Fantasy picks: Richard Panik on another dominant run
Blackhawks wing among March 9 DFS targets against Ducks at home
TOP CENTER: Sean Monahan, CGY ($5,500)
Monahan has excellent home splits with 27 points in 32 games and is affordable against the Montreal Canadiens given his recent success. He has been on fire during the Calgary Flames' seven-game winning streak, totaling eight points, three blocks and 15 SOG. He was held without a point against Montreal on Jan. 24 but had five shots on goal to return value. He has multipoint potential any given night alongside Johnny Gaudreau at even strength and on the power play. He has six points and 24 SOG in seven games on at least three days of rest.
VALUE CENTER: Anze Kopitar, LAK ($5,200)
Kopitar has underachieved this season by his high fantasy standards, but is rolling of late with points in four of his past five games and a three-game point streak. All three of his points in that span have come on the power play, where he's a fixture on the Los Angeles Kings alongside fantasy studs Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty. Kopitar has two points, one block and four SOG in two games against the Nashville Predators and 29 points in 36 career games against them.
TOP WING: Richard Panik, CHI ($5,400)
On this 10-game NHL slate, you can find plenty of viable wings priced below $6,000 in DraftKings. Panik has been dynamite lately alongside Jonathan Toews, totaling 14 points and 34 SOG in his past 11 games. Panik has at least a point in nine of those games. His scoring run is even better than his season-opening stretch of 10 points in 10 games from Oct. 12 to Nov. 1. He's seeing time on the Chicago Blackhawks' first power-play unit with Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Duncan Keith and has scored 11 of his 17 goals at home, where the Blackhawks host the Anaheim Ducks.
VALUE WING: Joshua Ho-Sang, NYI ($2,800)
Ho-Sang, 21, scored his first NHL goal at the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, and has a chance to return value again at the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The Canucks are allowing the eighth-most DraftKings points to opposing right wings, and Ho-Sang should have plenty of scoring chances on the second line with Brock Nelson. In addition to a goal, he has two blocks and four SOG in his first four NHL games and is priced $300 above the DraftKings minimum. Ho-Sang has fit in nicely despite joining the New York Islanders late in the regular season and in the midst of a nine-game road trip.
TOP DEFENSEMAN: Brent Burns, SJS ($8,200)
Spending up for Burns is almost always worth the expensive cost. His DraftKings points per game average is 5.6 in his past 10 games and 5.3 for the season, most among NHL skaters. He held his own against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 8, scoring one goal with three blocks and two SOG for 5.5 DraftKings points. After a rare disappointment (1.0 in DraftKings) at the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, expect Burns to produce at least one point and five SOG on home ice, where he has 28 points in 31 games. He leads the League in SOG (257) and is tied for fifth in scoring (forwards included) with 67 points in 65 games.
VALUE DEFENSEMAN: Ryan Ellis, NSH ($4,500)
Ellis is averaging 4.0 DraftKings points per game in his past 10 games, totaling seven points, 22 blocks and 21 SOG. On the season, he's averaging 3.1, so the recent sample size shows he has benefited from having fellow defensemen P.K. Subban and Roman Josi healthy. Ellis has scored eight of his 12 goals on the road, and has goals in three of his past four games. He has no points in two games against Los Angeles, but has salvaged his daily fantasy value with six blocks and four SOG.
GOALIE SPOTLIGHT: Calvin Pickard, COL ($7,200)
Pickard is tied for the second-cheapest goalie on this 10-game slate, and is coming off a road win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7.0 DraftKings points). He hasn't gotten much goal support at home this season, but is still averaging nearly 4.0 DraftKings points per game in such games (3.9) thanks to a .909 save percentage and two shutouts. He will likely have low ownership and has high upside against the New Jersey Devils, who have lost eight straight and have been shut out in three of their past four games.
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