NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 2/18/19
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
Craig Anderson ($7,400): The Ottawa Senators will start Anderson against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night. The risk here is the potential for allowing a lot of goals. Ottawa yields 4.25 goals per game on the road (worst in the NHL). Ottawa has allowed a touch more than 36 shots a game on the road this season, as well. The low cost of Anderson makes this play less of a risk, however. Also, Semyon Varlamov ($7,400) could be a good high-risk GPP start against a Vegas Golden Knights team which could put 30 to 35 shots on net. Monitor the status of Jonathan Quick ($7,800 -- flu) to see if he starts Monday night against Washington.
High-Priced Skaters
Matt Duchene ($7,200): Duchene faces the worst penalty kill on the slate in the Chicago Blackhawks (73.4%). The Blackhawks yield 3.4 goals per game at home and just took a relentless pounding from the Columbus top line over the weekend. Artemi Panarin scored twice and added an assist in Chicago. This game can easily be game stacked in several different ways. Duchene comes in cheaper than the Tampa Bay centers on Monday night. Also, Nathan MacKinnon ($8,000) appears to be in a good spot against a cold Vegas team.
Patrick Kane ($9,300): Kane enjoys one of the prime matchups of the night against an Ottawa team that allows 4.25 goals per game on the road. Kane has fired in eight goals and 14 assists over his last 10 games. Chicago could come close to 40 shots against the Senators. Kane is a high-volume shooter who can fire five-plus shots on net and is a power-play threat against a penalty kill that hovers around 76% away from home. Elsewhere, Nikita Kucherov ($9,100) is on a tear right now for Tampa Bay, and Cam Atkinson ($7,300) is in a solid spot versus a Columbus defense which yields 3.07 goals per contest. .
Value Skaters
Anthony Cirelli ($3,800): This features a bit of risk, but Cirelli's speed can cause fits for opposing teams. Cirelli garners top-six minutes while playing mostly on the third line. Tampa is the best team in the league because of depth centers like Cirelli. Despite the defensive posture of both teams lately, these two are top-10 in the league in scoring for a reason. You can also look to Artem Anisimov ($3,900), who could be a viable play from Chicago and may fly under the radar.
Brandon Pirri ($3,600): Pirri's offensive role has scaled back to being sheltered. Do not expect to see him play 15-plus minutes per night but more like 11 to 13 minutes. However, his effectiveness has gone up in the last three games, a span in which he has fired in two goals. Colorado has lost eight of their last nine games and has yielded 3.4 goals per game at home over the past 10 home contests. Also, Drake Caggiula ($3,700) is on the top-line in Chicago and is in play in all formats.
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.
