NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 4/17/19

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

Ben Bishop ($8,300): Bishop draws the start on Wednesday night against the Nashville Predators, a series the Dallas Stars trail 2-1. Bishop was the victim of two bad bounces on Monday night, which sank his chance of gaining the win. The goalie's regular season numbers included a goals against below 2 and a save percentage of .937 at home. For GPPs, look toward Frederik Andersen at $8,100 or Philipp Grubauer ($8,000) for above average point per dollar numbers.

High-Priced Skaters

Auston Matthews ($7,800): The Toronto Maple Leafs need another All-Star performance from Matthews if they expect to take a 3-1 series lead. Matthews tallied 12 power-play goals and 252 shots on the regular season. He had chances in the first two games of the series but showed up big in Game 3 with a goal and assist. It was more like what people were expecting from the center. Toronto must keep playing at an up-level tempo, which will slow down the Boston Bruins. Nathan MacKinnon ($9,000) and Tyler Seguin ($8,200) represent viable alternatives on Wednesday night.

Mikko Rantanen ($7,600): Rantanen comes off an excellent game where the Colorado Avalanche could do little wrong. It was more than the six goals and two real-world points. Also, there were the six shots on goal and a physical element of his game that had been missing. The Calgary Flames devised a plan specifically to slow down Colorado's first line and never got much of anything going. Expect a hot start from the top line in Colorado once again. Alexander Radulov ($7,100) and Mitchell Marner ($8,400) remain wise secondary choices to roster on Wednesday.

Value Skaters

Nick Bonino ($3,700): The center options are slim on Wednesday night, but third-liners have produced like kings in these playoffs. Bonino has topped 11 FanDuel points in three of his last four starts. And again, value comes from his creating opportunities. His shot volume is okay, so there's a hint of risk (seven shots on net in four games this series) in playing him. Elsewhere, Tyson Jost ($3,900) has been largely invisible but yet had four shot and a block in his last game. The Colorado forward could be in play.

Sam Bennett ($3,700): Bennett keeps finding ways to tally points for the Calgary Flames -- real-world points in four straight games. That includes exceeding 13 FanDuel points in each start. He typically is seeing only around 10 minutes a game or so but those minutes have been an impact. Calgary fans want him back in the top-six because of the added value he provides -- 8 shots and 11 scoring chances created in his last four games. With Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan going ice cold, maybe Bennett sees shifts with the top line. Rocco Grimaldi ($3,600) becomes another excellent winger choice but keep in mind his streaky nature (he can generate 15-plus FanDuel points one night and zero the next).

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