DFS Saturday: Blues Turning it Around
Stephen Dotzel
2022-11-19
What a day of NHL games we have in store for us on Saturday with a whopping 15 games on the schedule! Every team is in action except for the Canucks and the Coyotes. Some highlights on the day, with matchups between two teams that are top 10 in points at the moment, include Kings versus Kraken and Stars versus Isles.
For DFS purposes, 13 of the 15 scheduled games find themselves on the 7 pm EST main slate, which is about as many as I can ever remember seeing. There's a lot to take in with this many teams and players in action, so it could be a good day to give the tools in our DFS Central a look. They can help you really hone in on a few specific plays quickly instead of sifting through what is actually hundreds of players tonight. I'll do my best to give you a few good spots to target for tonight as well. The player prices are from DraftKings, but the information and concepts can be applied to any site.
Top-Tier Stack to Pay Up For
The Bruins are off to one of the best starts we've ever seen with wins in 15 of the 17 games they've played thus far. Keep in mind that at times that was without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy as well. The team is mostly at full strength now and that means the perfection line of Patrice Bergeron ($7,500), David Pastrnak ($9,300), and Marchand ($7,900) can be re-united, and they have been. The price tags are hefty here but they're deserving as this is arguably the best line in hockey. With so many teams in play tonight, there are enough value pieces out there you can still put together a solid lineup around this trio even at the elevated prices. McAvoy ($5,300) is worth including in stacks and his price is still a bit down as he just returned to the ice this week.
Mid-Tier Stack to Target
When it comes to team fandom and season long fantasy, injuries can be tough to handle. However, for daily fantasy they are something we can use to our advantage. For an example, look no further than tonight's Columbus Blue Jackets. With players such as Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, and more lately Jake Bean out due to injury – opportunity arises for others. And while these fill-ins may not have quite the same talent, their price tags reflect that. The two biggest beneficiaries of those injuries appear to be Emil Bemstrom ($4,200) and Marcus Bjork ($4,100). Both players are now on the top power play. These cheaper tags allow you to stack them with someone who does have the talent you want to pay up for, like Johnny Gaudreau ($6,800).
Cheap Stack to Build Around
Attacking the Anaheim Ducks has been a cheat code for fantasy purposes so far this season. No team has allowed more shots, more high danger chances, or more goals than the Ducks and when you're talking fantasy – what more could you ask for? The Blues have had their ups and downs so far this year but they come in on a five-game winning streak here. The following line of Robert Thomas ($4,100), Pavel Buchnevich ($4,400), and Vladimir Tarasenko ($6,000) have been a bit unlucky in the goal department having accounted for only two goals during this winning streak, however their 12 assists and 31 shots on goal have made up for the lack of scoring. If the goals come too, this line can really pay off their price tags and they've got the perfect matchup tonight to do it. Jordan Kyrou ($5,000) and Torey Krug ($4,400) are worthy fourth options to this stack as they join the above trio on the power play.
Goalies
When it comes to goalies, I like to correlate mine with one of my stacks. However, if you're looking to just pluck a one off, I'd consider Connor Hellebuyck ($7,600) who's been in great form and has averaged 21.6 DraftKings points over his last eight starts.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter @SteveDotzel so you can follow my "DFS-NHL" list which is comprised of dozens of team accounts and beat writers providing important updates throughout the day. Best of luck with your lineups!