NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 2/14/19
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
Pekka Rinne ($8,100): The Nashville Predators are projected to start Rinne against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. The dilemma is that Rinne is not an automatic start, so check back to see if he gets the nod. Montreal hits the net with the fourth-highest frequency in the league, at 33.5 shots per contest, but Nashville allows just over 29 shots per game at home. Nashville has allowed over 30 shots a game in their last five contests though, and Montreal's speed could force a weary Nashville team into some bad situations.The low cost of Rinne makes this play less of a risk so long as he's confirmed to start. Also, Jonathan Quick could be a good cash play against Vancouver on Thursday, as the Canucks are not rested and could potentially start a third-string goalie if Jacob Markstrom isn't able to go for the second night in a row.
High-Priced Skaters
Nathan MacKinnon ($7,800): MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche have a decent matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. The center's price has come down from the mid-8000s, making him a viable option on Thursday night. He has been a bit up and down with shot and chance volume the past six or seven contests, but both Colorado and Winnipeg have allowed over 3.4 goals per night in their previous five games. Winnipeg's penalty kill is just under 78% over their past 15 outings as well. MacKinnon could easily have 4+ shots and 3+ scoring chances against the Jets. Brayden Point ($7,500) and Sean Monahan ($7,400) carry good matchups against Dallas and Florida, respectively.
Patrick Kane ($9,100): Kane enjoys the best matchup of the night on paper against a weary New Jersey team that allows 3.93 goals per game on the road. Cory Schneider is confirmed to start and has not won a game since December of 2017. His 4.12 goals-against average and .868 save percentage lends itself to the Chicago Blackhawks producing in a myriad of ways. Stacks via even strength are probably best with Kane although the power play had some success in their last meeting (an 8-5 loss in New Jersey). Kane is a high-volume shooter with at least three shots and scoring chances in 13 of his last 14 games. Vladimir Tarasenko ($8,300) is on a hot streak right now for St. Louis, and Evander Kane ($7,800) is in a solid spot versus a porous Washington Capitals defense.
Value Skaters
Travis Zajac ($3,800): This is a high-risk play even at the price, as Zajac has two shots on net in his last four starts. He has vanished offensively once again. However, the second line for New Jersey torched Chicago in their last meeting. Zajac scored a goal, chipped in with two assists, and had four shots on goal. If they match up against the Kane line, chances should at least be plentiful (several high-danger chances are likely). See who plays alongside Zajac with Blake Coleman doubtful and Miles Wood out. Zajac drove play well against the Kane line and could do so again. Nick Cousins ($3,900) is seeing second-line ice time and some power-play time as well. He has real-world points in each of his last two starts.
Brandon Pirri ($3,600): Pirri's offensive production slowed to nothing for six games, and then he lit the lamp on Tuesday against Arizona. The winger generated a couple scoring chances and looked more like the player that started the season. Pirri gets a good matchup against the depth of Toronto on Thursday. His speed could cause matchup nightmares for Toronto's bottom defensive pairings. Conor Garland ($3,300) is a potential play at home against St. Louis on Thursday.
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.
