NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/10/19
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
Jaroslav Halak ($8,200): The Boston Bruins have confirmed Halak to be the starter tonight against the Washington Capitals. The goalie has seen 30-plus shots in each of his three starts and delivered two wins in that span. His price is cheap considering he averages 21.4 FanDuel points per contest. Washington averages 29.6 shots per game, which is not great but not terrible. Boston does yield 31.4 shots per game and nearly 32 shots per 60 minutes in Halak's starts. Wait until morning skate for other confirmations. Jacob Markstrom ($8,200) is another choice to look at, but remember: Arizona and shot volume do not always go together.
High-Priced Skaters
Auston Matthews ($8,400): Saving money tonight is not an option when some top-notch players are on the slate. Matthews is no exception for Toronto, and he gets a prime matchup against the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey is about as bad as it gets, and they just allowed five goals to a Buffalo team without Jack Eichel. The last time the two teams played in New Jersey, Toronto put a seven spot on the Devils. In that one, Matthews fired in a goal and assist on four shots for a total of 26.4 FanDuel points. Yes, Toronto has broken up their power-play units, but they have such matchup advantages at even strength. Also, they score nearly four goals per game on the road. Brayden Point ($7,900) and Sebastian Aho ($6,300) are also nice options on Thursday night.
Nikita Kucherov ($9,300): The likely lock of the night -- or the toughest player to fade -- will be Kucherov. He bounced back from his bagel in San Jose with a 26.4-FanDuel-point performance on Tuesday night. This brought him back up to 71 real-world points in 43 games (1.65 per contest). Tampa Bay averages the highest amount of goals at home on the slate, at 4.41 per game. Carolina and Tampa have each scored 20 goals over their last five games. This matchup expects to be a high-event clash with a lot of high-danger chances on both sides. Other options to consider tonight are David Pastrnak ($8,300) and Cam Atkinson ($7,200). Atkinson comes in cheaper and has not risen too much in the last month or two.
Value Skaters
Brandon Pirri ($3,500): Pirri is the gift that keeps on giving as he scored again in his latest recall on Tuesday night. The player just is pure offense. He has 7 goals (on 22 shots) and 3 assists in just eight games. This is a guy who does not play 18 to 20 minutes a night, either. However, his value cannot be understated. As long as he is not sent down, Pirri is a must play in cash on Thursday. San Jose is a good matchup as his speed should be able to create chances against the Sharks' depth defensemen. If you're looking for other value choices, Blake Coleman ($3,700) is an excellent option. Coleman has been playing around 17 minutes per night across the last 10 games and will create headaches for Toronto, particularly short-handed.
Jakob Chychrun ($3,600): Chychrun comes across as a high-risk play on Thursday but only because his production is reliant on blocked shots and shots on net. Vancouver does not attempt a ton of shots (28.8 on net per contest to 55 attempts), but the Arizona defenseman averages 2.3 shots and 1.65 blocks per contest. That is a good enough floor to almost hit value on just those two stats. He has been seeing some power-play time, as well, and Vancouver's penalty kill is at only 78%, so this may be a good spot for Chychrun. Caleb Jones ($3,500) is a higher-risk punt play but is seeing top-pairing minutes on the blueline for the Edmonton Oilers.
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.
