NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 3/29/19

With a six-pack of games on a Friday night, who can you trust in NHL DFS?

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 winTo 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

Jonathan Bernier ($7,300): The Detroit Red Wings are projected to start Bernier versus the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. The Detroit goalie should see an elevated number of shots as the Red Wings are not rested and are among the worst penalty kills in the NHL. Bernier is again cheap because of who he plays for. This has the feel of a high-event matchup. Bernier has been better of late as well, and that includes a 39-save gem against the San Jose Sharks. Matt Murray ($9,100) is fairly priced and up against a Nashville Predators team that generates 30-plus shots a game on the road but has some trouble scoring too often. Also, watch to see if St. Louis starts Jordan Binnington against the New York Rangers.

High-Priced Skaters

Nathan MacKinnon ($8,400): MacKinnon goes up against an Arizona Coyotes team that will give up shots on the road on occasion -- the center has averaged nearly six shots a game over his last eight contests. MacKinnon also has a chance of breaking the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career. MacKinnon gets the return of Gabriel Landeskog as well, which should create even more space for the pivot. The center's floor alone is enough to roster him, but with a high probability of points expected, MacKinnon becomes a relatively safe choice. Sidney Crosby ($9,100) is a viable option along with Mika Zibanejad ($6,900) on Friday, too.

Vladimir Tarasenko ($8,100): This is a game that might be a bit off the rails as far as high-event hockey. New York will do its part as the team plays out the string. St. Louis is a wild card here, but Tarasenko had to smile seeing how the Boston Bruins easily potted three third-period power play goals on Wednesday. The expectation is that Tarasenko will have three-plus shots on net and at least three or four scoring chances. The Rangers have given up 20 goals in their last five games played, and their penalty kill has dropped to 75% since February 1st. Jake Guentzel ($7,900) and John Gaudreau ($8,300) are moderately high-risk choices for this slate as well.

Value Skaters

Teddy Blueger ($3,800): Blueger is a dicey play but has double-digit points in consecutive games on FanDuel. His price is again very low, which is good for value on Friday night. His increased ice time (14-15 minutes a night) is good news for owners. As long as Evgeni Malkin is still out, Blueger simply must be considered for better or for worse here. If he gets several chances andconverts once, or even twice, he's exceeded value. The center finds himself in good position and battles near the net often. Those are players who will always present chances to perform well. Oskar Sundqvist ($4,000) is receiving second-line ice time and plays the Rangers on Friday night, and Sam Steel at the same price is one to watch (monitor Ryan Getzlaf's injury status).

Taro Hirose ($3,000): Hirose might be Houdini at this point as he sneaked an overtime assist into exceeding value yet again. That gives him five assists in five games with Detroit. Furthermore, he played 16 minutes on the night and appeared to not have any fatigue whatsoever. A home matchup against one of the worst road teams in the league awaits. New Jersey allows 3.92 goals per game away from home and is vulnerable to speed from the wings. Hirose has plenty of breakaway speed and could use that to his advantage tonight. He also blocks a few shots here and there which increases his floor. Tyler Bertuzzi ($3,900) and Ryan Donato ($3,700) carry value as well on this Friday full of hockey action.



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