After a nine-game slate last night, there are just eight teams in action tonight. As usual, it is a lighter night in the NHL this Wednesday evening. That being said, the NBA does not resume until Thursday, so there are plenty of massive DFS contests on both sites. Smaller slates are much better for tournaments, so taking a chance on low-owned players might be a great strategy. Let’s dive into this set of games to try and find some of the best options.
Center
Dylan Larkin (DET): $7,000 vs. CHI
On small slates such as tonight, the best strategy is to identify the team (or game) you believe will score the most goals and load up on it. Tonight, similar to Monday night, could easily be the Blackhawks at Red Wings game. Monday evening, Chicago hosted the Ottawa Senators in a game which ended 8-7 for the Blackhawks. First of all, predicting a game to see 15 goals is almost impossible. Second, Detroit does like to dictate the pace of play on home ice to a much slower style. However, Chicago is bleeding goals against right now. While they are winning games, their offense is doing just enough to score more. Chicago will likely come in as the highest-owned stack tonight, followed by Detroit. Dylan Larkin has a great matchup tonight against an aging defense who cannot keep up with the speedster.
Dylan Strome (CHI): $5,700 @ DET
In the same game, the second forward line on the Blackhawks appears to be a fantastic stack. While Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are the elite players on this team, Dylan Strome is on an incredible stretch right now. With 14 points in his last eight games, Strome is gelling well with his new team and former Jr. linemate, Alex DeBrincat. Providing much needed secondary scoring for his team, Strome will see a much weaker defensive matchup as Detroit will gameplan against the Blackhawks’ top line. In addition, Strome will also slide in on the top power-play unit, which should provide plenty of opportunities to score.
Wing
Alex DeBrincat (CHI): $7,100 @ DET
Coming off a five-point night against the Senators, Alex DeBrincat has now hit the 60-point mark on the season. Looking to add to that total tonight, the Blackhawks winger has shown incredible chemistry with Dylan Strome. Chicago has turned their season around, to a certain degree, as they now find themselves just one point out of a playoff spot. Like Strome, DeBrincat also has the benefit of playing on the top power-play unit alongside Strome, Toews, Kane, and Erik Gustafsson.
Anthony Mantha (DET): $4,500 vs. CHI
A reason why this game is set to be such a shootout is because of Chicago. The Blackhawks have an incredible offense with a terrible defense. With the combination of slower, veteran defensemen and an injured starting goaltender, Chicago tops the leader board with the most goals against during all strengths. Anthony Mantha is the right-hand man to Dylan Larkin who plays the wing both on the top forward line and power-play unit. The two chip in on each other’s goals and are in line for a big night against a weak defensive group.
Brandon Pirri (VGK): $3,600 vs. BOS
The price on FanDuel has still not risen to where it needs to be for Brandon Pirri. Priced at $5,000 on DraftKings, Pirris is a steal on FanDuel. The Bruins do not have a lot of weaknesses but the one glaring area is their penalty kill. Averaging 9.7 minutes per night (ranked 29th), Boston has just an 80.3% penalty kill percentage and has allowed the second-most goals against on the man-advantage in the NHL. Pirri will not only play on the top power-play unit but will also log time on the second forward line, avoiding the tough defensive matchup of Patrice Bergeron and the top line of the Bruins.
Defense
Shea Theodore (VGK): $4,600 vs. BOS
This game has the lowest expected goal total on the night. Ownership should be low on Vegas, due to the low total and the fact that it is the latest starting game. Shea Theodore, like Brandon Pirri, is set to start on the top power-play unit for Vegas. As previously mentioned, Boston has a weak power-play unit. While the goal total is low, betting the over (5.5 o/u) would be wise. Boston is playing their fourth game in a five-game western road trip and coming off an overtime 6-5 win against San Jose. There is a very good chance that this team is fatigued and will not be able to keep up with the energy of a home game in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights are a very sneaky, intriguing, GPP stack on a small slate.
Niklas Kronwall (DET): $3,500 vs. CHI
The last piece to a Red Wings stack is veteran, Niklas Kronwall. Now playing on the top power-play unit, Kronwall is priced at a near minimum price and provides the salary relief to fit in the studs needed for tonight’s action. While he does not have a high floor, Kronwall will be on the ice enough to have the opportunity to provide offense and fantasy production.
Goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK): $7,900 vs. BOS
The Calgary Flames are the biggest favorites tonight, at -150. However, this does not mean they will score the most fantasy points. Vegas has just as good of a chance of winning tonight. What makes Marc-Andre Fleury an intriguing option is that he will see more shots against. Fleury has started the most games of any goaltender this year, at 51. Recently though, Vegas has leaned on backup, Malcolm Subban, in back-to-back games, which has given Fleury some rest. He has not started since February 14th, and he will be ready for tonight’s action against a tough team.
Jeremy Maw is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jeremy, check out his archive or follow him @j_maw.
