NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 3/28/19

A good chunk of you played daily fantasy football this year, and I'd be willing to bet a significant portion have also tried out daily fantasy basketball and baseball. But hockey? Hockey?

It's time to give it a try over on FanDuel because it's a ton of fun. And our analysis and projections can help you win.

To help, let's take a look at some goalies, high-priced skaters, and lower-priced players to target for today's slate.

Goalie to Target

Jimmy Howard ($7,500): The Detroit Red Wings are projected to start Howard versus the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. The Detroit goalie should see an elevated number of shots as the Red Wings are among the bottom-five when it comes to shots allowed and scoring chances yielded per game on the road. Howard is cheap because of who he plays for. This has the feel of a high-event matchup but also with potential for less scoring. Howard's been hot, too, as he has stopped 69 of his last 73 shots (.943 save percentage). Connor Hellebuyck ($8,000) is fairly priced and up against a New York Islanders team that cannot score consistently (six goals in their last five games).

High-Priced Skaters

Tyler Seguin ($8,400): Seguin goes up against an Edmonton Oilers team that leaks like a sieve defensively but can be dangerous at times offensively. Over the last five games, the Oilers have given up a whopping 22 goals while scoring 20. The Dallas Stars' center has topped 20 FanDuel points in four consecutive games and is a slightly cheaper option than Connor McDavid. Dallas has had a ton of scoring chances lately and is just shooting around 6% over the past 15 games at even strength. Edmonton could be the team that helps breaks that dam. Dylan Larkin and Sebastian Aho are right around $7,000 and could be used to stack a bit cheaper on Thursday night.

Jonathan Huberdeau ($7,600): This is a game that expects to be entertaining and high-scoring. Neither the Florida Panthers or Ottawa Senators can defend at all, with Ottawa allowing 17 goals in their last five. Furthermore, Huberdeau has been kind of up and down of late and may be due for an upswing on Thursday night. And consider that Florida is rested unlike the game against Toronto; the last two rested contests have seen the left winger top 25 FanDuel points. Expectations are high for a similar performance against the Senators tonight. Leon Draisaitl ($8,700) will be played somewhere just because of the goal potential, but Dallas can be so tough defensively no matter the venue.

Value Skaters

Brian Gibbons ($3,300): Gibbons is an odd sort of play but has double-digit points in consecutive games on FanDuel. His price is again very low, which is good for a punt option on Thursday night. His low shot volume creates a higher-risk situation along with his ice time, which sits around 11 to 12 minutes a night. However, he finds himself at the right place at the right time at least two or three times a night. If he converts once or even twice, he has exceeded value. That is why players who are good at positioning themselves will always find a home somewhere. Max Veronneau is the same price for Ottawa and carries about the same risk and reward.

Taro Hirose ($3,000): Hirose might win the Hobey Baker Award for being the best college player, but right now he is on a four-game assist streak for the Wings. The only problem is he has averaged just a shot a game in the NHL. But his career is young and he draws a good matchup against one bad Buffalo team on Thursday night. This could be a decent chance for Hirose to net his first career goal. His punt-play price is still optimal for anyone who wants to stack some Detroit players or use him as a nice one-off to spend elsewhere. Some other options may include Alexander Nylander ($3,400) and Jayce Hawryluk ($3,600), as both have matchups against sub-par defenses.

Chris Wassel is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Chris Wassel also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username chriswassel. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel