Getty Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus Blue Jackets
The New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers – five teams separated by four points in the Eastern Conference playoff race – are each in action during a 10-game NHL slate Thursday. It will be all hands on deck for these teams, and they will be demanding the most out of their players throughout the lineup.
Meanwhile, other teams – the New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres, among others – will be playing with nothing to lose. In these cases, expect some less familiar faces to show out as they get more minutes and bigger roles in their respective lineups.
Our dfsPro projections have uncovered some key under-the-radar value picks playing in Thursday’s games to help daily fantasy managers to fill out their rosters and remain under the salary cap. Let’s look at some of our model’s top AI-powered value picks for today’s games!
Top Value Picks: Forwards
Shane Bowers (LW – New Jersey Devils, $3,000 on DraftKings)
dfsPro Forecast: S: 0.68, BLK: 0.63
With star winger Jack Hughes having season-ending shoulder surgery, expect Shane Bowers to get some more opportunities on the Devils’ top forward line tonight alongside Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. Bowers has more than 12 minutes of ice time in each of his two games since being recalled from the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets on April 7; prior to that, he had never logged more than eight minutes in a single game at the NHL level.
Johnny Gaudreau (LW – Columbus Blue Jackets, $4,100 on DraftKings)
dfsPro Forecast: G: 0.43, A: 0.48, S: 1.92, BLK: 0.54
Our AI-powered model projects Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau‘s potential to score a goal, block shots and create turnovers to be more than double his average tonight against the Florida Panthers. While he doesn’t have a point against the Panthers yet this season, Gaudreau has been held off the scoresheet just once in his past five games.
Sean Couturier (C – Philadelphia Flyers, $4,000 on DraftKings)
dfsPro Forecast: G: 0.32, A: 0.18, S: 2.16, BLK: 0.29
The Flyers will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak tonight when they face the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. Despite being held off the scoresheet during the entirety of that streak, Flyers captain Sean Couturier is expected to outperform his goalscoring average by a whopping 159% tonight against the Rangers. His total point potential, blocked shots and takeaways are all expected to increase as well.
Top Value Picks: Defensemen
Ben Chiarot (LD – Detroit Red Wings, $3,500 on DraftKings)
dfsPro Forecast: G: 0.11, A: 0.25, S: 1.23, BLK: 1.34
Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot has found the scoresheet in each of his past two meetings with the Penguins, and our model likes him to do the same tonight. He is projected to outperform his averages in nearly every offensive category against the Penguins, including a 110% increase in goal probability.
Owen Power (LD – Buffalo Sabres, $3,700 on DraftKings)
dfsPro Forecast: G: 0.28, A: 0.39, S: 1.35, BLK: 1.64
Sabres defenseman Owen Power has three points (all assists) in his past five games, including one in the Sabres’ most recent meeting with the Capitals on April 2. According to our model, Power also has a 22% chance of scoring a goal tonight against the Capitals, more than doubling his average goal potential.
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