Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays for February 27

Welcome to the Wednesday, February 27th 2019 Main slate edition of the NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays column. This is a fantasy hockey post focused on top lineup plays each day.

Fantasy Hockey was tricky for the Tuesday night slate. There were some great value plays across the board, but you still cashed out with at least 150 FanDuel NHL points in most of those plays. Hitting cash for tournaments was a little more difficult.

I mentioned Flyers veteran net-minder Brian Elliott as a great value play at goalie, also noticed several hesitating notes toward playing Elliott in the feedback I got. Hopefully many of you avoided the hesitation and pounced on Elliott. With only two goals against, 34 saves, and the win, Brian landed 31.2 FanDuel NHL points into your lineups.

Elliott has the potential to continue to play well, but will have a tougher match up on Thursday. That being said, as long as he’s a sub $8K play at the position, it’s likely always a good move to play him. Outside of one bad game this season, against the Sharks in October, he’s been sharp and is one of the most underrated fantasy hockey goalies this season.

Petr Mrazek was also one of my favorite goalies. Wile Mrazek was more expensive, at $8,000, on FanDuel NHL, he still got you over 20 points (25.6) with nearly more. Mrazek unfortunately gave up one goal in the 3rd, eliminating his shutout points. We were close to a fantastic play at the position on Tuesday.

Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Dahlin continue to be great plays at defense for fantasy hockey. Oskar Lindblom opened the night up with a goal, making his $4,600 easy to pay up. But Brady Tkachuk wasn’t a successful value play, disappointing considering the Senators quickly went up 2-0 against the Caps.

Even without a goal, Ovechkin had 25.6 FanDuel NHL points, just barely making him worth the play. Matt Duchene, though, wasn’t worth the salary at center, and Sean Couturier was only barely worth it. The biggest disappointment, by far, was the Hurricanes scoring six goals, and Justin William only giving 1.6 points. We can do better than that on Wednesday.

Before we get there, a reminder to never take a NHL DFS optimal lineup as ‘bible’ for your personal lineup each day. Use the suggestions as guidance. Also, make sure you follow final lineup thoughts throughout the day on our twitter account @FantasyCPR or me @MattyMcMatt17  to catch late breaking lineup news.

Here’s a look at the NHL schedule for the Main slates on Wednesday, February 27th:

Oilers at Maple Leafs 7pm ET

Flames at Devils 7pm ET

Lightning at Rangers 7:30pm ET NBC Sports Network

Canucks at Avalanche 9:30pm ET

Blackhawks at Ducks 10pm ET NBC Sports Network

These smaller slates can be more fun to play. I’m more included to use stacks, and if you hit the right players you’re immediately beating everyone in cash and GPP. However, if you hit the wrong stack or pick three to four misses, you’re likely getting killed on Wednesday. I think we can avoid that.

The Maple Leafs and Lightning will be chalky, but I may still take a dip into their lineup pools. The Flames are also a good play, and I hope the Avalanche and Blackhawks offense continue to providing tons of fantasy hockey points. They’re both targets for this slate.

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So, let’s start building our NHL DFS optimal lineup by looking at the top centers for this slate…

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Centers

Connor McDavid ($8,800) is back on the ice after a two game suspension and is a solid play even on road ice, in Toronto. I like to play guys coming off a suspension, as they tend to play with a little more ‘chip on the shoulder’ during their game back. The idea that McDavid could be like that is a sexy play. And the Leafs defense gives up a decent helping to goals, even while continuous winning.

Brayden Point ($7,700) is another play I really like, especially for more affordability. Between Point and Steven Stamkos ($8,700), I like Brayden’s value more. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Point ended up with over 20 points while Stamkos was in the teens.

Stacking McDavid with Point is honestly a decent option on Wednesday. It’s possible too. But you will also have some great top winger plays you may not be able to avoid. So, if you don’t go that route, you need to consider some value plays with either McDavid or Point.

However, another path is to play to value pays at center, to really load up on winger. I’ll demonstrate that in the example lineup for Wednesday’s main slate.

I really like Mikael Backlund ($5,500) last night and I wish I used him more often. Backlund continues to score points consistently, a point in each of his last six-straight and now four goals and four assists in that time. Against a very stingy Islanders, alone, he now has two goals and one assists in two games.

Over the bridge, into New Jersey, we’ll likely see the Flames offense maintaining it’s hot streak against a Devils team all but throwing a towel in on the season. Backlund should be a great play again and he’s very affordable.

Carl Soderberg ($4,700) is a great play as well from the Avalanche, but he’s also likely spending time on the ice with newly acquired Derick Brassard ($3,800). They’re both great value plays at center, but between the two of them Brassard is the sneaky low-ownership play likely landing you double-digit FanDuel NHL points.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Wingers

At the winger spot, there are two guys everyone is, smartly, consistently playing each time they’re on the ice. Fortunately, they’re both on the ice for the same slate on Wednesday.

Patrick Kane‘s ($9,400) scoring streak may have ended against the Stars, but he guy still got you 11.2 just from seven shots on goal. That stat is important. Even if he didn’t score last game, Kane still has 35 shots on goal in just the last five games. That is a LOT! And with that high of a volume, he will continue to score, and provide assists (deflections).

I personally feel Kane is a must-have in all lineups, but I also realize he’s chalky against the Ducks. Whittling down Patrick’s ownership a bit will be Nikita Kucherov ($9,300). With 101 points in just 63 games, it’s no surprise Nikita is a hot item for fantasy hockey.

But, could you imagine playing Kucherov and Kane (93 points in 62 games) in the same lineup? Yes, you’re plugging two chalky guys into the same lineup, but you’re also likely getting the same 20+ points from each play, and there’s plenty of great value plays to boost your total lineup points above 150 on Wednesday night.

If you want a cheaper top winger stack, consider Alex DeBrincat ($7,400) and Gabriel Landeskog ($7,100). I started my lineup with those two better-priced plays before I found all of the different value options and realized I could afford Kuch and Kaner.

If you have Kuch and Kaner, you need to go with the two cheaper options at center. If you grab DeBrincat and/or Landeskog, you can definitely pay up for a more expensive center option. Regardless, I have Yanni Gourde ($5,000) and Andreas Johnsson ($4,300) in each of those lineups.

I was a big fan of Gourde this time last season, and I’ve kept an eye on him this year. With a power play goal, two goals and two assists in the last five games, I’ve noticed Gourde’s play is becoming more appealing for fantasy hockey. I also like the 15+ minutes of ice time lately.

Johnsson is much cheaper, but a similar type of play. Andreas has three goals and two assist in the last six games, including a power play goal, and he has ten shots on goal against the Capitals last week. Against, he’s getting a lot of ice time and I think he’s a solid shot at over ten points for Wednesday.

Alright, let’s finally look at a few top picks on defense…

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Defenders

I looked at both Morgan Rielly ($6,400) and Mark Giordano ($6,300) and immediately realized that paying up at the defense position wasn’t worth it on Wednesday. And Victor Hedman ($5,800) has been a consistently overrated fantasy hockey option at the position.

But, Erik Gustafsson ($5,900), while expensive, is providing as many, if not more, points over the last couple of weeks on a regular basis. Gustafsson has always been a great offensive player and has recently worked well with Kane on the Blackhawks top line. In the last three straight games, Erik has at least two helpers in each game, seven total. Plug him into all formats.

Brent Seabrook ($4,700) is another another hot defensive fantasy hockey option I like. But Seabrook, even though he’s a great value, is still only affordable if you took cheaper routes in the center and winger position.

I need a little more value for my big plays, and Mikhail Sergachev ($3,800) provides plenty of that for Wednesday night. He may have the 3rd line tag, but the Bolts defender is averaging around 17 minutes of ice time per game with one of the leagues top offenses. He also has two goals and two assists in the last five games.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Goalies

With less teams on the ice Wednesday, we can narrow our top goalie options down easier. We only have ten starting goalies, and only five of these guys can win. Also, only a few of these goalie picks have a shot at a shutout.

Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,700) likely is the best goalie play and has the best shutout potential. The Lightning should dominate the rangers in what could be a fairly low-scoring game. But Vas’ salary is ridiculous. You’re paying nearly $10K for about 30 to 40 points, which you can get with two or three good winger picks.

I’d rather save the cash and still get a solid 20 to 30 FanDuel NHL point play at this position. Cam Ward ($8,300) is certainly a viable option, even on road ice, for the Blackhawks. But the Ducks have showed some life in Anaheim lately.

Frederik Andersen ($8,900) is also a healthy consideration, but again he seems a bit pricey. That lead me down a path toward David Rittich ($7,900) or Semyon Varlamov ($7,600). Each goalie is a great value, considering they’re net-minding with winning-team momentum. They don’t have a high shutout likelihood, but they’re close.

I’m content getting 20 to 30 points from either of them, and they each make grabbing big plays like Kaner and Kuch, viable.

One last sneaky fade though. MacKenzie Blackwood ($7,00) is finally back on the ice for the Devils. I don’t love the match-up against the Flames, but this young net-minder was just a step down from Jordan Binnington‘s performance, as we’ve seen lately.

He’s a stingy defender who consistently gives the Devils a chance to win. The risk is, he’d coming back from an injury and has a tendency to get smoked from time-to-time, just not consistently (which is obviously good).

Fantasy Hockey: FanDuel Power Plays February 27th Main Slate Summary

Alright, I love Rittich and Varly at goalie. They both give me plenty of value landing around 20 to 30 FanDuel NHL points into my lineup. If you really want to get sneaky, play Blackwood but there’s huge risk with that play. Vas and Andersen are great plays but likely too expensive for the points return.

At the defense position, I love Gustafsson in all lineups. I’ll pair him with Seabrook or Sergachev. And at winger, I’m excited that I can likely find a way to play Kane and Kucherov in the same lineup. If I go with a more expensive route at center, I’ll play DeBrincat and Landeskog. Regardless, I like Gourde and Johnsson at winger in all formats.

Finally, at center I love McDavid and Point. But, I can’t play either with Kane and Kucherov. So, I may grab one of either Backlund, Soderberg, or Brassard with McDavid or Point. Or, I am also entirely comfortable with Backlund and either Soderberg or Brassard.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS Main slate on Wednesday, February 26th 2019:

C       Mikael Backlund ($5,500)

C       Derick Brassard ($3,800)

W     Patrick Kane ($9,400)

W     Nikita Kucherov ($9,300)

W     Yanni Gourde ($5,000)

W     Andreas Johnsson ($4,300)

D      Erik Gustafsson ($5,900)

D      Mikhail Sergachev ($3,800)

G      David Rittich ($7,900)

Remaining Salary: $100

Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the slate. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building NHL DFS FanDuel lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

Best of luck in your NHL DFS FanDuel contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across College Football, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, EPL, PGA, and NASCAR this winter!