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
Louis Domingue ($8,000): The Tampa Bay Lightning goalie carries a ton of risk on Friday night but a solid amount of upside too. He has won three of his last four starts while facing 30-plus shots in all of them. The Chicago Blackhawks should be good for at least that many shots, given that Tampa is up to 32.6 shots yielded per contest. This shapes up to be another high-event game much like the Florida Panthers matchup on Wednesday night. Domingue comes in at a cheap enough price still to place him in most tournament lineups. Tampa Bay has a modest 54.8% chance of winning and expected goals allowed of 2.89 which may keep ownership a bit down. Watch for confirmations to get an idea on other options. Martin Jones ($8,300) is likely to be higher owned in cash games on Friday night.
High-Priced Skaters
Vladimir Tarasenko ($8,100): Tarasenko frustrates many owners on a nightly basis but his chances and shots have been there. He does not have a goal in his last nine contests, but has 3-plus shots and scoring chances in six straight games. It comes down to when the damn will break, so to speak. The St. Louis Blues have seen the under hit in eight straight games and have averaged just one goal a game over the last five contests despite generating a bevy of chances. A new coach's first game at home should carry a bit of a momentum boost. Ryan O'Reilly ($7,000) makes for a decent stacking option along with a cheaper defenseman, perhaps. Many other choices exist in this price range from the wing including Nikita Kucherov ($8,200), Mikko Rantanen ($7,900), and Mike Hoffman ($6,200). Hoffman carries a 17-game point streak including 4-plus shots and a goal in each of his last three contests.
Matt Duchene ($6,600): So, the Ottawa Senators pivot gets a banged up Dallas Stars team on Friday night. Dallas is missing two thirds of its starting defensive core and has looked lost since John Klingberg went down to a hand injury. It looks like Ben Bishop is unlikely to play as well. This is a going against the numbers pick since Dallas is projected for a 68.2% chance of winning this game. Duchene had a total dud against Minnesota with one shot on net but had 14 real-world points in his previous seven games. Ottawa has an implied goal projection of just 2.47, yet routinely outperforms their expectations. Tyler Seguin ($7,700) is a great option but will be higher owned. Pierre-Luc Dubois ($5,900) presents a slightly cheaper option with consistent output possible (18-plus FanDuel Points in his last five games).
Value Skaters
Nikolay Goldobin ($3,700): The Vancouver Canucks forward has been better than Elias Pettersson of late (even if only because of injuries to Petterson). He does also have 12 real-world points in his last 12 contests. Shot volume has been around two a night, while creating just over two scoring chances per night. Most of those games have seen him carry basically top-line minutes as well including 18+ minutes in the previous four contests. The price alone is enticing for that type of player. The more ice time leads to more chances. Options are limited on the main slate for value forwards but Andrei Svechnikov ($3,600), Drake Batherson ($3,500), and Zachary Sanford ($3,500 -- moved back to top line in St. Louis) all could be cheap to stack around on Friday night.
Erik Gustafsson ($3,800): Gustafsson is a very risky play tonight. However, his goal, four shots, and three scoring chances created against the Washington Capitals suggests some big upside. The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman is in their top-4, but points seem to come few and far between. His floor is also lower than most, but his shot can be well above average. His price-tag is low enough to at least consider on Friday night. Other choices may include Vince Dunn ($3.800) and Jakob Chychrun ($3,500) as punt plays from the blueline tonight.
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.