NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 1/7/19
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
Carter Hart ($7,300): The Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed Hart as the starter on Monday night against the St. Louis Blues. He started out the year out so well, winning two straight games before dropping his next four while sporting a .876 save percentage in that span. Some of that has been on the goalie, but most has been on the Flyers' horrid defense (allowing 3.37 goals per game at home). Hart carries quite the risk, however, St. Louis is 21st in the league with just 2.82 goals per game and is going against a team that could break out at any time. Opposite Hart, Jordan Binnington ($7,000) is a colossal risk but at basically minimum price. He could be a value play as the Blues give up just 2.80 goals per game on the road.
High-Priced Skaters
John Tavares ($8,100): Saving a few hundred dollars on Tavares over Auston Matthews is questionable, to be honest. However, over the past four or five games, Tavares has been a bit more consistent. He has topped 15 FanDuel points in seven of his last eight games and 23-plus in six of eight. That is quite a bit of value, and Nashville will give up its share of chances, as they allow over 30 shots a game on the road. There are enough ways to differentiate Toronto stacks and keep the salaries reasonable. Some options exist elsewhere on Monday night, too. Those include the Calgary Flames' Sean Monahan ($7,900). Even Ryan O'Reilly ($6,500) is riding a five-game point streak and is going up against the Flyers' sub-75% penalty kill.
Johnny Gaudreau ($8,800): The hottest player in the NHL not named Nikita Kucherov is none other than "Johnny Hockey". Gaudreau has an astonishing 11 goals and 20 points on 43 shots in his previous 10 starts! He is the most expensive forward on the slate for a reason, and yet his production warrants it. Consider Calgary is playing Chicago, who allowed three goals last night and face a rested Flames team. Chicago yields 34.6 shots per game (29th in the league) and there is that 73.2% penalty kill to exploit as well. The Blackhawks give up 3.38 goals per game at home and tend to allow them early. Watch to see if Filip Forsberg ($7,000) returns on Monday night from his hand injury. He is very close. If not, then Claude Giroux ($7,300) may be an intriguing moderate risk tournament option.
Value Skaters
Travis Sanheim ($3,800): Sanheim has gained the trust of the Philadelphia coaching staff and has seen his ice time go up (even on the power play). He has played 20-plus minutes in five straight contests now and has provided a nice, consistent floor in that time also. Sanheim has averaged 4.6 shots plus blocked shots per game in that time. That is a consistent floor at a low price while generating a few chances from an offensive standpoint. With Shayne Gostisbehere struggling defensively, Sanheim has stepped in and played reasonably well. The power play goal against Calgary was significant and may be a sign of things to come. Tim Heed ($3,500) is kind of a power play specialist for San Jose, and one that could surprise against a Los Angeles penalty kill that is just 73.0% on the road.
Rocco Grimaldi ($3,200): Grimaldi has had an unusual run of late, which has resulted in five real-world points in his last four games. He has even seen 14 or more minutes of ice time a night in the last two games (versus Montreal and Detroit). Grimaldi has a quick first step that catches defensemen on their wrong skate often. Nashville's depth is a hair better than Toronto's defensively, but Grimaldi is one of the few that can change momentum on a rush offensively. Confidence is a fickle thing and right now the young forward has plenty of it. Andreas Johnsson ($3,600) can do the same for Toronto and can be plugged into the top-six or power play when needed.
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.
