NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/31/19
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
Keith Kinkaid ($7,400): The New Jersey Devils have confirmed Kinkaid in net on Thursday night against the New York Rangers. New York piled up 38 shots on Anthony Stolarz Tuesday only to be blanked, 1-0. Normally, the Rangers average just 28.2 shots per game, but Kinkaid has seen 37.25 shots per game over his last four starts (1-3 record). Opting for Henrik Lundqvist ($7,800) may not be quite as contrarian as one would think. New York is a respectable +125 on the moneyline, and a lot of that is based on Lundqvist's reputation.
High-Priced Skaters
Mark Scheifele ($7,800): Scheifele enters into a solid matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. He had a handful of quality scoring chances against Boston and still managed a pair of assists. Columbus has yielded 17 goals in their last five games. Winnipeg represents the best chance for a win on the slate, at 67%, per implied odds. Furthermore, Scheifele has fired at least three shots on net in each of the last two contests. Patrice Bergeron ($8,600) against the Philadelphia Flyers' penalty kill is another high-priced skater to consider.
Cam Atkinson ($7,400): Atkinson seems to slip under the radar because he plays for Columbus. He has two games of more than 25 FanDuel points over his last four games. This is a player who has 28 goals in 48 games while averaging just about four shots a night. He generates a couple scoring chances per night and plays on one of the best lines in hockey. Stacking him with Pierre-Luc Dubois ($6,000) is not a bad idea. David Pastrnak ($8,200) will likely be popular, but you can also look at James van Riemsdyk ($6,200), who has seven goals in his last seven starts.
Value Skaters
Brian Boyle ($3,600): Lots of under-priced options exist for New Jersey, but a big one is Boyle against his former team, the Rangers. The New York penalty kill is just 76% on the road, and though New Jersey is only 1 for their last 35 with the man advantage, they are generating chances at a better clip of late. Boyle has six blocks in his last three games, which increases his floor a bit. Expect a physical game tonight where Boyle will be close to the net, getting opportunities and chances. Ryan Strome ($3,500) represents a high-risk, low-cost play on Thursday night as New Jersey often has trouble with bottom-six centers who have passing ability.
Oskar Lindblom ($3,900): Lindblom is heating up with solid fantasy performances in three of his last four outings, which includes two games of 20-plus FanDuel points. He has the ability to get shots on net and play quickly. Over the last four games, he's generated 9 shots and 10 scoring chances. If Lindblom can hold his spot on the second line, that should lead to some more second unit power-play time. The Philadelphia Flyers are likely to face Tuukka Rask, who is coming off a concussion. Peter Cehlarik ($3,400) is a nice value safety valve for Boston as he is skating on the second line again following the bye week.
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.
