NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Picks/Lineup of the Day – Three games are scheduled for Monday night: Buffalo heads to New Jersey, the Maple Leafs will be in Brooklyn to take on the Islanders, and Philly welcomes St. Louis to town.
NHL daily fantasy sports (DFS) continues to grow in popularity despite the uncertainty surrounding the industry. Companies like Fan Duel and Draft Kings are still immersed in legal battles and in turn, are unable to offer their services in certain American states.
Even with restrictions, the DFS community continues to thrive and in likelihood will emerge victorious when all is said and done. Just think of the way fantasy sports, in general, has evolved over the last 15-20 years. Daily fantasy sports is just the next step. Instead of drafting a team, spending an entire season tweaking and adjusting your lineup, you can select a roster of players for that given night and compete against other individuals.
NHL Schedule: Monday, February 6th
Buffalo Sabres at New Jersey Devils (7pm et)
Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders (7pm et)
St. Louis Blues at Philadelphia Flyers (7pm et)
*Important Note: Prices/Scoring Format from DraftKings.com
NHL DFS Picks of the Day (Feb.6)
Top Pick: C John Tavares, NYI $7,600 (vs. TOR)
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over time, it’s that these Toronto boys tend to show up when they’re playing their hometown Maple Leafs. Looking at his career splits, Tavares has an impressive 12 goals, 14 assists (26 points) in 24 career games vs. Toronto. He also has four goals, seven assists (11 points) over his last eight contests overall.
Value Pick: C Ivan Barbashev, STL $2,500 (at PHI)
Although pointless in his first two NHL games, an opportunity may be opening for Ivan Barbashev. Following a season-ending injury to Robby Fabbri, it’s quite possible that Mike Yeo juggles his lines, perhaps sliding someone like Berglund to the wing in order to promote Barbashev.
Top Pick: W Vladimir Tarasenko, STL $7,500 (at PHI)
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The Tarasenk-show is having another outstanding year despite a lack of quality linemates to play with. He hasn’t gone more than two games without a point and has two goals, one assist over his last three contests. It’s been awhile since the Russian had a monster night, so if he doesn’t go off against the Flyers, keep a close eye on him in future games.
Value Pick: W Pavel Zacha, NJ $3,700 (vs. BUF)
The Czech rookie struggled mightily over the first half of the year. Much of that likely had to do with being forced into a bottom-six role. He’s also a center that has been forced to play LW for much of his first season. So, it’s been a bit of a transition to get comfortable. Zacha is looking much better of late and has three goals, two assists (five points) in his last eight games.
Top Pick: D Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF $5,700 (at NJ)
Buyer beware. While many folks like to target top performers of late in DFS, believe it or not, you can actually decent success finding players that are overdue for a big performance. Such is the case with Finnish defender Rasmus Ristolainen. He’s been fairly quiet of late posting just three helpers in his last 10 games, but there’s a lot of reasons to select him tonight. He averages over 27 minutes/night, blocks shots, shoots the puck, and mans the right side on the first PP unit.
Next: Week 17 NHL Power Rankings
Value Pick: D Damon Severson, NJ $3,500 (vs. BUF)
Despite going without a point over his last seven contests, Severson could be a sneaky pickup on Monday. He mans the top defensive pairing with Andy Greene and also spends time on the second PP unit. Damon has 22 points in 53 games so far, including two helpers in two games versus Buffalo in 2016-17.