DailyFaceoff DFS Cheat Sheet – December 9th
There are six games tonight and a number of teams coming in on the tail-end of a back-to-back: Edmonton (@ MIN), New Jersey (vs. STL), New York (@ CHI) and St. Louis (@ NJ). Both Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are in action as well, so it should be a fun night of puck.
Below I have listed my favourite centres, wingers, defensemen and goalies for tonight’s slate of Daily Fantasy action. Each player is listed with their prices from both of the Daily Fantasy giants—DraftKings and FanDuel as well as their SaberSim Projection for tonight. SaberSim has also generated their top value plays of the evening.
Centres
Jack Eichel – vs. WSH – DK-$7,400 / FD-$6,800
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.03 / FD-10.79
Eichel has not shown any signs of being limited after missing the start of the season with a sprained ankle. The Sabres are 3-1-1 since Eichel returned and he has picked up five points (3G / 2A) in those five games. With Braden Holtby getting the night off for Washington, expect Eichel to continue his strong start.
Travis Zajac – vs. STL – DK-$5,500 / FD-$5,100
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.46 / FD-8.85
If people are targeting the New Jersey Devils, they’ll likely be falling all over themselves to get Taylor Hall, but I’m rolling with New Jersey L2 tonight. Obviously a hat-trick in Chicago has inflated Zajac’s numbers a little bit, but he has played very well this season—Zajac leads the Devils in points—and has played especially well since Mike Cammalleri returned from injury.
Wingers
Joe Pavelski – @ ANA – DK-$7,600 / FD-$7,800
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.34 / FD-15.68
I had Pavelski in Wednesday’s Cheat Sheet and he rewarded those who picked him with an assist, seven shots and one block. As I mentioned that night, his shot volume is elite and his shooting percentage is way lower than it should be. The pucks are going to start going in for Pavelski and it could start tonight against Jonathan Bernier, who allowed eight goals in his last start.
Evander Kane – vs. WSH – DK-$5,500 / FD-$5,900
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.32 / FD-11.71
Kane has three goals and two assists (five points) in five games since Eichel has returned. The real reason to like Kane is his consistent shot output. Over his last 10 games he has averaged 2.9 shots on goal per game and playing with Eichel means the chances should keep coming for the one-time 30-goal scorer.
Mike Cammalleri – vs. STL – DK-$5,400 / FD-$5,500
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.47 / FD-12.47
Regression is around the corner for Cammalleri, that goes without question, but I’m OK with playing him until that impending drop-off. Since returning to the lineup on November 23rd the veteran winger has six goals and five assists (11 points) in eight games. The Blues played last night and are not good on the road while the Devils are dominant on home-ice.
Defensemen
Brent Burns – @ ANA – DK-$8,500 / FD-$8,200
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.02 / FD-14.06
I honestly might include Burns in every cheat sheet I do for the rest of time. He is as safe of a daily fantasy bet as there is and it’s actually insane how good he is. He had one goal, five shots and three blocks on Wednesday and that’s just another day at the office for Burns. If you can fit his big salary and even bigger beard in your lineup, then do it without hesitation.
Rasmus Ristolainen – vs. WSH – DK-$5,600 / FD-$5,200
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.93 / FD-10.07
The return of Jack has spelled great things for Ristolainen as well. After picking up just nine assists in his first 21 games, Risto has one goal and six assists (seven points) in his last five games. His first goal came on Tuesday and he enters playing averaging 3.43 shots and 2.43 blocked shots per game over his last seven games.
Matt Benning – @ MIN – DK-$3,000 / FD-$3,100
SaberSim Projection: DK-0.97 / FD-3.30
It’s always nice to find a money-saving defenseman and for tonight, that guy is Matt Benning for me. The Oilers’ blueline is banged up and that has led to increased minutes for Benning recently. The young blueliner is on a nice run in terms of daily fantasy production over the last week. In his last four games he is averaging 2.75 shots and 2.25 blocked shots per game
Goalies
Martin Jones – @ ANA – DK-$7,700 / FD-$8,800
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.85 / FD-19.40
Wednesday was not a banner night for Jones, who allowed three goals on just 16 shots in the Sharks’ loss to Ottawa. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Jones, who will get back at it tonight vs. Anaheim. He is 1-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .913 SV% in two starts vs. the Ducks this season and he’ll go head-to-head with Bernier, who I mentioned allowed eight goals in his last outing.
Scott Darling – vs. NYR – DK-$7,600 / FD-$8,500
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.23 / FD-16.91
A lot of people seem fearful of the Rangers, but I’m not a believer, which is why I really like Darling tonight. He is coming off of a shutout in his last start, the Rangers played last night and Darling is 4-1-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .925 SV% on home-ice this season. Not to mention, the Rangers are pretty beat up right now.
Keith Kinkaid – vs. STL – DK-$7,200 / FD-$7,600
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.28 / FD-17.12
Kinkaid is a really strong value play tonight for some of the reasons I mentioned about Devils skaters. He has a rock solid .928 SV% on the year and the Devils have yet to lose in regulation in 10 games on home-ice. On the flip side, the Blues are 3-7-1 on the road, which includes a loss in Brooklyn last night.
SaberSim Value Plays
