DailyFaceoff DFS Cheat Sheet – December 5th
There are four games tonight, but it looks like it could be a night led by goaltending—Tuukka Rask (3rd), Craig Anderson (t-7th), Sergei Bobrovsky (t-10th), Roberto Luongo (t-10th), Braden Holtby (t-18th) and Robin Leher (t-18th) will all start and all rank in the top 20 in save percentage.
Following the deal with SaberSim, these Cheat Sheets are going to change just a little. It will still be the players that I am targeting with SaberSim intel as well as their projection for that given night on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
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—prices are listed as (DraftKings / FanDuel)
Centres
Alex Wennberg – vs. ARI – (DK-$5,700 / FD-$5,700)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.84 / FD-10.24
Wennberg has had a tremendous first quarter and it continued on Saturday, when he picked up one goal on a season-high four shots. The Blue Jackets fired an absurd 60 shots on goal that night and with the Coyotes in town tonight, they should be in for another good night. In his last eight games, Wennberg has collected four goals, two assists, 13 shots and five blocks. He has collected 12 points in 12 games on home-ice this season.
Nicklas Backstrom – vs. BUF – (DK-$7,000 / FD-$6,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.36 / FD-12.21
Backstrom continues to skate with Alex Ovechkin and that has gone well in the past and continues to go great this year. Backstrom has six goals, six assists and 25 shots (2.78 S/PG) in his last nine contests. He is one of the hottest centres in the NHL and makes for a great option with the Sabres in town.
Wingers
Mike Hoffman – @ PIT – (DK-$6,300 / FD-$6,700)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.38 / FD-11.99
Since returning to the lineup on November 22nd, Hoffman has scored five goals and six assists (11 points) in seven games. He had a slow start, but Hoffman is picking things up and you should pick him with confidence while he is riding this hot-streak.
Brandon Saad – vs. ARI – (DK-$6,000 / FD-$6,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.54 / FD-12.79
After a solid first season in Columbus, Saad has caught fire in his second season. Saad has three goals and five assists (eight points) in his last eight contests. Saad collected an impressive nine shots on goal on Saturday and will be looking to duplicate that effort but find the back of the net tonight vs. Louis Domingue and the Coyotes.
Nick Foligno – vs. ARI – (DK-$5,800 / FD-$6,200)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.92 / FD-14.21
Everybody expected regression from Foligno last year and it happened, but he has found his 2015 form again this year and comes in with 21 points (9G / 12A) in 23 games. Playing on a line with Wennberg and Saad makes Foligno a great option tonight and he enters play as the top projected player on SaberSim. Foligno is averaging nearly four shots on goal per game (3.83) over his last six contests, which provides him with a stable floor.
Defensemen
Zach Werenski – vs. ARI – (DK-$6,300 / FD-$5,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.35 / FD-11.57
Werenski has had a great rookie season, scoring five goals and 11 assists (16 points) in 23 games, but has been held off of the scoresheet in four straight games. Despite that cold stretch, Werenksi has 12 shots on goal in his last three games (4.0 S/PG), including six on Saturday—expect another strong performance tonight.
Justin Schultz – vs. OTT – (DK-$3,700 / FD-$3,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-1.14 / FD-3.99
After a slow start, Schultz is heating up. Schultz is averaging 16:40 TOI in his last three games and has collected two goals, two assists and seven shots on goal over that stretch. Schultz is a solid offensive-defenseman and makes for a cheap punt-play on the blueline while he is playing well.
Brendan Guhle – @ WSH – (DK-$2,700 / FD-$N/A)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.15 / FD-7.27
Guhle is a solid two-way defenseman with great skating and puck-moving ability and had a very strong NHL debut. He is nearly the DraftKings minimum price and coming off of a game with four shots and two blocks, Guhle is expected to play a fairly big role with the Sabres battling injuries so expect another solid performance out of him tonight.
Goalies
Braden Holtby – vs. BUF – (DK-$8,200 / FD-$9,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-5.39 / FD-21.54
Holtby is coming off of a good game in a shootout loss to the Lightning and has lost three straight while posting a 2.68 GAA and .918 SV%, but he draws one of the best matchups of the evening and should be a great start. Holtby is 6-4-0 with a 2.11 GAA and .914 SV% on home-ice this season.
Tuukka Rask – vs. FLA – (DK-$7,700 / FD-$9,100)
SaberSim Projection: DK-5.11 / FD-20.45
Rask is coming off of an excellent performance in Buffalo on Saturday and is now tied for second in the NHL in wins and has the third best SV% (.941) in the NHL. He had a great outing in his first start vs. the Panthers, so don’t hesitate to use one of the hottest goalies in the NHL tonight.
Sergei Bobrovsky – vs. ARI – (DK-$8,300 / FD-$9,000)
SaberSim Projection: DK-5.10 / FD-20.40
Bobrovsky was given Saturday night off, so he comes into Monday’s meeting well rested. Bobrovsky has been one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and the way the Blue Jackets played on Saturday, there’s a really high chance that Bob walks away with a W tonight.
SaberSim Value Plays
