This is a relatively short slate for a Thursday with only seven games, but it’s something DFSers should get used to. Remember, the last two years have seen a lockout-shortened season, and a condensed schedule because of the Olympics. That means this is going to be a “normal” season so even on typically busy Tuesday/Thursday night slates, fewer than half the teams may be in play.
Of note today is that despite skating with his team the last couple of days, Carolina’s Jeff Skinner doesn’t look like he’ll be back in the lineup tonight as some expected him. That basically writes off that team again tonight. Also, it looks like the Pittsburgh top-six will stay as-is, with Dupuis/Malkin on the wings for Brandon Sutter and Patric Hornqvist beside Crosby.
Play The NHL Sniper Contest on DraftKings Right Here
Players will be in order of perceived value, by position, and there should be enough to mix-and-match for each type of game available on Draft Kings. Some positions might only have a few plays, some might have several. It all depends on the day, the matchups, and the price.
Remember: players are in order of value, not necessarily in cost. Just because Sidney Crosby is $8000 one day doesn’t mean he’s a better value than Andrew Shaw at $4000.
Cash Games
| Centre | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Brassard (NYR) – $4200 | St. Louis (NYR) – $5400 | Letang (PIT) – $5000 | Lundqvist (NYR) – $6600 |
| Sutter (PIT) – $3100 | Hornqvist (PIT) – $6300 | Barrie (COL) – $4500 | |
| MacKinnon (COL) – $6300 | Okposo (NYI) – $6500 | Girardi (NYR) – $3600 | |
| Nelson (NYI) – $5400 | Landeskog (COL) – $5400 | Leddy (NYI) – $3300 | |
| Malkin (PIT) – $7700 | Nieto (SJS) – $3500 | ||
| Spezza (DAL) – $5600 | Duclair (NYR) – $3200 | ||
| O’Reilly (COL) – $5300 | |||
| Hemsky (DAL) – $4000 | |||
- Henrik Lundqvist seems to be the top play in net. His price is just slightly more than a backup goalie and the Rangers get a beaten (and bad) Carolina team tonight. Still, something just doesn’t feel right here – the public money has been moving on Carolina since the Vegas line opened.
- Pittsburgh/Dallas looks like it should be a high-scoring affair tonight. With plus/minus not a concern, I would mine some players out of that game.
- Colorado/Ottawa are about as “high-event” as it gets, and that should mean lots of scoring opportunities. They are another good game to target.
- San Jose has been a sieve defensively so far this year, but have enough offensive talent themselves to rack up the scoring on anyone. That looks like another good game to target for scoring tonight.
- Anthony Duclair continues to get prime minutes for the Rangers.
Guaranteed Prize Pools/Tournaments
| Centre | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Duchene (COL) – $6000 | Iginla (COL) – $5100 | Barrie (COL) – $4500 | Holtby (WSH) – $7100 |
| Brassard (NYR) – $4200 | Kreider (NYR) – $5000 | Karlsson (OTT) – $6600 | Varlamov (COL) – $8000 |
| Plekanec (MON) – $5600 | Parenteau (MON) – $4200 | Goligoski (DAL) – $3900 | |
| Sutter (PIT) – $3100 | Dupuis (PIT) – $4500 | Demers (SJS) – $3700 | |
| Tavares (NYI) – $8500 | Conacher (NYI) – $3100 | Leddy (NYI) – $3300 | |
| Zibanejad (OTT) – $3500 | McGinn (COL) – $3800 | ||
| Johansson (WSH) – $3700 | Stone (OTT) – $3100 | ||
- Picking from the Colorado/Ottawa game is ideal here tonight. That game, as I mentioned earlier, should feature a plethora of scoring chances. We’ll see if that translates to goals or not.
- The Islanders, Stars, and Devils have been giving up quite a few shots on the penalty kill. That would make the Sharks, Penguins, and Capitals power play units decent targets.
- I’m not a fan of picking against the Bruins, but with them having played an overtime game last night, I’ll be fine taking Montreal players that aren’t facing the Chara/Hamilton defense pairing.
- There are a lot of cheap, ancillary plays tonight and that could make room for a lot of expensive players.
- As for goalies, I think Braden Holtby has a good chance of winning tonight. However, if I were to pick one tender that I could see having a 35-save shutout or something like that, it would be Semyon Varlamov.
Slim’s Pickins ($3000 or less)
Ryan Malone (W-NYR, $2500) – The depth winger is being used as a net-front presence on the Rangers’ top power play unit.
Erik Cole (W-DAL, $2800) – Cole is taking his rightful place on Dallas’s second line with Spezza/Hemsky and should also get second unit power play duties.
Seth Griffith (C-BOS, $2500) – As far as we know, Griffith is still on David Krejci’s line and getting power play time. Though Boston had no morning skate today, so we won’t know for sure until game-time warmups.
Jori Lehtera (C-STL, $2500) – Usually, picking against the Los Angeles Kings is far from advisable. That said, if there’s anywhere to pick against, it’s someone who will be playing against their third/fourth liners and third pairing defensemen.
Good luck!
