Daily Faceoff NHL DFS Value Plays — October 14th

Welcome to Daily Faceoff’s NHL DFS Value Plays, where five days a week from Monday to Friday, I break down hockey’s main slate, looking for the top value plays.

This value sheet includes salaries, projections for DraftKings and FanDuel for the top forward and defensemen values, as well as honourable mention forwards and three punt options for blue liners. While the main value plays look at spots to get different and their upside, the others revolve around their ability to produce peripheral points by taking shots and blocking them. These players are always live for the bonus on DraftKings, where all the value plays are directed for.

These projections don’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. One game sample has too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Instead, the projections represent a player’s average performance on average if that matchup was played repeatedly. There is a wide range of possible outcomes, and the projections represent each player’s average of those possibilities.

Maxim Tsyplakov (W, NYI2, PP1) – @ COL – (DK-$2,700 / FD $4,400)
DFO Projection: DK – 8.3 / FD – 10.7

I’m excited to announce that I think I’m very close to pronouncing Maxim Tsyplakov’s name correctly. I’ve been fitting him into DraftKings lineups early this season, and he’s providing solid value. He scored 11.5 DK points in his debut, and have 3 in his second game. Tonight, he’s got a solid opportunity to continue producing against a thin Colorado Avalanche team and a netminder in Alexandar Georgiev who seems in over his head.

Alexis Lafreniere (W, NYR1, PP2) – vs. DET – ($4,800 / $6,400)
DFO Projection: DK – 11.8 / FD – 15.8

In talks with the Rangers on a long-term extension, Alexis Lafreniere is in a great spot Monday night against the Detroit Red Wings, popping in DFO projections from a value and a points per $1,000 perspective. Averaging 13.7 points through his first two games, with a goal and three points, he seems poised for a breakout year, and his salary is simply too low right now.

Lane Hutson (D, MTL-2, PP2) – vs. PIT – ($3,000 / $4,600)
DFO Projection: DK – 7.3 / FD – 10.5

It’s time to start paying attention to Lane Hutson. He’s second in five-on-five ice-time through three games on the Montreal Canadiens, and is already providing strong DFS value despite no time on the top power play unit. He’s scored four assists in three games, while taking a pair of shots and blocking four. The Habs have a strong matchup tonight against the lowly Pittsburgh Penguins, and Hutson will once again look to be a driver of play.

Honourable mention forwards

1. Brendan Gallagher (W, MTL2, PP2) ($2,600/$4,200): DK – 7.7 / FD – 9.9
2. J.T. Compher (C, DET2, PP1) ($3,100/$4,700): DK – 6.8 / FD – 9.0
3. Ross Colton (W, COL2, PP1) ($3,400/$4,600): DK – 8.3 / FD – 10.7

Top Punt Defensemen

1. Braden Schneider (NYR-2) ($2,900/$3,800): DK – 6.7 / FD – 8.2
2. Adam Pelech (NYI-1) ($3,100/$3,900): DK – 5.8 / FD – 7.4
3. Sam Malinski (COL-3) ($2,500/$3,500): DK – 6.0 / FD – 7.8

Tune into the DFO DFS REPORT Live at 4:00 PM EST!

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist and makes up one half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.