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
Petr Mrazek ($7,400): The Carolina Hurricanes are projected to start Mrazek tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which are basically "Team Fun." What does that mean? They shoot at a rate of nearly 32 shots per 60 but allow 33.7 shots per game. Scoring chance-wise, they are among the bottom five allowed and top-ten generated. Their power play clicks at 27.3%, which could be troublesome. Carolina has improved their penalty kill over the past few weeks. Mrazek will be as high-risk as they come as far as tournament plays go, but the price is enough to play him as a punt. Look to see who starts for Buffalo tonight. If it is Linus Ullmark ($7,800), consider him as a strong option.
High-Priced Skaters
Brad Marchand ($7,900): The demise of Marchand has been greatly exaggerated. He quietly has 29 real-world points on the season, scoring 8 goals on 86 shots. The Boston Bruins' winger enjoys a prime matchup against a banged up Arizona Coyotes team that is playing "goaltender by committee." Boston has a projected goal total of 3.14 and has a a 69.3% chance of winning. Given more than a third of the Boston offense runs through Marchand and David Pastrnak right now, it should be no surprise that they are strong plays. Mikko Rantanen ($8,300) is a bit more risky tonight, because he is facing Mikko Koskinen. Even then, the Colorado Avalanche top line is almost matchup proof. Also, look towards Cam Atkinson ($7,100) for a little cap relief and good shot volume.
Jack Eichel ($7,700): Did Eichel finally break out of his goal-scoring doldrums? With four goals and a plethora of high-quality scoring chances the last two games, that answer appears to be yes. This is great timing as the Buffalo top line faces a slow Los Angeles team, one which should have trouble dealing with the Sabres' speed. Buffalo is slumping with an 0-3-2 record, but LA scores just 1.62 goals per game on the road while allowing nearly three goals per night. The Kings' road penalty kill is just under 73%, which is one of the five worst in the league. Guys like Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon will get a lot of play tonight, but do consider Elias Pettersson ($6,300) as he faces a Columbus team struggling for consistency.
Value Skaters
Andrew Shaw ($3,700): Shaw provides a nice one-off or punt option on Tuesday night and has been exceeding value of late. Over his last four games, he has topped 10 FanDuel points in each one of them. Now, he is not scoring at an outrageous clip, but he has been very effective. Averaging almost three shots a night will help the bottom line a little. As long as he remains in the Montreal top-six and power-play mix, Shaw will continue to exceed expectations at this price. Andreas Johansson ($3,600) is one to look at from Toronto tonight and is now playing on the second line. He has four real-world points in his last two games.
Vince Dunn ($3,600): Dunn is still getting some power-play time on the wreck that is called St. Louis. The power-play minutes mean something with Florida coming to town as the Panthers allow some goals (3.92 goals per game on the road and a 75% road penalty kill). If the Blues can draw enough penalties, there will be chances for Dunn. A safer pick may be Michal Kempny from Washington. Kempny provides a better floor as far as shots and blocked shots, and he has shown the ability to chip in some offensively, as well, with seven real-world points across the last 10 contests.
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.