NHL

DraftKings Daily Fantasy NHL Helper for 3/5/21

With the NBA on a break, the DFS focus turns to hockey. So let's look at two high salary players, two values and a goalie that we can target to give us a leg up on the competition.

High Salary Skaters

Nathan MacKinnon ($8,900): MacKinnon's star has waned a bit as the likes of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have dominated most of the headlines this season. MacKinnon is still having a pretty good season, though, with 22 points in 19 games. He has continued his barrage of shots from last season, as he attempts the fourth most shots per 60 minutes in the league, according to Natural Stat Trick. He's going through a bit of bad shooting luck, as his current 6.4% shooting percentage is well below the double-digit shooting percentages we have seen from him in the past three seasons. He gets to take on an Anaheim Ducks team that has struggled this season and is without their best defenseman, Hampus Lindholm, for this game. If playing MacKinnon in tournaments, I would definitely stack him with at least one of his wingers -- Gabriel Landeskog and/or Mikko Rantanen -- as all three correlate very well at even strength and on the power play.

Max Pacioretty ($7,400): Pacioretty has been one of the players who has most benefited from the change in DraftKings' scoring. As a player who loves to shoot, he is a threat to get the five-shot bonus in every game, as he has done in each of the past three. He currently has the second highest shot attempt rate in the league. He's shown great chemistry with Mark Stone, so it's definitely good for him that they are back playing together at both even strength and on the power play. The matchup against the San Jose Sharks is a good one, as they allow the second most goals per game in the NHL. If Pacioretty is able to keep pumping shots on net, that should bode well for him, as the Sharks' goaltenders have the second worst combined save percentage in the league.

Value Skaters

Kirill Kaprizov ($4,600): Typically I like to keep the value skaters to around $4,000 or less, but Kaprizov is too good to not mention. We talked about him in his first NHL game when he was just $2,900, and he put up three real-world points, including an overtime winner. With what he has done so far in the NHL, this salary is still too low. He has nine points in his last 10 games and has put 25 shots on goal. He's the Minnesota Wild's leading scorer with 17 points, and he plays on the top power play. He faces an Arizona Coyotes team with a solid defensive reputation, but they actually have given up the second most expected goals per 60 minutes in the league. Kaprizov has shown game-breaking talent in his 20-game NHL career, and usually that type of talent isn't available for just $4,600.

Matthew Grzelcyk ($3,600): Grzelcyk returned to the Boston Bruins lineup on Monday and was back on the first power-play unit. He played 21 minutes, so there was no easing him back into the game. He didn't produce much, so his salary dropped $200. We can take advantage of that as he makes for a great value given his role. The Bruins had an elite power play last season, and while this season it ranks only ninth this year, it actually has a higher success rate than it did when it was second best in the 2019-20 season. Exposure to someone playing with the likes of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the man advantage isn't usually something we can get in a guy at this salary.

Goalie to Target

Kaapo Kähkönen ($7,800): If not spending all the way up for Philipp Grubauer in a good spot, Kahkonen is a good goalie play in the middle tier of the position. He has a solid .915% save percentage this season to go with an 8-4 record. Minnesota's track record of being a solid defensive team is holding true again this season, as they have allowed the second fewest high danger chances per 60 minutes in the league. That suits them well going up against the Coyotes, who have scored the sixth fewest goals per game in the league. Arizona has the third lowest implied team total on this slate, so they shouldn't be too threatening to Kähkönen's net in this game.


Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.