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
Antti Raanta ($7,700): The Arizona Coyotes goalie is still too cheap to pass up at this price point. Tonight's opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, are easily a threat to eclipse 30-plus shots. Meanwhile, the Coyotes allowed over 50 against the Carolina Hurricanes, but Raanta was able to hold on for the overtime win. Raanta is the expected starter on Monday and has won four of his last five starts (featuring four quality starts). Be sure to confirm he's in goal tonight, because depending on who starts in other games that may be reason enough to take a chance on another value play. Just one potential pivot is Thomas Greiss if he gets the nod for the New York Islanders.
High-Priced Skaters
Connor McDavid ($9,300): McDavid has been right around 20 FanDuel points over the last five games for the Edmonton Oilers. At his price point, that is not very productive on a point-per-dollar basis. So, this is a risky GPP play tonight against the Washington Capitals even if the Caps are yielding three goals a game at home. The feeling, however, is that the McDavid line still presents a matchup nightmare for Washington. If McDavid is not on your card, the top two Pittsburgh Penguins centers could be worth consideration, or even Phil Kessel ($8,100) on a night like this. Watch for Max Domi ($6,700) and Brock Nelson ($5,000) as well. Overall, tonight features a few more surprises than usual.
Taylor Hall ($7,600): Hall becomes an intriguing option on Monday night after the top line generated 14 scoring chances against the New York Islanders on Saturday. The effort was in a 3-0 loss but only served to infuriate Hall further. Fortunately, the Penguins have allowed 27 goals in just 6 home games on the season. The New Jersey Devils are in buy-low mode at this point, and though several Penguins will heavily be in play, getting exposure to New Jersey is a very good idea. Both teams have been stifled offensively (scoring less than 2.5 goals per game in their last five contests), and the expectation shows that goals will be high tonight (implied total of 6.5 currently). Kyle Palmieri remains around $6,500 and still comes in at over 20 FanDuel points per night.
Value Skaters
Alex Chiasson ($3,600): Chiasson now has goals in three straight games on nine shots (shot volume has improved in this NHL stint) for the Oilers. His ice time is up around 15 minutes per night, and playing on the top six in Edmonton has served him well. Richard Panik ($3,500) is a good value choice as always. Chiasson does offer more potential for goals, however, and those are gold in GPPs and tournaments.
Oskar Lindblom ($3,400): The Flyers forward is starting to figure out the NHL, as he has five points in his last three contests. The only concern is hitting the net (three shots on goal in that span). On the other hand, Lindblom did fire six shots in a game last month against Columbus. He played 16 minutes against the San Jose Sharks while generating three scoring chances and assisting on two goals. Some options from the wing could be Joel Armia ($3,700), and Michael Grabner ($3,300). Both choices are very dicey normally but not as much at these prices.
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.