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NHL Plays will highlight the best and the most underrated daily fantasy options among forwards, defensemen and goaltenders.
Please note, these players were chosen early in the day, so make sure to check NBCSports Edge’s player news for any lineup changes, injuries and potential changes in the crease for starting goaltenders.
Additionally, it is worth reminding everyone that FanDuel allows you to roster nine players (2C, 2W, 2D, 2UTIL, 1G) with a salary cap of $55,000, while DraftKings has a cap of $50,000 for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 1G, 1UTIL). Yahoo has a $200 cap for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 2G).
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out NBCSports Edge Player News, and follow @NBCSEdgeHK and @mfinewaxhockey on Twitter.
There are seven games in the NHL on Saturday. Yahoo is only playing the five games in the evening and therefore Colorado-Buffalo and Edmonton-Winnipeg are not available
Forwards
Auston Matthews (Toronto), C $10,000 (FanDuel), $9,300 (Draft Kings), $34 (Yahoo)
Matthews has been held off the scoresheet only once in his last 16 games and only twice in his last 27. Matthews has 33 goals and 59 points in 44 games and has to be considered the favorite once again for the Rocket Richard Trophy trailing only Leon Draisaitl by two goals. Matthews has eight goals and 18 points in his nine-game points streak and despite the high DFS value, is always a good play.
Elias Lindholm (Calgary), C $8,000 (FanDuel), $7,400 (Draft Kings), $27 (Yahoo)
Lindholm has been as hot of late as he was to start the season as he has goals in each of his last six games and has an eight-game points streak in which he has garnered seven goals and 13 points. Lindholm has 21 goals and 46 points in 47 games with a plus-37 rating, tied for second best in the NHL behind teammate Johnny Gaudreau.
Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary), W $8,800 (FanDuel), $7,900 (Draft Kings), $32 (Yahoo)
As mentioned, Gaudreau leads the NHL with a plus-39 rating and his scoring ability is not too shabby as he has 20 goals and 63 points this season. His points total is fourth best in the NHL, behind only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Jonathan Huberdeau who all have 68. Gaudreau is on an eight-game points streak with four goals and 12 points and has multi-point games in each of his last three contests.
Viktor Arvidsson (Los Angeles), W $6,500 (FanDuel), $6,100 (Draft Kings), $20 (Yahoo)
Arvidsson has been coming on of late with three goals and six points in his last five games, giving him 13 goals and 31 points in 42 games. Arvidsson has been seeing second line time with Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore and the line has been arguably the Kings best of late.
Bargain Bin: Bo Horvat (Vancouver), C $5,700 (FanDuel), $4,700 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo), Nick Schmaltz (Arizona), C/W $4,900 (FanDuel), $2,700 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles), W $5,100 (FanDuel) $5,000 (Draft Kings), $16 (Yahoo), Conor Garland (Vancouver), W $5,200 (FanDuel), $5,100 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Tim Stutzle (Ottawa), C/W $4,700 (FanDuel), $4,600 (Draft Kings), $13 (Yahoo)
Defensemen:
Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo), $6,000 (FanDuel), $4,200 (Draft Kings), $No Game (Yahoo)
Dahlin has really come into his own this season, especially of late as he has a four-game points streak, giving him eight goals and 32 points in 48 games. He is only 21 and this is his fourth season in the NHL, quite an accomplishment for a defenseman. He has a great price in Draft Kings and is only going to get better.
Quinn Hughes (Vancouver), $5,500 (FanDuel), $5,000 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo)
Hughes returned last game after being taken off COVID protocol and promptly scored once and added an assist to give him three goals and 36 points in 46 games. He has averaged over 25 minutes per game and has been stellar on the Canucks blueline. He is a good price in DFS Saturday.
Matt Grzelcyk (Boston), $4,300 (FanDuel), $4,900 (Draft Kings), $16 (Yahoo), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Vancouver), $5,300 (FanDuel), $4,800 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Jakob Chychrun (Arizona), $5,100 (FanDuel), $5,800 (Draft Kings) (Yahoo), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg), $5,100 (FanDuel), $3,900 (Draft Kings), $No Game (Yahoo)
Goaltenders:
Jacob Markstrom (Calgary), $8,400 (FanDuel), $8,500 (Draft Kings), $35 (Yahoo)
Markstrom has been outstanding this season with a 21-10-5 record to go with a 2.12 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Throw in a league-high eight shutouts and you can see why the Flames have surpassed the Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific standings. Markstrom has won five in a row, giving up only eight goals on 151 shots. The Flames take on Seattle Saturday in what should be a great spot for Markstrom.
Other plays:
Thatcher Demko (Vancouver), $7,400 (FanDuel), $7,500 (Draft Kings), $29 (Yahoo)
