DFS Lines To Target: 12/06/19
It’s a typically quiet Friday night in the NHL with five games on the slate. I’ve gone over my top high-priced, mid-range, and value stacks below. Good luck!
High-Priced
Pittsburgh 1 – @Jake Guentzel ($7,000), @Evgeni Malkin ($6,800), @Bryan Rust ($6,500)
There’s no better line to target on tonight’s slate than Pittsburgh 1. Malkin and Guentzel continue to carry the Penguins in the absence of @Sidney Crosby. They’ve dominated play at even strength, averaging 37 scoring chances per 60 while surrendering just 22 to the opposition. Recent line matching trends suggest Pittsburgh 1 should see a mix of Arizona’s second and third lines tonight. They should have no problem generating their usual rate of offense in that matchup, giving them a very stable floor. Keep in mind Rust is a game-time decision for tonight’s game. We likely won’t receive confirmation on his status until warmups at 6:30 PM EST. @Dominik Simon will likely take Rust’s place should he be unable to go, so plan accordingly.
Mid-Range
Montreal 1 – @Tomas Tatar ($5,800), @Phillip Danault ($5,000), @Brendan Gallagher ($6,400)
Tatar, Danault, and Gallagher have been an absolute force at 5v5 for the better part of two seasons now. Dating back to the start of the 2018-19 season, the three of them own a 60.77 CF%, a 61.41 SCF%, and a 62.68 HDCF% in just under 1000 minutes together at 5v5. What makes their outstanding numbers even more remarkable is most of those minutes came against opposing top lines. They routinely make lightwork out of some of the best teams in the NHL, and tonight’s opponent is far from that.
The Rangers are particularly vulnerable in their own end at even strength, and you can expect Montreal 1 to take advantage of that. No team in the NHL surrenders more scoring chances or has a higher xGA than the New York Rangers. Simply put, the Rangers don’t have the personnel or structure to deal with the onslaught of chances Montreal 1 will be throwing at them. You can stack the Danault line with confidence tonight.
Value
Edmonton 2 – @Jujhar Khaira ($2,800), @Leon Draisaitl ($7,700), @Sam Gagner ($3,200)
Edmonton’s recent line juggling means Draisaitl will skate with a pair of bargain-bin wingers tonight, bringing the price of this full stack into the value zone. @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ injury has shifted Draisaitl back to the middle, where he’s more than capable of carrying a line. Him and Gagner have performed well in their limited time together over the last two seasons, averaging an impressive 32 scoring and 14 high-danger chances per 60. They should see a mix of the Kings’ top-six at even strength tonight. You have to like Edmonton 2’s odds of getting a goal or two passed a struggling @Jonathan Quick in this matchup.
If you have the room in your budget, feel free to add @Connor McDavid to this full stack. The PP correlation brings a lot of additional upside to your lineup, and there will be shifts where McDavid and Draisaitl end up together at even strength (after an icing or penalty, late in a close game, etc.).