NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 3/12/20

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Mar 12th, 2020
Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning host a Flyers team that has struggled away from home. Who else should 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 of you 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.

Our analysis and projections can help you win. To help, let's take a look at a goalie, some high-priced skaters, and lower-priced players to target for today's slate.

Goalie to Target

Cory Schneider ($7,200): The New Jersey Devils will start Schneider against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The goaltender has been excellent in his four starts during this recent call-up (a .909% save percentage or better in each game). Schneider looks about as healthy as he is going to be and has won two straight games. His lateral movement has improved some, and his glove is still one of the best in the game. See who starts for the Minnesota Wild as they enjoy a plus matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.

High-Priced Skaters

Auston Matthews ($8,800): His ability to keep scoring is reason alone to play him. He has seven real-world points over his last seven games, including four goals. It is his near goal-a-game pace at home that intrigues the most. Plus, the Nashville Predators can turn into a pumpkin defensively. Lost in the Preds' game against Montreal on Tuesday was that Montreal nearly came back from a four-goal deficit as the Habs hit two posts and two crossbars in the third period. Sidney Crosby ($8,300) has 16 points in his last 12 games versus Columbus.

Nikita Kucherov ($8,500): Kucherov has 11 points and four goals in his previous 10 contests. During his latest point streak, Kucherov has fired 19 shots on net. It is that shot volume which has hooked us in on Thursday against a Philadelphia Flyers team that yields 3.56 goals per game on the road. They are just so much worse on the road -- allowing 30.8 shots per 60, compared to just 27 at home. Taylor Hall has 38 shots and 27 scoring chances created over his last 10 games for the Arizona Coyotes, and he comes in at a price which is $1,300 cheaper.

Value Skaters

Emil Bemstrom ($3,800): Bemstrom has two double-digit FanDuel performances in his last four games while seeing around 16 minutes a night during a recent three-game road trip. His last game may have been his best of the season as he scored and fired five shots on net versus the Vancouver Canucks. As long as he keeps getting power-play time along with top-six ice time, the forward is a good value play even against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Blake Coleman ($3,900) showed some signs in his last game of snapping out of his funk for Tampa.

P.K. Subban ($4,000): The Devils' defenseman has been playing better since John Hynes was fired and is on a three-game point streak. Yes, his shot volume has dropped of late (four shots in that span), but his minutes have gone up to almost 25 a night. If he keeps playing that much time, the assists may keep on coming. That is just enough to hit or slightly exceed value. Dakota Mermis ($3,600) has a solid floor from a blocked-shots perspective.

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.