NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 3/7/19

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Mar 7th, 2019
Sidney Crosby has a history of success against Columbus, and he comes into tonight's matchup on red-hot run. Who else 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

Darcy Kuemper ($8,500): The Arizona Coyotes will start Kuemper against the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. Kuemper has won seven of his last eight starts. He could see more shots than usual as Calgary attempts to end a three-game losing streak. Furthermore, Arizona is starting to get closer to full health. He's probably more of a tournament play than a cash option, even with Arizona's elevated chances of winning. Jonathan Quick and Craig Anderson ($7,300) come across as high-risk value options for tournaments.

High-Priced Skaters

Sidney Crosby ($9,500): Crosby playing against the Columbus Blue Jackets has been a great matchup for several seasons, and Sid is red-hot right now. He has at least 28 FanDuel points in each his last four contests, and Columbus has allowed 18 goals over their last five games. Also, the Blue Jackets have ceded at least three goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two squads. Both teams should expect to score goals in this one, but Crosby has a matchup that yields more opportunities. Mitchell Marner looks like a nice companion piece for mini-stacking. As for other centers, Jack Eichel ($8,400) is in a great spot against Chicago on Thursday night, and Nathan MacKinnon ($8,200) has some potential despite a matchup with the Dallas Stars.

Patrick Kane ($9,100): Kane has cooled off lately by his standards but faces a Buffalo Sabres team in ruins. Buffalo has allowed 22 goals across their last five contests, and the over has hit in six straight Sabres games. We should see high-event hockey as both defenses have difficult matchups in this tilt. Kane going pointless in three of four contests in the last week seemed unheard of. Do not expect that to continue much longer. Kane averages over a real-world point per game against Buffalo in his career. Several other choices can also be used tonight, including Nikita Kucherov ($9,100), Jake Guentzel ($7,800), and Leon Draisaitl ($8,500).

Value Skaters

Oskar Sundqvist ($3,600): Sundqvist plays 14 to 15 minutes a night and enjoys a nice matchup today against the Los Angeles Kings' depth lines. LA is simply a mess and has lost 10 of their last 11 games. The Kings are giving up nearly four goals per game in this span. Even a St. Louis Blues team that is not well-rested carries some value against an older, slower Los Angeles lineup. Sundqvist looks like a safe value option. Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($3,400) of the Ottawa Senators represents another punt play who has been producing three-plus shots in each of his last two games along with a real-world point a game.

Josh Leivo ($3,900): Leivo's is playing on the wing along with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, and his price is awfully nice. He has exceeded value in four of his last six starts, and this may be the last time he is under $4,000 for a while. As the Vancouver Canucks play out the rest of the season, players will have opportunities for elevated roles. So far, Leivo has taken advantage of his chance. Marcus Sorensen ($3,700) and Joel Armia ($4,000) are sneaky middle-six options who could pay off.

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.