NHL DFS Picks For March 23, 2022

By Jeff Lewis

The high of the trade deadline is wearing off and we are snapping back to reality. It turns out though that this reality is awesome. We touched on this fact yesterday, but teams are locking into playoff mode and trying to elevate their game before they get into the elimination round. There are pretty clear delineaters between the have and have nots, but for the teams likely to make it, there is no clear winner. It is tight up there and we will see some very good teams exit in the first round. Stay tuned and buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride.

Here’s a fancy tux lineup For DFS Hockey 3/23/22 (using DraftKings Values)

Sidney Crosby had a three point night yesterday. Not a big deal. Sid the Kid gets multi-point games all the time and a matchup against Buffalo is always worth a swing. You know who he is, we do not need to convince you that he is still one of the best in the world.

Richard Rakell was most recently a member of the Anaheim Ducks until his trade to the Penguins. He has been a very consistent producer over the years and has been a constant source of rumors around being acquired to help a contending team actually contend. Sorry, Ducks bros. He will likely slot in next to Evgeni Malkin and we are curious to see how he does.

Casey DeSmith is the clear backup in Pittsburgh and while his numbers are not the best, he has a good matchup and we liked a couple of his recent games. Somehow they are second in the Metro division and there are no indications that they will slow down. They made some moves and look all the better for it. 

We took Devon Toews to save some cash on Cale Makar recently and he did very well for us. Cale did better. It is hard for us not to say just double them up as your two defensemen every single time. You are almost guaranteed to cover the spread.

If you do need a cheaper defenseman, grab Ryan Graves. He is normally reserved for the end as a filler who can get you some nice peripherals. He has four points in his last four games, though, and has been flexing his offensive muscles. Toronto is putting Petr Mrazek in net who just cleared waivers after giving up 5 goals. He is not the answer for the Leafs and given Jersey’s stomping yesterday, we think the kids are going to ride that wave and hammer him.

If you do go that route then consider swapping out Crosby for Jack Hughes. He has been incredible this year and scored his 100th NHL point last night. We watched the highlights and had not realized that he had earned an A on his chest. Alternate captain is some perfect responsibility to hand to him. One other name to note here is Adam Henrique. He has quietly been productive this season and has gone a couple games without a point. On the other side of him is the Chicago Blackhawks who just traded away their best goalie. The Ducks will be the ones on the hunt.

Mikko Rantanen’s stats barely make sense. He just crushes it every single time he jumps over the boards and his skates hit the ice. Colorado is the team to beat and the moves they made bolster their already stellar depth. The newest addition Artturi Lehkonen should be on your radar. He will probably play third line but he is an impact player wherever he is.

You should have quite a bit left over to take someone of J.T. Miller or Bryan Rust’s caliber. Miller is in the same league as Rantanen with his point production which actually puts him in a league of his own, since he does not have Nathan MacKinnon on his line. Jimothy Timothy is the man. Rust is as well. Go check out his production on the year, he Crosby and Jake Guentzel are going to cause a lot of headaches in round one.

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