A busy nine-game slate is ahead this evening. Joe Thornton will return to Boston, but this time on the wing. The Capitals will visit the Maple Leafs. The battle of Pennsylvania will always be worth watching. It should be a fun night. Let’s take a look at some DFS options.
Check out today’s Breakaway NHL contest from FanDuel 
Center
Connor McDavid (EDM): $8,800 @ DET
The chalk of all chalk. Sometimes it is best just not to get cute. After a rare three-game point drought, McDavid has rattled off four points in his last two contests. The Oilers will head to Detroit to take on a Red Wing team that has given up the fourth-most goals per game in the league. The betting odds (Over 6 -130) would suggest that this expects to be a high scoring affair. I think it would be fair to assume McDavid is in on several of them.
Wing
Ondrej Palat (TB): $5,100 @ NYR
Coming off a nice game against Nashville, Palat will continue to play alongside Point and Kucherov, as well as the top power-play unit. That should be reason enough at this price. Furthermore, the Rangers are the most penalized team in the NHL and they give up the most shots in the league. Palat is the perfect tagalong value winger tonight.
Defense
Jake Gardiner (CAR): $4,000 vs CGY
Gardiner has not been great this season, with only three points in 11 games. However, he has spent most of the year on the bottom pairing and second power play. Tonight he is slated to skate with Brett Pesce on the second pairing and on the top power-play unit. He’s coming off a solid performance against Chicago where he logged a point, two shots, and a block. At this price, Gardiner is worth a shot.
Victor Hedman (TB): $5,800 @ NYR
Hedman has recorded a point in five straight contests, and nine out of his last ten. He will always chip in with shots on goal and blocks as well. The Lightning are in New York taking on the Rangers who have surrendered the most shots per game in the league, Hedman should have every opportunity to continue this hot streak, solidified as the top minute eater and power-play quarterback for Tampa.
Goalie
Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): $8,500 @ NYR
My philosophy in finding goalies is focusing on the team that is most likely to win. Tampa Bay is currently -200 to defeat the Rangers, the biggest betting favorite on the board. Add in that the Rangers have lost six of seven and may be without Mika Zibanejad, beating Tampa Bay will be a tall task, even at home. Vasilevskiy has been average thus far with a 2.99 GAA and .907 sv %. This should be a good spot for him to improve. Make sure to check on the lineups later in the day as the Lightning have yet to confirm a goaltender. The Rangers will turn to Georgiev, so it’s possible Tampa will turn to Curtis McElhinney, in which case I would recommend playing McElhinney for $7,800.
Chris Genova is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyOneTimer.
