NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 12/13/18
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
Pekka Rinne ($9,000): The Nashville Predators are expected to start Rinne versus the Vancouver Canucks. Even with injuries, the Finnish goalie continues to produce outstanding results. While he is not quite on last year's pace, Rinne has still won 13 games in 21 starts. The goalie sports an impressive .947% save percentage at even-strength. Furthermore, Vancouver does yield 3.32 goals per game on the road, which should offer a little bit of cushion for the goaltender. Martin Jones ($8.400) is projected to start for San Jose and will face a Dallas team on no rest. Waiting for confirmations is essential, though, because other opportunities may open up unexpectedly.
High-Priced Skaters
Cam Atkinson ($7,100): Basically, the Columbus forward becomes more of a must-play tonight because of his price and production. He averages more than 18 FanDuel points per game at a more reasonable price than, say, Nikita Kucherov ($8,800). Atkinson can put up high-shot outputs (eight in the last game against Vancouver, as an example). Goals are worth 1.5 times the points compared to assists, so anytime one can garner goal potential, it has to be done. Los Angeles is slow on the wings and can be burned at even strength or even the power play. Buffalo rallied for three goals in the third period and overtime as Los Angeles tired out. Do note that Los Angeles may have some plays available on their end, because Columbus allows 3.53 goals per game at home themselves. Jeff Skinner ($6,900) comes in cheaper than most of those top players but has 21 goals on the season already.
Jack Eichel ($7,800): Eichel is back to his goal-scoring ways and just in the nick of time. The Buffalo center has topped 30 FanDuel points in three straight games and enters with a prime matchup on Thursday night versus the Arizona Coyotes. While Eichel is not on the level of Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, his ownership should be lower tonight than that of those players. Brayden Point ($8,100) should enjoy a somewhat easier matchup tonight, as well, against Toronto. Do not forget that Elias Pettersson ($6,200) is out there from the Canucks and has topped 20 FanDuel points in each of his previous three outings.
Value Skaters
Andrew Shaw ($3,700): Shaw is still stuck at $3,700 while playing top-six minutes for the Montreal Canadiens. He encounters a plus matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Montreal is a different team at home, and the winger has been relatively consistent with five real-world points in his last five games. When he does not hit the net, Shaw can also block a shot or two, which adds to his floor. On a medium-sized slate, looking for low-priced players who see big minutes is essential. For a higher-risk selection, look to Andreas Johnsson ($3,600) from Toronto. Toronto gives as good as it gets when it comes to scoring chances, but as long as Johnsson plays on the second line, he should generate opportunities. .
Darnell Nurse ($4,000): Hello, Nurse! The Edmonton defensemen will garner even more power-play and ice time now that Oscar Klefbom will be out for "weeks" due to a hand injury. Nurse has produced double-digit FanDuel points in three of his last four games and is still priced at a value rate. Winnipeg has won four of their previous five contests but will give up some goals (2.53 per game yielded at home). Nurse averages 2.5 shots and nearly 2 blocks per outings, adding to his floor. Ryan Murray ($3,800) is a more dicey option, but he is playing top-pairing minutes with Columbus, per early projections.
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.
