Daily Faceoff NHL DFS Value Plays — October 15th

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 sample has too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Instead, the projections represent a player’s average performance on average 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.

Jamie Benn (W, DAL2, PP1) – vs. SJS – (DK-$4,600 / FD $6,000)
DFO Projection: DK – 14.0 / FD – 18.9

The Dallas Stars are in a smash spot against the San Jose Sharks tonight, and Jamie Benn appears set to be a beneficiary. He, along with linemate Wyatt Johnston, are some of the top value plays on the slate, but Benn appears to be coming in at less ownership, making him a slightly more attractive play.

Anthony Mantha (W, CGY3, PP2) – vs. CHI – ($2,800 / $4,800)
DFO Projection: DK – 7.8/ FD – 10.5

Mantha may not see the most ice-time on Calgary’s third line, but he’s made the most of it this year with two goals and four points in three games. He’s been exactly what the Flames had hoped, and he has a great matchup to continue producing with the Chicago Blackhawks hitting Alberta’s prairies.

Mattias Ekholm (D, EDM-1, PP2) – vs. PHI – ($4,300 / $5,700)
DFO Projection: DK – 9.4 / FD – 12.3

Ekholm often finds himself overlooked on slates and that’s happening here tonight. Despite having a strong matchup score, he’s seeing next to no ownership while getting the overwhelming majority of his time with EDM1, who has loaded the wagon with Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman tonight. He’s in a prime spot to produce tonight.

Honourable mention forwards

1. Eetu Loustarinen (W, FLA2, PP2) ($3,100/$4,000): DK – 9.4 / FD – 12.5
2. Sean Monahan (C, CBJ1, PP1) ($3,300/$5,800): DK – 9.3 / FD – 12.5
3. Maverik Bourque (C, DAL3, PP2) ($2,500/ N/A): DK – 5.5 / FD – N/A

Top Punt Defensemen

1. Shayne Gostisbehere (CAR-3, PP1) ($3,200/$5,400): DK – 8.1 / FD – 11.1
2. Wyatt Kaiser (CHI-3) ($2,600/$4,000): DK – 5.8 / FD – 7.5
3. Jordan Harris (CBJ-3) ($2,500/$3,500): DK – 5.2 / FD – 6.8

Tune into the DFO DFS REPORT Live at 4:00 PM EST!

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.