NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/22/17
A good chunk of you probably already play daily fantasy football, 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
Philipp Grubauer ($7,500): Most lineups tonight will start off with a little cost savings at the goalie position, as only one projected starter is priced over $8,000. The best value play among the many low-priced options is Grubauer, who is priced at just $500 more than the minimum and will likely be in net against the last-place Arizona Coyotes. At the time of writing, he has not yet been confirmed as the starter, but with Braden Holtby starting each of the last seven games and the Washington Capitals set for a back-to-back, all signs point to Grubauer getting the nod tonight. Our models currently give him the best chance to win and have him tied for the best chance at a shootout among all projected starters tonight, which makes him an excellent play at his low cost.
HIgh-Priced Skaters
Alex Ovechkin ($8,800): As mentioned above, the Capitals will be in action against the last-place team in the NHL. Clearly that presents a great opportunity for Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with an average of 4.6 shots per game and is averaging 1.06 points per game this season. The Capitals are playing in their second-straight road game, but they have had three days rest to prepare for this game and the Coyotes are allowing the second-most (3.44) goals per game of any team. Ovechkin has clear multi-point upside tonight and the cheap goalie options provide plenty of salary room to pay up for him.
Eric Staal ($6,500): Guess who ranks just one spot better than the Coyotes in terms of goals allowed per game? That would be the Florida Panthers, whose 3.38 goals allowed per game this season is the third-most in the NHL. They are also giving up more shots per game (35.44) than any other team. And attacking them from the second line at both even strength and on the power play tonight will be Staal, who leads the Minnesota Wild with an average of 3.1 shots per game.
Value Skaters
Dougie Hamilton ($4,800): Since the end of October, Hamilton's price has dropped by $1,000. Even after registering four shots in two of his past three games, tallying three points over his past two games and skating over 4 minutes in his most recent game, he remains priced at his lowest point of the season. Surely that will not last if he keeps up this pace, so roll him out in this plus-matchup tonight.
Charlie Coyle ($4,600): Lining up to the right of the aforementioned Staal at both even strength and on the power play is Coyle, who has recorded three points over his past two games and spent 18.4 minutes on the ice in his most recent game. His price has risen by $100 since that game, but that marks the first price increase he has seen over the past two weeks and he remains very affordable against the struggling Panthers.
Barry Cohen is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Barry Cohen also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username barryc4. 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 articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
