NHL DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Primer: Friday (10/21)

Three games round out Friday’s NHL slate. A shallow slate means that there will be fewer opportunities to get good value while finding cheaper players to produce. From a scoring standpoint, all three games have appeal, as their point total lines are set at 6.5. The battle for Florida rages on between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, while Detroit and Chicago have revamped rosters that should keep both teams from finishing the season with high first-round draft capital. The late puck drop at 9 p.m. ET features the defending champion Colorado Avalanche hosting the Seattle Kraken. Seven goals or more are expected based on the -125 odds on over 6.5 goals, meaning this could be the matchup to target for production in DFS.

Tuesday’s recommended picks turned out to hit across the board. Leon Draisaitl (C – EDM) only netted one assist in a surprising 4-2 loss to Buffalo, while Claude Giroux (RW – OTT) scored a goal on two shots. Ryan Pulock (D – NYI) was held without a point but stayed busy with a few shots on goal and blocked shots, while goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (G – TB) surrendered three goals in a surprise loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. That was the quieter group because Elias Pettersson (C – VAN) scored two points (goal and assist), Jesper Bratt (W – NJ) netted a pair of assists, Darnell Nurse (D – EDM) scored a goal, and Calgary goaltender Jacob Markstrom (G – CGY) turned away 19 of 21 shots in a 3-2 win over Vegas.

Here are my favorite players to add to DraftKings and FanDuel lineups ahead of Friday’s light three-game slate.

Check out today’s One-Timer contest from FanDuel

Recommended Plays: DraftKings

DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000

Jonathan Toews (C – CHI): $3,800
Jonathan Toews is a veteran on Chicago’s youthful team but the 34-year-old center still has enough juice to provide a good return on investment. He skates on the second-line attack and second powerplay unit, where he’s racked up two goals in three games to start the 2023 season. Skating around 16 minutes ATOI, Toews takes a couple of shots on goal that are high-percentage, so his value at $3,800 is astronomically low. Add Toews into lineups as a high-producing salary saver against Detroit on Friday night.

Matthew Tkachuk (LW – FLA): $6,800
The Florida Panthers reserved a huge amount of money to sign 25-year-old winger Matthew Tkachuk in free agency. He had a career year with Calgary in 2022 and has been adding to his resume with a hot start in Miami this season. Tkachuk has finished with at least one point in all four games played for the Panthers, including two multi-point games and two total goals. Tampa Bay is a good team but Andrei Vasilevskiy is not playing well at the moment, so the Lightning are a good matchup for opposing offenses. Fire up Tkachuk with confidence.

Gustav Forsling (D – FLA): $5,500
Sticking with the Florida Panthers, I like the outlook for 26-year-old defenseman Gustav Forsling. He began the season quietly against the New York Islanders but Forsling has since managed an assist or a goal in every outing, including four to five shots on goal. Not to mention, Forsling adds a high floor with two to three blocked shots per game in the defensive zone. He’s a complete two-way player with a high motor and speed to generate production in the offensive zone, making Forsling a great play in DFS lineups against Tampa Bay.

Ville Husso (G – DET): $8,100
One of the biggest free agent signings was the Red Wings’ decision to pay up for another goaltender after the Alex Nedeljkovic (G – DET) experiment went sideways in 2022. Insert Ville Husso. The talented netminder overtook Jordan Binnington (G – STL) in the crease during St. Louis’ playoff run, and he has been solid for the Blackhawks in two appearances early in the new season. Husso blanked Montreal while facing 29 shots, but allowed the Kings to score five goals in an overtime loss recently. This will have Husso motivated against Chicago, who have only scored seven goals in four games.

Recommended Plays: FanDuel

FanDuel maximum salary is set at $55,000

Nathan MacKinnon (C – COL): $10,000
This is an expensive recommendation but Nathan MacKinnon is an elite talent on a loaded offense. Colorado may be without goaltender Darcy Kuemper (G – WAS) or Nazem Kadri (C – CGY), but they are still scoring goals in droves. The mediocre goaltending forces the Avs to play offense at a quick pace, which is a large part of why MacKinnon has eight points through the first four games. He attempts anywhere from three to seven shots on goal and has finished with multiple points in three of four games. Against Seattle’s porous defense, MacKinnon is worth every penny in Friday night FanDuel lineups.

Andre Burakovsky (LW – SEA): $6,000
It’s always fun to buy into the revenge game narrative, which is what Andre Burakovsky gets on Friday night. The former Colorado Avalanche signed with Seattle this offseason and leads the Kraken in points with five through their first five games. In his most recent outing against St. Louis, Burakovsky was held without a point but he did attempt three shots on goal and finished with a +/- rating of 2. Colorado has pedestrian goaltending, allowing 14 goals across four games. Burakovsky is a good value, so plug him into FanDuel lineups and watch the production pile up.

Olli Maatta (D – DET): $4,700
28-year-old defenseman Olli Maatta signed with Detroit this offseason after spending the last couple of seasons with the L.A. Kings. Maatta has been great early on, scoring a point in all three games for the Red Wings, while adding at least one blocked shot to provide a nice floor. He has been hyper-efficient with his scoring, but Chicago doesn’t have much offense and they have allowed eight goals through three games, so Maatta is a nice salary-saving option with a high ceiling on Friday’s slate.

Sergei Bobrovsky (G – FLA): $8,400
Tampa Bay is currently sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Division at 1-3 and a lot of it is due to the lack of production from its offense. Play the matchup and insert Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky into DFS lineups. Bobrovsky has two wins in three starts and has recorded 29 saves in all three starts defending the crease. That’s the best way to rack up production as a goaltender in DFS, other than earning a win, which is likely considering the Panthers are -115 on the moneyline. Bobrovsky is a solid goaltender and a good foundational piece when constructing DFS lineups.