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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 10 games in the NHL on Saturday. The Detroit-Florida game in Draft Kings is a stand-alone game.
Forwards
Connor McDavid (Edmonton), C $10,200 (FanDuel), $8,900 (Draft Kings), $37 (Yahoo)
McDavid has had four multi-point games in his last five, to regain the NHL scoring lead with 79 points, one better than teammate Leon Draisaitl. McDavid is averaging a shade under 1.5 points per game, almost .5 point less than last season. Montreal shut McDavid down in their only game this season so he will look to redeem himself at home Saturday.
Nick Schmaltz (Ottawa), C/W $5,000 (FanDuel), $3,900 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo)
Schmaltz got off to a very slow start but has been hot of late with four goals and seven points in his last five games as well as 11 goals and 19 points in his last 18 contests. Overall, Schmaltz has 12 goals and 26 points in 35 games but keep in mind that he got off to a real slow start and has been fantasy-worthy for the last two months.
Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida), W $8,500 (FanDuel), $9,600 (Draft Kings), $31 (Yahoo)
Huberdeau saw his 11-game points streak come to an end on Thursday but the NHL’s third-leading scorer still has 18 goals and 75 points this season in 54 games. He has failed to pick up an assist in only three of his last 25 games and is as sure a thing as there is (with McDavid) to garner a point in a game.
Mitch Marner (Toronto), W $8,600 (FanDuel), $8,200 (Draft Kings), $31 (Yahoo)
The NHL’s player of the month for February ended the month with a four-goal and six-point night last Saturday versus Detroit and will look to do more of the same tonight against Vancouver. Marner has been on fire since returning from COVID protocol on Jan. 15 as he has 15 goals and 21 assists in just 19 games. He is on a five-game points streak and had great success against Vancouver last season with two goals and 12 points in nine games.
Michael Bunting (Toronto), W $6,100 (FanDuel), $5,300 (Draft Kings), $20 (Yahoo)
The 26-year-old is still considered a rookie and has fitted in quite well of late on the top line with Mitch Marner and the NHL’s leading goal-scorer, Auston Matthews. Bunting has 19 goals and 42 points this season in 54 games. Bunting has three goals and nine points in his last five games and it is not the worst idea to bundle him with linemates Matthews and Marner in DFS. He is nicely priced in Yahoo.
Bargain Bin: Nick Suzuki (Montreal), C $5,800 (FanDuel), $4,800 (Draft Kings), $19 (Yahoo), Erik Haula (Boston), C $4,300 (FanDuel), $2,900 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Tyler Toffoli (Calgary), W $5,900 (FanDuel) $4,000 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo), Jake DeBrusk (Boston), W $5,300 (FanDuel), $3,600 (Draft Kings), $19 (Yahoo)
Defensemen:
Noah Dobson (NY Islanders), $6,300 (FanDuel), $5,500 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo)
Dobson has come into his own this season after being drafted 12th overall in 2018. He has 10 goals and 27 points in 49 games, smashing career highs in all categories. Dobson has two goals and four points in his last four games.
Darnell Nurse (Edmonton), $6,200 (FanDuel), $5,700 (Draft Kings), $19 (Yahoo)
Nurse gets a boost on Saturday as Tyson Barrie is out of action, leaving the first power play to Nurse. He has six goals and 23 points in 48 games this season after a big 2020-21 season with 16 goals and 36 points in 56 games.
Aaron Ekblad (Florida), $5,900 (FanDuel), $9,000 (Draft Kings), $27 (Yahoo)
Ekblad has hit double-digits in goals in seven of his eight NHL seasons and this year is no exception with 14 goals and 49 points in 53 games. He has been pointless in two of his last three games but had four goals and nine points in his previous six-game points streak. He has good value in FanDuel.
Jakub Chychrun (Arizona), $5,400 (FanDuel), $5,900 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia), $4,700 (FanDuel), $4,200 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Gustav Forsling (Florida), $4,100 (FanDuel), $5,600 (Draft Kings), $15 (Yahoo), Ben Chiarot (Montreal), $4,500 (FanDuel), $3,700 (Draft Kings), $14 (Yahoo)
Goaltenders:
Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida), $8,400 (FanDuel), $10,800 (Draft Kings), $28 (Yahoo)
Bobrovsky returned to the win column on Thursday with a shutout over the Ottawa Senators in which he had to make only 18 saves. Bobrovsky is 27-6-3 with a 2.56 GAA and a .916 save percentage, giving the Panthers everything they hoped to get three seasons ago when they signed him to a seven-year/$70 million deal. Finally, he has done so this season. The “Panthers face Detroit at home Saturday.
Jack Campbell (Toronto), $8,400 (FanDuel), $8,100 (Draft Kings), $21 (Yahoo)
Campbell has slumped badly of late and has sat for the last week but is fabulously priced in Yahoo as he gets the call Saturday to turn things around. Overall, he is 23-8-4 with a 2.55 GAA and a .917 save percentage, a touch better peripheral than Bobrovsky, but that’s because his start of the season was so great. If he can turn it around, the money saved in Yahoo will help the rest of your DFS squad.
Other plays:
Juuse Saros (Nashville), $8,100 (FanDuel), $7,900 (Draft Kings), $32 (Yahoo), Mike Smith (Edmonton), $8,200 (FanDuel), $8,400 (Draft Kings), $24 (Yahoo)
