NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 9/4/20
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.
Goalie to Target
Thatcher Demko ($7,500): The Vancouver Canucks project to start Demko tonight in Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas held a ridiculous shot edge again as Demko stopped all 48 shots in a 4-0 shutout of Vegas last night in Game 6. The Canucks could not even muster 30 shots on Robin Lehner but managed to get three pucks by him. Demko did the rest and on his own shoulders at times. Vancouver's middle defense is so poor that expecting 35-plus shots faced is just about a given. Maybe consider Anton Khudobin as a rested alternative in case Demko does not start. However, late swap will limit you to the Vegas projected starter, which is Marc-Andre Fleury at press time.
High-Priced Skaters
Jamie Benn ($6,500): This is a bit of a Hail Mary as Benn only plays around 14-15 minutes a night now. However, he has real-world points in three of his last four contests. Things are working for him. The salary is high, but he did have 12 shots on goal (21 attempts) in those three contests before the Game 6 stinker. Elias Pettersson ($7,300) is the even higher-salaried alternative from Benn, but he might not be worth it as Vancouver's inconsistent scoring might lead to fewer goals in Game 7.
Max Pacioretty ($7,700): Pacioretty did everything but score his last time out -- he fired five shots on net and had five more scoring chances, which means the opportunities were there. Give the Vancouver goalie a ton of credit, but the winger did miss a couple of opportunities that could have tied the contest. Pacioretty usually does not miss like that, and the thought process is at some point, Vegas figures out how to solve Demko. Nathan MacKinnon ($8,800) may be too chalky for most slates, but the fear of missing out is real on this one, and keep an eye on Andre Burakovsky if, for some reason, Gabriel Landeskog cannot go.
Value Skaters
Scott Laughton ($3,800): With the possibility of Couturier being out, Laughton sees even more value ahead of Game 6 for the Flyers. Game 5 saw him break through with a goal, assist, three shots, and three scoring chances. He will enjoy some power-play time as well. Laughton played 15-plus minutes in each of his last two games and should do so in Game 6, too. Tanner Pearson ($4.400) may be a viable alternative from Vancouver.
Chris Tanev ($3,700): Tanev is a punt play tonight as Vancouver expects to try and block even more shots in front of Demko tonight. 20+ blocks is not a far-fetched assumption, and Tanev could get 5 or 6 again for the Canucks. That is enough to make him a value play for his low salary. Ryan Graves ($4,100) is still out there and could equal or exceed value as well. His salary is just low enough, and he is averaging nearly 13.6 FanDuel points per game over the last four contests.
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.
