NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 4/18/19

Three games are on the slate for Thursday night, including an elimination game between Vegas and San Jose. 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 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

Petr Mrazek ($7,600): Mrazek expects to start Thursday night against the Washington Capitals, while the Carolina Hurricanes look to even the series at two games apiece. The Hurricanes' goalie enjoyed a rare playoff rout as the Hurricanes easily won 5-0 behind his 16-save shutout. Fortunately or unfortunately, Mrazek projects to see more shots than that on Thursday night. Given his low price, more shots would not be a bad thing. Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck ($7,900) slots in nicely by price and is at home versus the St. Louis Blues. He turned away 31 of 32 shots during Game 4's overtime win.

High-Priced Skaters

Mark Scheifele ($8,000): Scheifele delivered a clutch overtime assist in Game 4 on Tuesday night. The Jets' top-line center has real-world points in three straight games and four out of the last five overall. Winnipeg needs Scheifele to perform well game in and game out if they're going to advance; he is their leader in more ways than one. The center has five real-world points in four games against St. Louis. He is also averaging nearly three shots a game so far in the series and generating over three scoring chances per contest. Sebastian Aho ($6,500) is one choice, and Nicklas Backstrom looks to be another viable alternative on Thursday.

Mark Stone ($8,000): The highest-scoring line of the Stanley Cup Playoffs comes courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights. Stone leads the line with 10 real-world points in just 4 games. His price is steep, but the winger has 6 goals on 11 shots and 14 scoring chances. San Jose has shown zero ability to stop his line, which also includes Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny. Without Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose almost looks like they have statues out there for defensemen. Until the Sharks slow this line down, they are a plug-and-play until further notice. Patrik Laine ($7,200) has goals in three of his last four contests for Winnipeg.

Value Skaters

Lucas Wallmark ($3,700): The center options are few and far between on Thursday, but Wallmark could again provide some third-line scoring muscle. He has points in three of his previous four contests and has topped double-digit FanDuel points at the same rate. His shot volume over that span is as follows: 0, 2, 0, and 2. That is not good, but he does get a few blocks here and there which creates a decent floor. If you are in need of more cost-cutting help, there is always Oskar Sundqvist ($4,200), who has three points over the past four contests for St. Louis.

Brandon Tanev ($3,500): Whether it's with his six shots or five blocks, Tanev keeps finding ways to gather points. That has been able to sustain him even during some of his drafts. While the winger will never be mistaken for a goal scorer, he has the ability to help a roster in need of a money-saving play, as he chips in the occasional goal or assist. Patrick Maroon ($3,800) has proven to be a viable option in the playoffs, with eight or more FanDuel points in three of the Blues' four games.



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