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
Curtis McElhinney ($7,500): The Carolina Hurricanes appear to have found their starting goalie. McElhinney has topped 28 or more FanDuel points in his last 4 starts, all winning efforts. When a goalie averages around 3.0 FanDuel points per $1,000, they become an attractive target. The only concern with the Anaheim Ducks is the erratic shot volume they bring (26.5 shots per game). In the same game, John Gibson may be a decent contrarian option at $8,300 because of the expectation Carolina fires at least 35 shots on net on Friday night. As always, watch for confirmations as Braden Holtby ($8,600) could come into play if other matchups do not appear as strong.
High-Priced Skaters
Alex Ovechkin ($8,800): Ovechkin historically burns the New Jersey Devils, and especially recently (54 points and 24 goals in 50 career games overall). Matchup-wise, New Jersey does not seem to have an answer to contain Ovechkin, and the winger enjoys a prime matchup tonight for that reason. It looks like Evgeny Kuznetsov may be ready to go as well. Ovechkin has goals in four of his last five games while averaging three shots a night. Washington has an projected goal total of 3.65, which is the highest on the slate. Mikko Rantanen ($8,400), Jeff Skinner ($7,100), and Mike Hoffman ($6,600) are also worthwhile options this Friday night, given the shorter five-game slate.
Nathan MacKinnon ($9,000): Just rinse, wash, repeat. The only problem with the Colorado Avalanche forward is that stacking gets expensive with the top line quick. The trendy suggestion would be to pair two-to-three off the top line with a cheaper defenseman like Samuel Girard or Erik Johnson ($4,300 and $4,200, respectively). Johnson possesses the slightly higher floor when it comes to shots and blocked shots. As for MacKinnon's appeal, St. Louis has yielded 20 goals in their last 5 games, including 4 to Detroit on Wednesday night. MacKinnon has topped 29 FanDuel points in his last 3 games and has 18 goals on 108 shots in just 25 games. Those are hard numbers to pass up on Friday. Ryan O'Reilly ($6,900) and Sebastian Aho ($6,200) are viable choices at friendlier prices.
Value Skaters
Jesper Bratt ($3,600): The Devils' winger plays with Taylor Hall, which is always a huge plus. He has played 16 or more minutes in 2 straight contests, so he is seeing enough power-play time. Bratt has generated 10 shots in the previous 3 games and goals in the last 2 starts. The speedy skater could cause some problems for Washington's depth defensemen. Robby Fabbri ($3,500) and Nick Ritchie ($3,500) are plays to look at from the wing position. Ritchie has topped 16 FanDuel points in 3 of his last 4 starts, while garnering more and more ice time. The Ducks forward, like Bratt, is one to watch.
Josh Manson ($3,600): Manson is a risky tournament play on Friday night, but his floor (1.5 shots and blocked shots a game is not terrible) is worth consideration at the price, and he can provide occasional offense to boot. Carolina is a team that fires many chances and shots toward the net, so blocked shot potential is elevated. There are some other options to consider. Michal Kempny ($3,600) is the other play to ponder as he averages over 2 blocks a game with 1.5 shots on net per contest. The Washington defenseman has been a pleasant DFS surprise over the last four games.
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.