NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 1/14/19

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Jan 14th, 2019
On a slate with several appealing high-priced players, Nathan MacKinnon stands out in a matchup with Toronto. Who else should you turn to on Monday?

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 ($7,400): The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to start Hart against the Minnesota Wild on Monday. Hart has seen 30-plus shots in five of his last eight starts. His price is cheap considering the potential for a decent save total, and the Flyers have allowed 132 shots in Hart's previous four outings. The one big risk is Minnesota's offense -- it can be very vanilla and produce low shot volume. Wait until morning skate for other confirmations. See who starts for New Jersey as they may be a highly sought-after option due to price and potential for a win.

High-Priced Skaters

Nathan MacKinnon ($8,800): Spending money is welcome tonight, with quite a few high-end options on this slate. MacKinnon was unusually quiet against Montreal on Saturday with just one shot, one block, and one scoring chance. Considering that he is playing well over 22 minutes a night lately, that is rough. Toronto gives as good as it gets, so this could be a case where the top lines trade high-danger chances back and forth all night long. MacKinnon is normally hitting 20-plus FanDuel points or very close to it over the past eight outings. When looking at other options, check out Auston Matthews ($8,400) and check on the status of Connor McDavid ($9,100 -- ill) to see if he plays for Edmonton. If not, the Oilers could provide some unexpected value plays.

David Pastrnak ($8,300): Pastrnak is a good tournament option against the Canadiens. Aside from Pastrnak's ability to score against Montreal much like he does Toronto, he has clusters of big FanDuel outings this year. In the last month, he has three separate streaks of three straight games with 20-plus FanDuel points. Could a fourth be on the horizon? It is possible given the favorable matchup tonight. Pastrnak also has 11 shots and 8 scoring chances in the previous two starts. Alex Ovechkin ($8,600) will likely carry heavy ownership against St. Louis. Also, do not sleep on Vladimir Tarasenko ($7,200), who has put together two of the best games of his season back-to-back with two goals and one assist. He has hit value in four of his last five contests.

Value Skaters

Sean Kuraly ($3,500): Kuraly causes opponents frustration with his propensity to shoot -- he has 25 shot attempts in his last seven games. Kuraly has exceeded value in four of his last seven starts, as well. Montreal has been better defensively since Carey Price has returned, and that includes a shutout of Colorado on Saturday. However, if Boston can get depth scoring from a guy who does get some power-play time, that is a huge bonus. Kuraly's price is reasonable enough to spend up or even stack on some other Boston forwards. Value center options are few and far between on Monday. Pavel Zacha ($3,600) is a high-risk choice from New Jersey. Furthermore, watch for line shifts as an unexpected change may net another value choice or two.

Zachary Sanford ($3,200): Sanford is still hovering around top-six ice time even in this latest call-up for St. Louis. His floor of shots and blocked shots per game is reasonable. The fact that he has played at least 15 minutes in four straight games is at least worthy of a punt play. Among other higher-risk value options, Kenny Agostino ($3,100) is a decent dart throw because of power-play time for Montreal, and Luke Kunin ($3,400) is the same for Minnesota due to increased ice time and better linemates.


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.