yotes felt empty below that last season. No more. Logan Cooley, Jason Zucker, and Alex Kerfoot are all quality additions.   Defensively, Jakob Chychrun is gone, but replacements Sean Durzi and Matt Dumba will make their presence valuable. Each scored a goal last night. And at the critical goaltender spot? All Karel Vejmelka has needed is a better supporting cast. He may chalk up nearly 30 wins over 52-55 starts (after 31 combined for his past two years).

Team-wise, Arizona was a pitiful 7-25-9 on the road last season – by far worst in the NHL.  They won half (21) their contests in Mullett Arena.  Both numbers obviously need to improve, but the talent is legitimately there to do it.

So let me reassure the readers that choosing the Coyotes to not simply be competitive, but to actually grab a wild-card spot in the West, this is my personal prediction and NOT the consensus opinion of Dobber Hockey. LOL. But my first $10 wager this season (on Tuesday) was that Arizona does, in fact, qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, at +500. (And, after just one game, those odds are now at +400.)  Jump onto the bandwagon early, and believe. 

See you next week.