It has been three games since Connor McDavid has scored a point. He may be playing the team that has stymied him for a third time in a row but we do not expect they can strike him out. We will not be going after any other Edmonton Oilers because the Toronto Maple Leafs are a little scary this year and Auston Matthews may be back.
A couple thousand miles away in the quiet village of Los Angeles there will be another interesting game to watch. The Kings have been quietly climbing in the standings and are knocking on the door to a playoff spot. The Arizona Coyotes, meanwhile, are missing their top goaltender and top point scorer. Keep an eye on this one.
Here’s a monster lineup For DFS Hockey 3/3/21 (using DraftKings Values)
| Center | C. McDavid | $9,100 | |
| Center | $3,500 | ||
| Wing | D. Pastrnak | $8,800 | |
| Wing | $4,800 | ||
| Wing | $3,000 | ||
| Defense | $5,700 | ||
| Defense | $4,200 | ||
| Goalie | $7,900 | ||
| Utility | $2,900 |
We are going big today and building around Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak. If you only used our free picks yesterday you probably had a decent day with the goalie shutout and a few other points distributed around. If you are a subscriber you had a great day. Five goals and a few assists were hanging out behind the paywall.
Now what do you get if you sign up now?
A goalie that is bracing for a storm.
A second line stack ready to do some damage.
A player that is the only one to make it to the NHL from his country.
Gabe Vilardi – C ($3,500 DK). The Coyotes are going to be doing everything they can to stop the top line in LA and so we are going after their second line. We have promoted Vilardi before and the young man is developing fast. Any concerns over the back injury that kept him out last year can be laid to rest.
Andreas Athansiou – W ($3,000 DK). Stack Vilardi with Athanasiou. He has had a rough road and is a little behind in his development but he is putting together a modest campaign. His ice time is improving which is a great indicator for him. We think he will gel with these linemates and make a mark tonight.
Jordan Kyrou – W ($4,800 DK). There must be something in the pricing algorithm that looks at how often a guy is talked about in the media because Kyrou is underpriced right now. He is having a breakout year and the press have not caught up yet. He is top line in St. Louis and it has been too long since he found his way into our lineup.
Shea Theodore – D ($5,700 DK) is interchangeable with Alex Pietrangelo to a degree. We lean towards Theo due to his deployment as the offensive guy and power play quarterback. Pietrangelo is capable of it but the Knights keep him a little back as a safeguard. Shea is around a point per game on one of the scariest teams in the NHL. We need to do some research on how many times they have come back to win because it is a lot.
Matt Dumba – D ($4,200 DK) scored a fantastic game winner against the Kings a few days ago and is surely still angry about the Golden Knights ending their last game in similar fashion. He appears to finally back to form after his pec injury a couple of years ago. If he is back to full strength, watch out.
Mike Smith – G ($7,900 DK) is your high risk, high reward player of the game and that is saying something given our freebies today. Toronto is going to put a ton of shots on net but he has been spectacular this year. If anyone can hold the Leafs back right now it might be him. We think he will get the goal support to come out on top.
Nathan Walker – U ($2,900 DK). You will more than likely hear about Walker as being the first Aussie to play in the NHL. He does not have that many games on his resume but he has found his way to the second line on the Blues and so before Tarasenko returns we want to give him a chance to make his mark.
Alternative Moves…
Leon Draisaitl – C ($7,800 DK). It might seem weird to swap out McDavid for Drai but the $1,300 savings is significant and it will give you a lot of freedom to go after other pieces. He still holds a ton of upside and like Connor cannot be contained for long.
Alexander Ovechkin – W ($8,300 DK). Swap out Pasta for Ovi and save $500. Goals are goals and they both score them in bunches. He is never a bad pick and if you are chasing after Matthews this might be the discount you are looking for.
Morgan Rielly – D ($5,300 DK) is a little undervalued right now. He is the top power play defenseman on the top power play in the league. If Matthews is back then save some more dough on Theo and get after Auston.
There are some big boy picks to be made and we are still not entirely sure how we will go. Honestly we will put together a few cards and diversify. There should be a lot of scoring tonight and we are excited. Which big guns did you go after? Post your winners on Twitter (@FantasyDFSX). The weekend is back in sight and the road is filled with hockey. Let’s go.
