NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 8/29/20
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.
Update: This piece initially ran prior to Thursday's main slate, which has been pushed to Saturday at 7:00 pm.
Goalie to Target
Jacob Markstrom ($7,400): The Vancouver Canucks will start Markstrom yet again on [Saturday] night against the Vegas Golden Knights. This is a risky GPP pick or even cash game pick for that matter. However, the expectation of facing 30-35 shots along with being the only goalie certain to start at press time helps. He will be the cheapest goalie on the slate and is able to steal games -- much like he did in Game 2 (38 saves on 40 shots). Expect the workload to continue as Vancouver is a speed, counter type of team with a porous middle for a defense. Watch to see if Marc-Andre Fleury starts for Vegas. That may be worth a roll of the dice as an alternative.
High-Priced Skaters
Sean Couturier ($6,400): There is hope that what Couturier did in Game 2 will carry over to Game 3. He had a goal, assist, four shots on goal, and four scoring chances. It was the best performance seen in awhile from the center. He looked 100% for the first time this postseason from a mental and physical standpoint. If the Couturier line stays truly engaged and can recreate some of that magic on the power play, then look out. Elias Pettersson ($7,300) is still a trendy alternative with his speed game causing Vegas problems.
Max Pacioretty ($7,800): Pacioretty keeps on rolling with goals in three straight games (exceeding value in all three). That includes a whopping 13 shots and 10 scoring chances in the previous two contests. It seems Vancouver has few answers for the winger who is firing on all cylinders. Pacioretty has hit a few posts and a crossbar in this series as well. Anthony Beauvillier ($6,200) is steady in price and has entered the lower reaches of the upper-tier for New York. He is still worth a look as the Philadelphia Flyers have not contained him to be honest.
Value Skaters
Joel Farabee ($3,700): Between Michael Raffl and Farabee, there has been some nice value in these playoffs from the Philadelphia side of the ledger. Farabee set up a few nice scoring chances in Game 2 and plays on the Kevin Hayes line at even strength. Add in the power-play time he gets and Farabee is again like a free square in bingo on this night. His youthful speed and exuberance should be an asset on the back end of a back to back. Also consider Tanner Pearson at $4,400 as he just falls into the value range. How much longer will that be? Probably not long.
Nick Leddy ($3,900): The New York defenseman is a moderate risk GPP play again on [Saturday] evening, but he does have points in four of the last six playoff games while slowly improving his floor with a few blocked shots here and there. He is an intriguing play given Leddy's experience, and again, the blueliner has looked much better and is exceeding value. Philippe Myers ($3,600) is a classic strike the iron while it is hot play as he scored the overtime winner yesterday for Philadelphia.
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.
