DailyFaceoff DFS Cheat Sheet – December 7th
There are four games across the NHL tonight and a number of great matchups should make for an exciting DFS slate. The Wild and Maple Leafs will go head-to-head as each team looks to get back to their winning ways, while two of the NHL’s best goalies (Holtby vs. Rask) face-off in Washington. On the west coast, the analytic darlings known as the Carolina Hurricanes are in Anaheim and a banged up Senators team will face the red-hot Sharks in San Jose.
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
Auston Matthews – vs. MIN – (DK-$7,300 / FD-$6,400)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.07 / FD-14.66
After enduring a 13-game goal-less streak, Matthews has rediscovered his scoring touch in the last two weeks. Matthews has scored five goals on 18 shots (3.60 S/PG) and one assist in his last five games. Matthews underlying numbers are great, which means this type of production should continue. His numbers on home-ice are underwhelming, but he scored a goal in his first career game vs. Minnesota. To get tickets to your favorite game, click to investigate here to get loans when you want to have immediate money. Bitcoin Loophole is also a good investment of money. Check out their website at top10binarydemo.com for more information.
Eric Staal – @ TOR – (DK-$6,300 / FD-$5,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.85 / FD-10.12
Staal is doing a solid job of resurrecting his career in Minnesota. So far, he has picked up five goals and 12 assists (17 points) in 24 games, which pits him on-pace for his best season since 2013-14. In the first meeting between the Wild and Maple Leafs, Staal scored twice and that’s not his first good game against Toronto—the Thunder Bay native has 46 points (22G / 24A) in 42 career games against the Leafs.
Victor Rask – @ ANA – (DK-$6,000 / FD-$5,700)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.67 / FD-9.62
The Hurricanes’ underlying numbers are as impressive as you will find in the NHL so far this season, but it hasn’t exactly translated into the results you would expect. Tonight they face a Ducks team that struggles when it comes to puck possession (Randy Carlyle factor), so that bodes well for the Hurricanes’ top line. Skating alongside Jeff Skinner makes Rask a nice choice tonight. He scored in his first game vs. Anaheim and has five goals and three assists (eight points) in 13 games since.
Wingers
Joe Pavelski – vs. OTT – (DK-$7,400 / FD-$7,800)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.67 / FD-17.02
Pavelski is having another strong year and carries a high-floor thanks to his high shot volume, but his shooting percentage has taken a hit. He is currently shooting 9.8 percent, which is way down from the 17 percent last year. It’s only a matter of time until he starts scoring with more regularity and it could come tonight against a Senators team that allowed eight goals in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Jeff Skinner – @ ANA – (DK-$6,600 / FD-$6,700)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.83 / FD-10.03
Skinner has picked up three goals and four assists (seven points) in his last 10 games and draws a nice matchup tonight. Travelling out west is never easy, but Skinner has 10 points (4G / 6A) in 14 road games this season. If you can’t squeeze Pavelski’s salary into your lineup, Skinner is a solid secondary option on the wing.
Charlie Coyle – @ TOR – (DK-$5,500 / FD-$5,100)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.15 / FD-11.33
Coyle is having a breakout campaign (on-pace for 31 goals) but his salary is still very palatable. Coyle had an assist in his first game vs. Toronto and enters play with five goals, two assists (seven points) and is averaging 2.50 shots per game in his last eight contests. If Staal has another big game vs. Toronto, he and Coyle should make for a good pair.
Justin Williams – vs. BOS – (DK-$4,400 / FD-$4,500)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.47 / FD-12.34
Williams isn’t having a good year at all. He has picked up just two goals and three assists (five points) in 24 games this season, but tonight he gets a great opportunity playing on the top line with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Playing with Ovechkin is always a boon for his fantasy stock and at $4,400 on DraftKings and $4,500 on FanDuel, it will be hard to find better value.
Defensemen
Brent Burns – vs. OTT – (DK-$8,400 / FD-$8,200)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.23 / FD-14.88
Burns is as valuable of a daily player as you can find and if you can fit him into your lineup, it’s never a bad idea. Burns has four goals, four assists, 27 shots (3.86 S/PG) and 10 blocks (1.43 BS/PG) in his last seven games. That’s absurd value, but he does not come cheap.
Ryan Suter – @ TOR – (DK-$5,300 / FD-$5,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.25 / FD-11.23
A huge positive for Suter, is how much he plays. Suter is averaging over 27 minutes per game, including over three minutes per night on the power-play. His offensive output has slowed down a bit, but he has three assists, 16 shots (2.0 S/PG) and 17 blocked shots (2.13 BS/GP) in his last eight games. The shots and blocks alone provide you with a stable floor with upside.
Jaccob Slavin – @ ANA – (DK-$3,900 / FD-$3,500)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.07 / FD-7.13
Savin is just 22-years-old, but is already averaging 24:54 TOI in his last six games. During that span, he has two assists, 12 shots (seven on Sunday) and 17 blocked shots. Slavin plays with Justin Faulk at even-strength and on the power-play, which makes him an excellent value defenseman.
Goalies
Martin Jones – vs. OTT – (DK-$7,900 / FD-$8,800)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.66 / FD-18.63
Jones stopped 32 of 33 shots in a win over the Canadiens last Friday and Jones comes into play tonight on a hot streak and well rested. Jones has won five of his last six starts while posting a 1.17 GAA and .957 SV%. He is playing as good as any goalie in the NHL right now and makes for a great play tonight.
Devan Dubnyk – @TOR – (DK-$7,700 / FD-$9,000)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.51 / FD-18.04
Dubnyk has won three of his last five starts while posting a 1.73 GAA and .940 SV%. He also stopped 31 of 33 shots in a win over the Maple Leafs in their first meeting Toronto comes in having lost five of their last seven.
Cam Ward – @ ANA – (DK-$7,300 / FD-$8,300)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.87 / FD-15.46
Like Staal, Ward is trying to get his once-great career back on track in 2016-17 and he is doing a really strong job. Ward is 8-7-4 with a 2.09 GAA, .924 SV% and two shutouts on the season, which means the losses haven’t really been his fault. He lost his first start to Anaheim, but is a good money-saving option tonight.
The National Hockey League
is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
The National Hockey League was organized on November 26, 1917, in Montreal after the suspension of operations of its predecessor organization, the National Hockey Association (NHA), which had been founded in 1909 in Renfrew, Ontario. The NHL immediately took the NHA’s place as one of the leagues that contested for the Stanley Cup in an annual interleague competition before a series of league mergers and folds left the NHL as the only league left competing for the Stanley Cup in 1926.
SaberSim Value Plays
