NHL DFS Playbook: January 9 *BONUS LATE SHOWDOWN SLATE*

Dallas Stars Vs. St. Louis Blues

This game should feature a decent amount of goals on both sides, but the Stars are playing back-to-back games, and the Blues have been pretty good of late. Let’s see which players we should be targeting from each side.

For the Blues, there are two different types of mini-stacks you can target. The first is Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Buchnevich. Ryan O’Reilly joins them as the center on that top line, but I really like both wingers in this spot. They also stay together on the second power play unit, so there is some correlation.

The second mini-stack is Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. They play together on the second line and second power play unit, but Thomas is cheaper, and both he and Kyrou have been lights out over the last ten games. If you’re feeling bold, you can four-man stack the second power play unit and still have salary leftover to build a decent lineup.

On defence, Justin Faulk quarterbacks the second power play unit, so on DraftKings, you can stack all five players together, or pick a duo to pair with him. I know every time I say something negative about Torey Krug, he scores a goal, so I’ll just keep quiet and save everyone. You’re welcome.

In goal, Jordan Binnington should get the start. On a two-game slate, there isn’t much to choose from, and Ville Husso is the same price on DK. I don’t expect Dallas to score a ton of goals in this game, so he’s the best option to consider.

On the flip side, Dallas’ top line of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski is the only line I would consider. There’s an argument to look at Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, who play together on the second line and second power play unit, but apart from being affordable, there isn’t much to like. You can use Benn as a single bullet because he’s been decent over his last ten games, but even that doesn’t excite me. Overall, a mini-stack of Hintz/Robertson is the most I would consider.

On the blue line, Esa Lindell finished yesterday’s game with six blocked shots, and played pretty well. He doesn’t block a ton of shots, but he’s a player to consider if you just want some cheap exposure to Dallas and a player who can hit value.

Miro Heiskanen is always a good option, and at $5700 on DK, that’s actually a bargain. If you are using Dallas skaters in your lineup, he should be one of them.

Detroit Red Wings Vs. Anaheim Ducks

This is the matchup we want to focus 90% of our attention on. The Red Wings were a hot mess yesterday against Los Angeles, and I don’t expect them to be much better in this game. There's a lot to love about the Ducks in this spot, so let’s start with their offence.

Trevor Zegras is expected to return to the lineup tonight and should slot back into his regular top line spot. He’s playing with Sonny Milano, and we know the type of chemistry those two have developed. Milano hasn’t been very productive over his last ten games, but the Red Wings look lost as a hockey team, so I’ll take the risk with him and hope it pays off.

We can’t forget about Troy Terry in this game. The kid is elite, so much so that our NHL DFS Discord channel is named after him! Are we at the Fantasy Alarm a big fan of his? Very much so, but we aren’t letting that affect our judgement. Max Comtois is the second winger on that line, and he’s dirt cheap across both sites. They play together on the top power play unit and have the best upside. If you want to get maximum exposure to the top six, you can add Zegras and make it a three-man power play stack.

On defence, I’m just going to ignore everyone. Cam Fowler, Kevin Shattenkirk and Jamie Drysdale are all potential options, but they’ve done very little over the last ten games, and their price tags are inflated for no reason on DK. You’re better off targeting a defencemen in the first matchup or punting the position with someone like Josh Manson or Simon Benoit (if he plays).

In goal, Lukas Dostal could make his first career NHL start tonight, and I’m all in for it. The kid has been average in the AHL this season, but if you didn’t watch the Red Wings play last night against LA, you don’t understand just how bad they were. The Ducks aren’t going to fire 27-shots on goal in the first period, but they will certainly dominate possession, and if Dostal can just be good, and pick the win, it should be enough for him to hit value.

For Detroit, don’t even bother. There’s nothing I like about them tonight, not even up front. If you need one player from this game just because, Robby Fabbri is the player I would target just based on his price and upside, but outside of him, I’m not worrying about this terrible team.

SHOWDOWN SLATE (Detroit Red Wings Vs. Anaheim Ducks)

I know a lot of you (specifically Dan Malin) are big fans of the Showdown slates, so I’ll give you all some bonus content here and look at how to build your lineup for that slate.

As always, we start with the captain spot, and it’s a toss up between our hero Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. Depending on how you build the rest of your lineup, it could come down to salary, but Ideally, you want a player with a high floor to be in the captain spot, and Terry is actually the player to target. He’s averaging about three shots per game over his last ten games and has six goals in that same span.

As for the rest of our lineup, Max Comtois is a player I will make sure to have some exposure to. He’s had a rough season, but he’s back in the top-six and is playing on the top power play unit. His matchup on paper is very good, so all he has to do is deliver. 

A player that interests me a lot is Jacob Perreault. He made his NHL debut last night, and while he was quiet, the 19-year-old still has a ton of upside. He’s been on fire in the AHL, and if he can be consistent in the NHL, he may never go back down. He’s $2K on DK and offers a ton of upside.

I know I usually tell everyone to avoid goalies when playing Showdown slates, but if Lukas Dostal actually gets the start, he’s $5K ($7500 in the captain spot) and is in a prime position. As mentioned earlier, the Red Wings are bad, and at that price, we can take advantage of having a goalie in our lineup without hurting the rest of our build. 

Since we need a Detroit skater in our lineup, and we have A TON of salary left over, the best bet would be to play Dylan Larkin. Why not bet on the best player on the team scoring a goal? You could argue that Tyler Bertuzzi is the best player, so either play works, but since we are picking just one, the captain is where I’m spending my money. 

Before I wrap this up, just note that if you are using Dostal in the captain spot and playing Perreault, you are going to be left with a ton of salary, and that’s ok. My lineup on DK as of this point is as follows: Dostal, Zegras, Comtois, Terry, Perreault, Larkin. That leaves me with $6700 of salary left to spend. Many DFS players tend to focus on spending as much as possible, but on short/Showdown slates, the goal is to build the best lineup possible, regardless of how much salary is left over. This a friendly reminder that it’s ok to not spend to the cap limit. Leaving salary on the table isn’t a bad thing. Normalize leaving large amounts of salary on the table on these kinds of slates. Good luck today!