NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 10/22/18
A good chunk of you probably already play daily fantasy football, 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
Connor Hellebuyck ($8,400): As 1.5-goal favorites, the Winnipeg Jets may be a safer play than most a goaltending standpoint on Monday. Also, Winnipeg has garnered points in all five games at home (4-0-1 record) while yielding around 30 shots a night. The St. Louis Blues can generate enough shot volume to make Hellebuyck a viable GPP play. As far as cash plays, this may be a higher-owned choice (at least 15 to 25% ownership wouldn't be surprising). There are a few other options -- like whoever starts for the Detroit Red Wings and Philipp Grubauer (if he gets the start for Colorado).
High-Priced Skaters
Sebastian Aho ($6,200): The Carolina Hurricanes' forwards enjoy a nice matchup against Detroit's team defense (4.38 goals per game allowed). Aho has been around 15 FanDuel points in his last 3 contests, which may take a tiny bit of ownership off of him. But the forward created several High-Danger opportunities in each of those contests. The total cost of the Carolina top line is something to keep an eye on, as it makes them very easy to stack. Other potentially high-owned Carolina players include Teuvo Teravainen and Michael Ferland.
Patrik Laine ($7,500): Laine presents a solid choice on Monday as a lower-cost alternative to Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin will be high-owned (above 15% in most every format), but Laine is likely to be owned at less than 10%. Laine averages around four shots a night and is shooting at a hair below 10%. The Jets' top-six forward will have an excellent chance to light the lamp tonight, as St. Louis' bottom pairings were heavily cratered possession-wise by the Toronto Maple Leafs the other night. St. Louis tends to be vulnerable on the wings with any kind of hard accelerations. Detroit's power play may be something to look at also (Carolina's penalty kill is less than 70% on the year). Dylan Larkin ($6,300) leads the way there with Thomas Vanek ($5,000) also offering some possible upside.
Value Skaters
Adam Lowry ($3,700): Lowry may play on the third line for the Nashville Predators, but he has been averaging around 15 minutes of ice time lately. This Nashville team prides itself on balance, and Lowry has parlayed his increased ice time into four points during the last week. The winger usually does not see power play ice time, which can be a problem. Consider that his floor is around three shots a contest for the most part right now, and that scoring chances are up nearly 20% from the start of the 2017-18 campaign. Another inexpensive center option could be Scott Laughton ($3,600), who has seen just over 15 minutes of average time of ice lately.
Dennis Cholowski ($3,700): Cholowski is excellent at creating chances despite his team's scheme in front of him. His floor is very solid (10-plus shots and blocks on the year). His shot is above average, and there is the possibility of more man-advantage time. Monday night carries a ton of danger but a good deal of value intrigue. Again, Carolina has a below average penalty kill and a knack for higher blocked shot potential. Even Vince Dunn ($3,700) of St. Louis carries some value as a power play specialist. As always, watch for late injury news and last-minute line shifts for potential high-value options. Shifts are expected by morning skate in most cases.
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.
