DFS Lines To Target: 12/04/19
It’s a typically slow Wednesday night in the NHL with just four games on the slate. I’ve gone over my top high-priced, mid-range, and value stacks below. Good luck!
High-Priced
Toronto 1 – @Andreas Johnsson ($4,700), @Auston Matthews ($7,300), @William Nylander ($5,800)
Even on the tail end of a back to back, it’s hard to ignore Toronto’s top line tonight. Matthews, Nylander, and Johnsson have been the one constant in the Maple Leafs offense this season, churning out high quality chance after chance at 5v5. Together, the three of them are averaging a remarkable 34 scoring and 14 high-danger chances per 60. They routinely find ways to create offense even in the toughest of matchups, and tonight’s clash with the Avalanche is far from that.
Colorado obviously has some high-class offensive weapons that need to be accounted for, but if Sheldon Keefe’s first home game behind the bench was any indication, Matthews won’t have any part in that. The @John Tavares line was locked into a hard-match with the @Jack Eichel line on Saturday, while the majority of Toronto 1’s minutes came against Buffalo’s bottom-six. You can expect Matthews and company to avoid @Nathan MacKinnon at 5v5 tonight as a result. Their most common opponent should be the @Pierre-Edouard Bellemare line, which obviously bodes well for Toronto 1’s production. Add in the fact that both Matthews and Nylander are heavily featured on a revived Maple Leafs power-play, and it’s hard to ignore the upside here.
Mid-Range
Pittsburgh 1 – @Jake Guentzel ($6,700), @Evgeni Malkin ($6,900), @Dominik Simon ($2,800)
Malkin and Guentzel are carrying a banged-up Penguins team right now, and tonight should be no different. The peripheral and underlying numbers are more than encouraging for this interim top-line. Malkin and Guentzel are dominating their opposition at even strength, with a devastating 64.80 SCF% and 67.39 HDCF% to show for it. Their shot production gives them a very stable floor and leaves them with plenty of upside in advantageous matchups, which is what they should see tonight.
Malkin has taken over the injured @Sidney Crosby’s defensive assignments, now regularly matching up against the opponent’s top line on home ice. That means the majority of Pittsburgh 1’s minutes tonight should come against the @Brayden Schenn line. Schenn and @Jaden Schwartz have done an admirable job of remaining productive in the absence of @Vladimir Tarasenko, but they struggle to maintain extensive offensive zone time. Pittsburgh 1 should see a lot of time in St. Louis’ end as a result, making them one of the top lines to target on this slate. You’ll have to pay up for Guentzel and Malkin tonight, but Simon’s presence makes the full stack more than affordable.
Value
Los Angeles 1 – @Alex Iafallo ($3,700), @Anze Kopitar ($5,600), @Dustin Brown ($4,600)
The Kings get the benefit of playing host to a tired Capitals team tonight, and you can expect their top line to take advantage. A matchup with a fatigued and sub-par defensive line is exactly what the ice-cold Kopitar line needs right now, and that’s what they’ll get. As you would expect, Kopitar is regularly used in a hard match against the opponent’s top line on home ice, setting up a marquee matchup against Washington 1 tonight.
For years now @Alex Ovechkin and @Evgeny Kuznetsov have been a defensive liability when on the ice together at 5v5, and this year is no exception. Together with line-mate @Tom Wilson, Ovechkin and Kuznetsov are surrendering a whopping 34 scoring and 17 high-danger chances per 60. When you consider Washington played in San Jose last night, it’s hard to imagine Los Angeles 1 not delivering in this matchup. They are an absolute steal on DraftKings tonight at $13,900 for the full stack.