Welcome to Daily Faceoff’s NHL DFS Value Plays, where five days a week from Monday to Friday, I break down hockey’s main slate, looking for the top value plays.
This value sheet includes salaries, projections for DraftKings and FanDuel for the top forward and defensemen values, as well as honourable mention forwards and three punt options for blue liners. While the main value plays look at spots to get different and their upside, the others revolve around their ability to produce peripheral points by taking shots and blocking them. These players are always live for the bonus on DraftKings, where all the value plays are directed for.
These projections don’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. One game samples have too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Instead, the projections represent a player’s average performance if that matchup was played repeatedly. There is a wide range of possible outcomes, and the projections represent each player’s average of those possibilities.
Sam Bennett (C, FLA2, PP1) — ($5,700 / $)
Projected points: DK – 7.9 / FD – 13.8
Sam Bennett has been nothing short of excellent as of late. Over his last 20 games, he’s scored 1.1 goals per hour, generated 1.6 individual expected goals per hour, and is taking a staggering 13.9 shots on goal per hour. That last number, mind you, is the highest of any forward on tonight’s slate. He’s got five goals and eight points in his last 10 games, taking 44 shots on goal over that stretch. He’ll look to stay hot against a struggling Oilers team tonight.
Marco Kasper (W, DET1, PP2) – (DK-$5,000 / FD $)
Projected points: 7.4 / 9.5
A little off the board here with Kasper, but he’s been on a nice run since joining the Red Wings’ top line. Over his last 20 games he’s scored 1.5 goals per hour and 3.1 points per hour, taking a respectable 7.6 shots on goal per hour. He and his linemates will have a strong matchup going head-to-head with the Blue Jackets’ top line.
Jackson LaCombe (D, ANA-1, PP1) — ($4,500 / $)
Projected points: 9.9 / 12.5
Jackson LaCombe is starting to make waves, and he’s popping as the top value defenceman on tonight’s slate. He’s generating offence and providing a good floor with strong shot and block volume. The Canucks have been stingy defensively as of late, but the value is too good to pass up.
Justin Barron (D, NSH-1, PP2) — ($2,800 / $)
Projected points: 6.5 / 8.2
Nick Blankenburg (D, NSH-1, PP2) — ($2,800 / $)
Projected points: 6.4 / 7.9
A little two-for-one here, as both Barron and Blankenburg look to be strong value options under $3,000. Both will see increased minutes with Roman Josi on the shelf due to an upper-body injury. Barron might be my preferred option here with stronger goal and block equity as of late, as well as the fact that he’s scored four points in five games against the Jets in his career.
Honourable mention forwards
- Brandon Saad (W, VGK3) — ($4,200/$) — Projected points: DK – 7.6 / FD – 10.0
- Patrik Laine (W, MTL2, PP1) — ($5,100/$) — 8.6 / 11.2
Top punt defensemen
- Jack Thompson (SJS-2, PP2) — ($2,800/$) — Projected points: DK – 5.9 / FD – 7.3
- Nikita Zadorov (BOS1) — ($3,500/$) — 7.1 / 8.9
Tune into the DFO DFS Report live at 4:30 PM EST!
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.