NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 2/2/21

Hockey is officially back! NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.

Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com or DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.

Let's jump in to take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.

Goalie to Target

Philipp Grubauer ($8,500): Grubauer and the Colorado Avalanche are -164 home favorites against the Minnesota Wild, which should put him in play for cash games. Grubauer has been confirmed as the starter tonight and will be looking for his fourth straight win. He has been on fire over this stretch, allowing a total of four goals in three games while holding a very strong .943% save percentage.

In all likelihood, Grubauer won't see a high volume of shots, since Colorado's defense is so good at preventing opportunities from the opposing team. This season, the Avalanche are holding a 45.66 Corsi Against (shot attempts allowed) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the third-lowest in the league. Don't expect massive save numbers from Grubauer, but the win equity is strong.

High-Priced Skaters

Andrei Svechnikov ($7,000): The Carolina Hurricanes are in a fantastic spot against the Chicago Blackhawks and can be used in all formats. Carolina comes in as -178 road favorites with a 3.07 implied goal total -- the latter of which seems a bit low. Why is it low? Chicago is sitting in the bottom half of the league in Corsi Against (52.52) and goals against (2.40) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations. They are simply a bad defensive team, and you should look to target them whenever they are on the slate.

This puts Svechnikov, who skates on the first forward line and the first power-play unit, in a great spot to pile up points. Through six games this season, Svechnikov has 6 real-world NHL points and 19 shots, both of which are tied for the highest on the Hurricanes.

Connor McDavid ($9,000): Not sure how else to put this, but Connor McDavid is really freaking good at hockey. Like really good. McDavid is the definition of chalk tonight, and it's for a good reason. He is up against the Ottawa Senators, who he just demolished on Sunday with 1 goal, 4 assists, and 5 shots for a total of 55.6 FanDuel points.

The Senators have decided to not play any defense this year -- which is great for those of us playing DFS -- and are allowing a staggering 4.22 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five, which is the most in the league. The team allowing the second-most goals per 60 in five-on-five situations is at 3.38. The Senators are almost a full goal more than anyone else. Their lack of defense should allow another multi-point game for McDavid.

Value Skaters

J.T. Compher ($4,200): With Nathan MacKinnon out for a few weeks, Compher has jumped up to the first forward line and the first power-play unit. While Compher isn't an amazing player, he will be skating alongside Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, who are elite. We also see the Avalanche as -164 home favorites, making Compher a clear value play since we don't often see a player on the top line with this low of a salary.

Mike Reilly ($4,000): If Thomas Chabot it out again, Reilly is a nice value play at defense tonight. Chabot missed the Senators' most recent game and didn't practice on Monday. This puts Chabot's status for tonight's game in serious doubt, and if he were to miss, it should lock Reilly into the first power-play unit again, which we saw on Sunday. The Senators aren't a good team, but they are up against the Edmonton Oilers, who are allowing 3.03 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fourth-most in the league.