NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 10/10/19
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
Carey Price ($8,200): The Montreal Canadiens are on the second night of a back-to-back, but they will have their top goalie Price in net. He had the day off yesterday in what turned out to be a high-scoring loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Price comes in as a very solid -180 home favorite tonight and is facing the Detroit Red Wings. Simply put, the Canadiens are the better team in this matchup, which gives Price very strong win equity and grab those 12 FanDuel points. Price has seen 37 shots or more in each of his first two games, which is amazing from a fantasy perspective. That volume of saves on a nightly basis is not something we see from most goalies, but it's good, since that can lock him in for a solid floor of points.
However, it can also put him in a bit of danger due to the potential for allowing too many goals, but even two goals allowed tonight wouldn't be that big of a deal if he sees 30-plus saves again and comes away with the win.
High-Priced Skaters
Connor McDavid ($9,200): Here's the thing with McDavid -- you just don't fade him when he's on a streak like this. We have an absolutely loaded slate at the center position tonight, with the likes of Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and Tyler Seguin all in action. The answer is still McDavid tonight. He comes in with eight points through three games, with nine shots in that span while playing 20 minutes or more in each game. There was a bit of concern whether he was fully healed from the leg injury at the end of last season, but he has put that to rest quickly.
Tonight, he faces off against the New Jersey Devils. who have looked bad -- really bad -- to start the season. New Jersey made a number of improvements in the offseason, and I was ready for them to take a step forward, but that hasn't happened yet. The Devils are around the league average in Corsi Against this season, but they are allowing the seventh-most High Danger Scoring Chances per 60 minutes this season, sitting at 10.21. They're a great team to attack tonight, and look for another multi-point game from McDavid.
Patrick Kane ($8,400): The Chicago Blackhawks started their season in Prague with a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, but now they're at home for their opener at the Madhouse on Madison. We are going to get what we've always gotten with Kane -- plenty of shots on the first forward line and the first power-play unit. His three points in the first game are nice, but that level of production isn't sustainable, so we'll look for him to generate more shot opportunities against the San Jose Sharks, who have been straight-up terrible to start the season.
The Sharks have allowed 17 goals through their first four games -- all losses -- and things aren't looking much better for them tonight. The over/under for this game is sitting at 6.5 goals, so you certainly want a bit of exposure in this one, and Kane is a prime option.
Value Skaters
Brandon Pirri ($3,600): Pirri is skating on the third forward line for the Vegas Golden Knights, which isn't great, but he is on the first power-play unit, which is amazing. Normally, I look for a player who is under $5K and on the top power-play unit as someone who brings "value" to the lineup -- Pirri is under $4K. At that price point, he really doesn't have to do much in order to reach salary-based expectations, which should make him popular in all formats tonight. Vegas is on the road to take on the Arizona Coyotes, who are allowing a 64.64 Corsi Against per 60 minutes this season, the fourth-worst in the league. That essentially means the Coyotes are allowing over one shot attempt -- not a shot on goal -- per minute, which is terrible. That presents the opposing team with ample opportunities to score game in and game out.
Dominik Simon ($3,600): The Pittsburgh Penguins have four players on IR this season, and they've played three games. Things are messy right now in Pittsburgh, but those injuries open up opportunities for other players, who are generally on the cheaper side. One player is Simon, who is up on the first forward line, playing alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Simply being on the ice with players of that caliber could lead to Simon "falling" into some points. A simple pass to Crosby could net him an assist, or if the defense is focused on Crosby and Guentzel -- the higher-skilled players -- Simon is left with space to shoot. He isn't on either power-play, which limits his ceiling, but he doesn't break the bank tonight and can easily hit value.
