The Saturday slate of NHL games isn’t as busy as it could be due to COVID cancellations. However, there are still quite a few games worth looking at. In fact, four of the six games are featured in a DraftKings NHL Showdown.
I won’t dig too deep into each Showdown, but I’ll touch on a few players to target depending on the game. Some games have must-take players, some games have a variety of players to choose from, and everything in between.
There is a Showdown Slate at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m., and 10 p.m. EST, so there are plenty of opportunities to make some money.
If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk some hockey, hit me up on Twitter @RGilbertSOP.
Let’s get right into it.
Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators
High Ceiling:
Tyler Toffoli ($10,200, $15,300 CPT)
Toffoli is the most expensive skater on this slate. He has nine goals in 11 games this season, including five games with at least 15 fantasy points. Of those five games, Toffoli has 41 or more points in two of them.
Toffoli is coming off of just three fantasy points last game and hasn’t had single-digit fantasy points in back-to-back games since the second and third games of the season. Toffoli is worth paying up for if you’re trying to take down a contest.
High Floor:
Brendan Gallagher ($9,000, $13,500 CPT)
Gallagher is the fourth-most expensive skater on the slate, but he has a decently high floor. He has 10.5 or more points in eight of 11 games this season, with a 6.0 fantasy point game in there as well. He has at least 11.8 points in three straight games and five of his last six games.
Gallagher’s ceiling may not be that high, however, as he has topped out at 24.8 fantasy points in a single game this season. And that came in the Canadiens’ fourth contest.
Contrarian Options:
With most people looking to the Canadiens for their lineups, you could go against the grain and take one of these Senators.
Brady Tkachuk ($9,400, $14,100 CPT)
Tkachuk will have his owners, but he shouldn’t get as much love as Toffoli, Gallagher, or possibly a few other Canadiens. Tkachuk is coming off of two bad games where he combined for just five shots on goal and zero points. He totaled 4.5 and 3.0 fantasy points in those games. However, Tkachuk has 10.5 or more fantasy points in seven of 11 games this season, with 28.5 fantasy points three games ago against the Oilers.
Tkachuk has reached the five-shot bonus in six of 11 games this season and has a point in four of 11 games this season. If he does both, which he has three times already this season, he’ll put you ahead of the field.
Thomas Chabot ($8,000, $12,000 CPT)
Chabot is down the card a bit in terms of salary, but he’s been up in terms of fantasy points recently. He has 9.3 or more fantasy points in five straight games and seven of 10 games this season. He doesn’t have a high ceiling as he topped out at 19.3 points last game, but he’ll give you some salary relief as a good contrarian option.
Arizona Coyotes at St. Louis Blues
High Ceiling:
Connor Garland ($9,400, $14,100 CPT)
Garland is on a three-game point streak with 17 or more fantasy points in each of those three games. In fact, he has 13.3 or more fantasy points in four straight games and five of his last six games. This season, Garland has hit 32, 27, and 20.8 fantasy points with points in six of 10 games and the five-shot bonus in five games as well.
David Perron ($9,000, $13,500 CPT)
Perron has been completely hit or miss this season, so take at your own risk. He’s probably not great in a cash game, but get him in those GPP lineups.
Perron has put up 22 or more fantasy points in four of 11 games this season, all of which have come in his last seven games. He scored 22 last game, 24 and 30.3 a few games before that, and 25.3 two games before that. He could end up burning you, however, with five or fewer fantasy points in five games this season.
High Floor:
Jordan Binnington ($11,400, $17,100)
Binnington is the highest-priced player on this slate. He is 6-2-1 on the season with 13.7 or more fantasy points in his six wins, and 7.7, 7.4, and 0 fantasy points in his three losses. Luckily, the Blues are favored (-155) so he should pick up the win, which will likely give him around 15-20 fantasy points.
Ryan O’Reilly ($8,600, $12,900 CPT)
O’Reilly is on a seven-game point streak and has points in eight of his last nine games. That has turned into fantasy points as well with at least 7.8 points in seven straight games, including 10.8 or more in five of them and 14.3 or more in two straight and three of six. He won’t light up the scoreboard, but he should give you a solid base to build around.
Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs
We’re going to change it up here from the high ceiling and floor format. There are two players that you simply must have in your lineup.
Must Haves:
Auston Matthews ($11,000, $16,500 CPT)
Matthews is on an absolute tear. He has 15.8 or more fantasy points in eight straight games and nine of 10 games this season. In fact, Matthews has 18.4 or more fantasy points in five of 10 games this season.
Unless you’re completely fading the Maple Leafs, Matthews has to be in your lineup.
And so does his linemate:
Mitch Marner ($10,000, $15,000 CPT)
Marner is on a six-game point streak and has points in eight of his last nine games (and nine of 11 games this season). In fact, he has at least two points in four of his last six games and six of 11 games this season.
These are the two highest-priced skaters on this slate, but they’re worth it.
With the two top players, you’re going to need some value.
Value Pick:
Wayne Simmonds ($2,800)
Simmonds was on a three-game goal streak before his last two games. He will give you a few shots on goal and has a chance of finding the back of the net on Toronto’s second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, who aren’t bad picks in their own right if you want to correlate them with Simmonds. He’s also on the top power-play unit.
Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames
Like the Maple Leafs, the Oilers have two players that you have to have in your lineups. I think you know who I’m talking about. Connor McDavid and Leon Drasiaitl are machines. Take them. I’m not going to waste time writing about them. Let’s just get to some contrarian picks and value.
Value Pick:
Dominik Simon ($2,800)
Simon hasn’t done anything this season, so this is purely an opportunity play. He is slated to play on the Flames’ second line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Maybe he’ll crash the net and pick up a goal or assist. For $2,800, it’s worth the chance, especially to get the Oilers’ big guns in your lineup.
If you are one of those people that doubt McDavid and Draisaitl, you could take this guy.
Contrarian Captain:
Jacob Markstrom ($10,000; $15,000 CPT)
Markstrom has the ability to stand on his head and frustrate opponents. If McDavid and Draisaitl aren’t scoring, the Oilers aren’t scoring. Markstrom already has two shutouts this season against the Canucks and Canadiens.
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