NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 1/2/19

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Jan 2nd, 2019
Even with a climbing price-tag, Sidney Crosby continues to offer plenty of fantasy appeal. Who else can you trust on tonight's six-game slate?

A good chunk of you played daily fantasy football this year, 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

Ben Bishop ($8,000): The Dallas Stars are projected to start Bishop on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils. Danger is moderate for a couple reasons. One is because no one knows how many shots Bishop will face. Early numbers have been all over the place. Likely, he could face 28-30 shots, which is not terrible. With Taylor Hall on the Injured Reserve, that should help as the projected New Jersey goal total is just 2.17. Stranger things have happened but Bishop is a safer option than most. Other options could include Henrik Lundqvist ($7,700) for high shot total or Jimmy Howard ($7,600) if Mike Smith starts for Calgary. Just watch for news from morning skates.

High-Priced Skaters

Sidney Crosby ($8,900): Crosby carries value even as his price tag approaches $9,000 again. He has topped 20 FanDuel points in three straight games and averages almost 1.3 real world points per game career against New York. Even his shots per game are well over three per night in this scenario. The Rangers' penalty kill is at 77% right now while the Pittsburgh power play is at 26.6% (over 30% in the last ten contests). The chances of a high-event game are likely here, which would benefit Crosby. New York does not carry a shutdown defensive pair that can truly slow him down. Nathan MacKinnon ($8,600) is the other clear choice on Wednesday night against a San Jose team that just allowed eight goals to Calgary on Monday.

Leon Draisaitl ($7,100): Some danger exists here, but Draisaitl has been one of the hottest Edmonton Oilers players period. He has exceeded 25 FanDuel points in each of his last three starts. He now has 49 points in 39 games this year. Arizona is a bit of an enigma at home but their recent numbers (over three goals a game allowed in their last ten contests) suggest this option is viable. Overall, they yield 2.95 goals per night with just seven home wins in 19 games. Arizona has the best penalty kill in the league, however. This means points will likely come from even-strength play. Chris Kreider ($6,500) and Alexander Radulov ($6,400) could be cheaper high-priced options on Wednesday night which allows for more creative stacking.

Value Skaters

Brian Boyle ($3,800): Boyle has been a nice surprise this year with ten goals in 33 games. He plays mostly on the fourth line but draws extra time on the first unit power play for New Jersey. Dallas does have a good penalty kill at 82.8% (almost 84% at home). However, New Jersey can draw more penalties away from home. Boyle often scores most of his goals just by being in front of the net (five power play tallies). The center position is a bit lean for value on Wednesday night but Mark Jankowski ($3,300) may be worth a look. He does have three points in his last three games.

Michael Frolik ($3,400): The "3M" line in Calgary has been one of the better lines in hockey the past few seasons. They were reunited on Monday night and the results were immediate. Frolik had two assists in 14 minutes of action after having none all season before that. This came after an alleged healthy scratch. His value is high tonight only because his price was forced down because of injury and inactivity (only three games since November 19th). Zach Aston-Reese ($3.300) has been hot for Pittsburgh lately, going over 12 FanDuel points for Pittsburgh. He has played just over 32 minutes in the previous two games. Also, Blake Coleman ($3,500) could provide nice value for New Jersey and is always dangerous on the penalty kill.


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.