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
Brian Elliott ($7,900): The Philadelphia Flyers' goalie has not been confirmed yet, but Elliott is the likely starter on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils. This would be classified as a risky GPP or tournament play. New Jersey can put up 30-plus shots without a problem. However, can Philadelphia's team defense and Elliott hold up? The Flyers' goaltender has given up two goals or fewer in six straight contests. That includes a couple clean sheets, as well. He is about as hot as he can get right now. Philadelphia has a modest 56.2% chance of winning tonight, per our numbers. Waiting until the rest of the starting goalies are announced may be prudent, along with monitoring the injury situation of Antti Raanta.
High-Priced Skaters
Claude Giroux ($7,400): Giroux has a prime matchup against the Devils. He had real-world points in three straight games before failing to crack the scoresheet against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The New Jersey penalty kill on their recent road trip was around 75%, and one of Philadelphia's specialties is the power play (13.6% in the early going, but that number should rise). But the Flyers are due for some positive regression on the man advantage. Taylor Hall ($7,700) is in play along with Kyle Palmieri ($6,300). Look to the power-play units. For other picks, Mike Hoffman ($5,700) is on a 13-game point streak and is still cheap. Filip Forsberg ($7,900) always has goal potential (12 goals on the season).
Evgeni Malkin ($8,300): If Sidney Crosby (upper body injury) does not play tonight, then Malkin's ownership will surely rise as does his DFS stock. Malkin has just one real-world point in his last five games, which may make him a perfect buy-low candidate on Thursday night. Some may look at the Pittsburgh Penguins' injuries as a chance to pounce on Tampa Bay players. While that could be a good option, do not sleep on the Penguins. Malkin has only moderate shot volume (2.2 shots per game), and that is a bit low for him based on his career numbers. The expectation of a high-event game tonight is almost extreme here as this could turn into a high-scoring affair. Mika Zibanejad ($7,200) and Eric Staal ($6,800) could be nice, too, as slightly cheaper options on this slate from the center position.
Value Skaters
Tanner Pearson ($3,600): If Pearson winds up playing on the second line for Pittsburgh, this is an easy value pick for Thursday. Watch the injury status of Crosby just in case. No one can be sure what kind of power-play time Pearson may wind up with, but just playing in the top six should earn him more scoring chances than when he was with the Los Angeles Kings. This is a player capable of 40-plus real-world points who was stuck on one point in 17 games on low shot volume (24 shots on the season). A change of scenery can only help, because things can't get much worse for him. Joonas Donskoi ($3,800) from the San Jose Sharks could be a viable alternative, as well, on Thursday with a good matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Filip Chytil ($3,100): Chytil found himself on the top line on Monday against the Vancouver Canucks. He delivered with a power-play goal and several scoring chances. The New York Islanders are up next on Thursday, and typically when these two teams play, roughly 70 combined shots is almost a given. Scoring chances will be plenty as neither team plays much in the way of defense. The New York Rangers, in particular, allow 3.89 goals per game on the road. Expect a higher-scoring contest, and Chytil's ability to find space will be an asset. He just has to hit the net. Chytil did so six times on Monday night. Watch the status of Colin White ($3,200). The Ottawa Senators' forward is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury but may play tonight. Nick Leddy ($3,800) could be volatile value pick tonight from the Islanders. He has done little all year, but a high-paced game might yield some unexpected results.
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.