Daily Faceoff NHL DFS Value Plays — December 12th
Welcome to Daily Faceoff’s NHL DFS Value Plays, where five days a week from Monday to Friday, I break down hockey’s main slate, looking for the top value plays.
This value sheet includes salaries, projections for DraftKings and FanDuel for the top forward and defensemen values, as well as honourable mention forwards and three punt options for blue liners. While the main value plays look at spots to get different and their upside, the others revolve around their ability to produce peripheral points by taking shots and blocking them. These players are always live for the bonus on DraftKings, where all the value plays are directed for.
These projections don’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. One game samples have too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Instead, the projections represent a player’s average performance if that matchup was played repeatedly. There is a wide range of possible outcomes, and the projections represent each player’s average of those possibilities.
Pavel Buchnevich (W, STL1, PP1) – (DK-$4,100 / FD $5,500)
Projected points: DK – 10.5 / FD – 13.2
This should be an interesting game tonight for the St. Louis Blues, who have roared to a 5-1-1 record under Jim Montgomery. It also marks the third of three meetings between the Blues and San Jose Sharks this season, with Buchnevich having one goal and five shots in them. He and his linemates, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, all project to be in a great spot tonight.
Joel Farabee (W, PHI1, PP2) — ($3,300 / $4,300)
Projected points: 8.6 / 10.8
Joel Farabee returns to the value plays article again in another solid spot. While the Red Wings are playing a tight defensive game right now, this Flyers top line has been pushing the pace of play well offensively, and Farabee’s been a big reason why, providing a strong floor with his shot volume.
Matt Roy (D, WSH-2) — ($3,200 / $4,700)
Projected points: 6.3 / 8.9
Matt Roy has started to find his rhythm this season and he’s been paying off his salary well, averaging 7.2 DraftKings points per game this season. He talked 4.6 shots on goal per hour while blocking 5.0, and is contributing offensively with 1.3 points per hour, too. He’s projecting to continue to do so tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jared Spurgeon (D, MIN-2, PP1) — ($4,100 / $5,500)
Projected points: 9.8 / 11.2
Jared Spurgeon’s another player finding his way back to the value plays article, continuing to see time on the top power play unit and big minutes each night. He’s averaging 9.2 DKFPPG this season and 9.7 over his last 10 games, and always seems to be at his best going up against the Oilers.
Honourable mention forwards
- Philip Tomasino (W, PIT2, PP2) — ($2,600/$3,600) — Projected points: DK – 7.9 / FD – 9.2
- Max Pacioretty (W, TOR2, PP2) — ($3,100/$4,600) — 7.2 / 9.3
- Tommy Novak (C, NSH3, PP1) — ($2,600/$4,000) — 6.5 / 8.4
Top Punt Defensemen
- David Savard (MTL-3) — ($3,000/$3,900) — Projected points: DK – 6.8 / FD – 7.0
- Marc Del Gaizo (NSH-2) — ($2,500/$3,700) — 5.8 / 5.5
- Philip Broberg (STL-1, PP2) — ($3,600/$4,800) — 7.7 / 8.5
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist and makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.