DFS Lines To Target: 11/25/19

If you’re confused by tonight’s unusually busy NHL schedule, you have American Thanksgiving to blame. Opting not to compete against the NFL’s triple-header on Thursday; Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday will instead serve as the NHL’s busiest night this week. There are plenty of options to comb over for tonight’s nine-game slate. I’ve highlighted my top high-priced, mid-range, and value stacks below. Good luck!

High-Priced

Tampa Bay 1 – @Ondrej Palat ($5,000), @Brayden Point ($7,000), @Nikita Kucherov ($8,300)

If you’re looking to spend big on your primary stack tonight, Tampa Bay 1 is the safest bet you can make. Point and Kucherov have been at their respective bests while playing together this season. They’re creating a robust 31 scoring and 10 high-danger chances per 60 at 5v5. A cushy 5v5 matchup against the Sabres gives them a very high-floor, but the power-play production is where things get exciting. After a relatively slow start to the season, Tampa Bay rebounded to once again own the league’s best PP% at 32.8%. You have to like their odds of breaking through on the man advantage tonight against a sub-par penalty-killing team in Buffalo. The Sabres rank eighth-last in the NHL with a 73.6 PK%.

Palat’s upside is hampered by a lack of power-play time, but he’s still an effective player at 5v5, and opting for the full stack will help differentiate your lineup. Tampa Bay tends to be very fluid in their line matching on home ice, usually opting for a top-nine vs top-nine mix. The Sabres really don’t have a line capable of matching up against Tampa Bay 1, so you can expect Point, Kucherov, and Palat to pile up the shots tonight.

Mid-Range

San Jose 1 – @Evander Kane ($7,200), @Logan Couture ($6,000), @Patrick Marleau ($3,200)

Some pre-game line shuffling has added a touch of value to San Jose 1 tonight. Marleau will take the place of @Kevin Labanc, dropping the price of the full stack by $1,600 on DraftKings. Labanc obviously offers more upside than Marleau, but Marleau’s presence makes it a lot easier to fit other high-priced options into your lineup. Marleau is still a fine complementary player and he’s under-priced tonight considering his elite line-mates. Kane and Couture have been lights out together at 5v5, averaging over 31 scoring and 11 high-danger chances per 60.

Recent line matching trends suggest the bulk of San Jose 1’s 5v5 minutes are going to come against the @Anze Kopitar line tonight. While the Kings’ top line has experienced a bit of an offensive resurgence this season, they’ve become more of a liability in their own end. The line is currently surrendering 28 scoring and 11 high-danger chances per 60 at even strength. The high-event nature of the matchup should result in a lot of odd-man rushes and quality scoring chances for San Jose 1. Throw in the fact that LA owns the league’s second-worst PK% at 72.0%, and it’s easy to see the upside here.

Value

Minnesota 1 – @Jason Zucker ($4,300), @Eric Staal ($5,000), @Mats Zuccarello ($4,000)

Minnesota’s low-event style of hockey has turned a lot of DFS players off of them this season, but their top line’s usage makes them an easy bet to return value tonight. Zucker, Staal, and Zuccarello eat a ton of minutes at 5v5 and they all play together on the power-play. With @Mika Zibanejad out, Minnesota’s opponent, the New York Rangers, have been using the @Ryan Strome line against the opposition’s best on home ice. Strome and @Artemi Panarin have been productive offensively, but they’ve struggled to generate quality puck possession at even strength. They’ve registered a 41.69 CF% and a 42.38 SCF% in just over 100 minutes at 5v5 together. They’re far from the most lethal stack on tonight’s slate, but the usage alone makes Minnesota worth the $13,300 price tag. When you consider the favourable 5v5 matchup they’ll see tonight, this value stack becomes a bit of a no-brainer.