NHL DraftKings Picks: Saturday Main Slate (October 24)

Maple Leafs–Oilers carries the slate's highest total at 7.0, and the Oilers' 3.8 implied goals are the most of any team. The Bruins sit second at 3.7 implied goals against the Sharks, and the Mammoth's 3.5 against the Lightning ranks third. Ten games lock at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday. Lightning–Mammoth starts at 9:00 PM, and Red Wings–Flames and Wild–Kraken start at 10:00 PM ET.

Every goalie is a projected starter. Joel Hofer (DK $7,100) is the Blues' projected goalie against Pyotr Kochetkov (DK $8,300) and the Hurricanes, and his 13.2 Hero Projection is the top mark in net. Devin Cooley (DK $7,500) projects 11.9 for the Flames against John Gibson (DK $7,900) and the Red Wings, tied for second in goal. Juuse Saros (DK $7,300) draws Arturs Silovs (DK $8,100) and the Penguins. In the top game, Tristan Jarry (DK $8,400) is projected for the Oilers and Anthony Stolarz (DK $7,000) for the Maple Leafs.

Injury Watch

• Mitch Marner (Golden Knights, out)
• John Tavares (Maple Leafs, out)
• Bryan Rust (Penguins, out)
• Evgeni Malkin (Penguins, out)
• Brock Faber (Wild, out)
• Mattias Ekholm (Oilers, out)
• Max Shabanov (DK $3,100) (Wild, day-to-day)
• Victor Hedman (DK $3,000) (Lightning, day-to-day)

Top Stacks

EDM PP1 vs TOR (DK $37,300)

Players: Connor McDavid (DK $9,500); Leon Draisaitl (DK $8,900); Evan Bouchard (DK $8,000); Zach Hyman (DK $6,500); Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (DK $4,400)

The Oilers PP1 stack projects 66.2 points with 18.1% average ownership, a 24.9% optimal rate and 1.80 value. It is Stack IQ's top stack, and it carries a leverage of 6.8 with a 142.7 ceiling. The Oilers carry 3.8 implied goals, the most on the slate, in a 7.0-total game. McDavid holds the top projection at center, and Draisaitl and Bouchard hold the second projections at wing and defense.

BOS PP2 vs SJS (DK $25,200)

Players: David Pastrnak (DK $7,800); Charlie McAvoy (DK $5,500); Morgan Geekie (DK $4,700); Pavel Zacha (DK $4,000); Elias Lindholm (DK $3,200)

The Bruins PP2 stack projects 52.5 points with 12.7% average ownership, a 6.0% optimal rate and 2.13 value. The Bruins carry 3.7 implied goals, second on the slate, with a 63% win chance. Lindholm scored for 13.0 against the Predators on October 22, and Zacha posted 11.5 on two assists in that game. The unit's 123.1 ceiling comes at the lowest price of the three stacks.

MIN PP1 vs SEA (DK $32,500)

Players: Kirill Kaprizov (DK $8,700); Matt Boldy (DK $8,400); Quinn Hughes (DK $6,800); Joel Eriksson Ek (DK $5,900); Danila Yurov (DK $2,700)

The Wild PP1 stack projects 58.3 points with 13.4% average ownership, an 11.4% optimal rate and 1.85 value. The Wild carry 3.3 implied goals and a 61% win chance, while the Kraken's 2.7 implied goals are tied for the lowest on the slate. Kaprizov brings a 14.8 DK average over his last three and an 18.1 season average. Hughes's 12.3 projection is tied for third among defensemen, and the unit's ceiling reaches 129.9.

Center

Connor McDavid (DK $9,500)

McDavid centers line 1 and PP1 for the Oilers, whose 3.8 implied goals against the Maple Leafs are the slate's highest. He projects 17.1 with a 34.1 ceiling, and his 20.3% optimal rate is the top mark at the position. He is the field's most popular center.

McDavid's form is as hot as anyone's on the slate: 25.3 against the Wild on October 20, then 39.5 against the Hurricanes on October 22 with two goals and three power-play assists. His DK average over his last three is 34.7.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (DK $4,400)

Nugent-Hopkins came back from a lower-body issue to post 22.3 against the Hurricanes in his October 22 season debut. He plays line 2 and PP1 for the Oilers against the Maple Leafs, and he is 15.3% owned with a 16.3% optimal rate, third-best at center.

Joel Eriksson Ek (DK $5,900)

Facing the Kraken's 2.7 implied goals, Eriksson Ek centers the Wild's line 1 and PP1. He carries a 12.0 DK average over his last three and a 15.6% optimal rate, and the field likes him too.

Wing

David Pastrnak (DK $7,800)

Pastrnak had 14 points over his last seven games after a 34.5-point night against the Predators on October 22. His DK average over his last three sits at 17.5.

The Bruins carry 3.7 implied goals against the Sharks, and Pastrnak plays line 1 and PP2 with a 15.6 Hero Projection that tops the wings. He is 17.5% owned with a 21.6% optimal rate, the best at wing. His leverage of 4.1 is one for Build & Sim to size against the contest's payouts.

Leon Draisaitl (DK $8,900)

Maple Leafs–Oilers carries the slate's 7.0 total, and Draisaitl plays line 1 and PP1 for the Oilers with a 15.3 projection, second at wing, and a 15.7% optimal rate. He scored 23.0 against the Wild on October 20 and 41.0 against the Hurricanes on October 22, for a 26.3 DK average over his last three. The crowd is heavy on him.

Matt Boldy (DK $8,400)

Seven shots on goal drove Boldy's 14.8 against the Flames on October 22, and the Wild carry 3.3 implied goals against the Kraken. He sits on line 1 and PP1 with a 12.6% optimal rate, and he is a popular wing.

Defense

Evan Bouchard (DK $8,000)

Bouchard scored a power-play overtime winner for 18.0 against the Wild on October 20, then posted 7.6 against the Hurricanes on October 22. He faces the Maple Leafs with an 11.7 DK average over his last three and a 19.5 season average.

Line 1 and PP1 duty puts Bouchard on the slate's top implied total of 3.8. His 13.1% optimal rate leads all defensemen, with a 14.1 projection and a 29.9 ceiling. The field backs him in big numbers.

Charlie McAvoy (DK $5,500)

Four assists against the Predators on October 22 gave McAvoy 24.5, part of a 16.3 DK average over his last three. He plays line 1 and PP2 for the Bruins against the Sharks, and his 12.3% optimal rate is tied for second on the blue line. He is a popular play at defense.

Shea Theodore (DK $4,200)

The Golden Knights hold a 55% win chance against the Blue Jackets, and Theodore plays their line 1 and PP2. He is 8.8% owned with an 11.1% optimal rate, and his leverage of 2.3 ranks second among defensemen.

Goalie

Joel Hofer (DK $7,100)

Hofer posted 24.9 against the Jets on October 20, then 17.9 against the Golden Knights on October 22, for a 16.1 DK average over his last three. He is the Blues' projected goalie against the Hurricanes.

The field's top goalie choice lines up with the numbers. Hofer carries a 13.2 Hero Projection, 1.86 value and a 30.1 ceiling, and his 20.2% optimal rate is the top mark in net.

Devin Cooley (DK $7,500)

Cooley is the Flames' projected goalie against the Red Wings, and his two newest starts produced 22.8 against the Hurricanes on October 18 and 30.7 against the Wild on October 22. He carries a 15.0 DK average over his last three and an 11.6% optimal rate, second in net.

Juuse Saros (DK $7,300)

Saros posted 15.8 against the Blues on October 17, and he is the Predators' projected goalie against the Penguins. He is 7.3% owned with a 7.7% optimal rate, a leverage of 0.4.

What The Market Is Saying

The market builds around Maple Leafs–Oilers. It treats Connor McDavid (DK $9,500) as its default spend-up skater in cash games and the McDavid line with Evan Bouchard (DK $8,000) as its top stack, and it also backs the Bruins against the Sharks. It splits on Maple Leafs–Oilers, where some take the Oilers' team total over 3.5 and others the Maple Leafs and the over, and it splits on Sabres–Capitals and Wild–Kraken. A minority of the market pitches the cheap linemates of Tage Thompson (DK $8,100) and a Mammoth stack against the Lightning. The market also reports Dennis Hildeby (DK $7,400) as the Lightning's likely starter and watches Max Shabanov (DK $3,100) as day-to-day. DFS Hero agrees on the core: the Oilers PP1 is Stack IQ's top stack, McDavid sits at a 20.3% optimal rate, and Matt Boldy (DK $8,400) sits at a 12.6% optimal rate.

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