Why you should make Braden Holtby your daily fantasy hockey goaltender today and other DFS picks.

Top Budget Plays

Centers

Robby Fabbri $3,500 – We are going to see if Los Angeles will continue to struggle against teams with depth speed and brute force up front. St. Louis can play this way but they can also score some goals with a little offensive flair. Fabbri has not seen a ton of ice time but he does have 13 goals in 52 games for the Blues this year. His speed can cause the Kings fits much like what Joseph Blandisi showed on Sunday.

Wingers

Mattias Janmark $3,600 – Janmark has speed to burn and his ability to keep up with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin has him playing on the 3 on 3 a good bit. Also, his scoring touch has returned and is now up to 13 goals during his rookie campaign. Despite the ups and downs, Janmark has maintained an above average work ethic and the ability to shake adversity off. It has served him well this season and he may be a surprise value play on Saturday.

Defensemen

Jake Gardiner $3,700 – There is just something about Gardiner that has been different since Dion Phaneuf has been traded. It may not always result in points on the score sheet but there is a different look and feel about the young defenseman. The training wheels are officially off and though one will not want to play him too often. Philadelphia is the type of match-up where this may just be okay. Anyone that is used from Toronto will have to be on a very selective basis. The price is too good to say no here.

Goalie

Louis Domingue $6,600 – Cheaper goalies that perform decently well has been a bit of a challenge the past few weeks. So naturally, we take a risk on one of the most volatile plays on the board in Arizona. With Anders Lindback out for the year after a torn Achilles, this is the Domingue Show maybe from now until at least later in March. This Coyotes team does play a bit better at home as they showed against Montreal earlier in the week. The Arizona goalie will also see a good bit of rubber as he sees 30+ shots often.

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

Tyler Seguin $8,600 – It is almost a given play at this point because they are playing Boston. Zdeno Chara will be matched up against Seguin and Jamie Benn. It will be like trying to slow down thoroughbreds with a long stick. This just does not typically end well. Dallas has showed signs over the past six to eight games of looking like itself. Even against St. Louis, they were awfully close to a win despite a minimal amount of shots. Boston allows over 30 shots a game on the road. There you go!

Wingers

Alex Ovechkin $9,000 – Though Ovechkin was a bit invisible against New Jersey in New Jersey, he did still provide the shootout clinching goal in their victory. Remember in Washington, he was a man apart against the Devils with a huge effort and nearly a double digit night on DraftKings early in the season. The numbers may not show it but New Jersey’s penalty kill has been playing with a ton of fire over the past 4-6 weeks. It might get burned like it did on Tuesday against Philadelphia.    

Defenseman

John Klingberg $6,300 – Boston does not stack up well against Dallas. If the Stars make this game a track meet, it almost spells certain doom for the Bruins. It would be up to players like Klingberg to rush the puck up the ice with much pace. That will force Boston’s older rearguard to get back on their heels and naturally create scoring chances. This also fails to mention that Dallas does have a dangerous power play (even if it’s struggled a bit lately). Klingberg is not the highest priced defenseman but may become more and more attractive closer to lock.

Goalie

Braden Holtby $8,600 – This is a relatively safe play given that New Jersey comes off playing the New York Islanders on Friday night. It likely means a higher chance of Keith Kinkaid in net which Washington lit up five times in their last home meeting. It really almost matters little who is in net for New Jersey as the Devils just have a tough time playing down in Washington (averaging less than two goals a game over their six previous trips). Holtby is going to be highly owned in GPP’s on Saturday night or should be.

Chris Wassel has been playing DFS for the last year and has played Fantasy Hockey for over two decades. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. Please note that this is a large Saturday slate. We are targeting only the eight game evening schedule and will have all the breakdowns on Twitter.