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
Cory Schneider ($7,500): The New Jersey Devils are projected to start Schneider against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Calgary comes in unrested but is one of the best teams on the road (20-11-2). New Jersey must rely on superior goaltending due to injuries. Schneider has won his last three home starts after not having won a game in over a year. His price has not responded or risen at all. Other options on Wednesday night include Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov ($7,600) against a Vancouver Canucks team that scores at a rate of just 2.58 goals per game on the road. Also, Alexandar Georgiev ($7,600) could be a risky GPP value play against the Tampa Bay Lightning due to what could be a high save count.
High-Priced Skaters
Connor McDavid ($8,800): McDavid returns from his two-game suspension to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. The center had a 30+ FanDuel point night in the game he got suspended. And few things fire up a franchise player more than an unexpected absence. Furthermore, Toronto has seen the over hit in their last two matchups. Edmonton is more than capable of scoring 3+ goals against a Maple Leafs team that sometimes takes opponents a bit too lightly. The Oilers will try to play a fast tempo, and the Leafs will oblige. Mika Zibanejad ($7,400) is a good choice at home for the New York Rangers, and Auston Matthews ($8,300) should get depth matchups against the Edmonton Oilers.
Patrick Kane ($9,400): Kane keeps firing pucks on net for the Chicago Blackhawks (20 shots on 30+ shot attempts); that included 13 scoring chances in the last two games. The Anaheim Ducks have played better defensively of late, allowing just 11 goals in their previous five contests, however, they have not gone against a top-six quite like Chicago, who are willing to trade chances with a lot of speed. They give up tons of chances so there will be lots of value plays for Anaheim. Leon Draisaitl ($8,300) is on pace for 45+ goals this year and Mitchell Marner ($7,700) make for solid options as well due to matchups that feature potential for higher opportunities.
Value Skaters
Ryan Strome ($3,600): With the trade of Kevin Hayes, Strome gets top ice time almost by default. His shot volume features a lot of ones and twos on a nightly basis, but the Rangers' forward gets two-to-three scoring chances a night. He also blocks shots at a rate of 1.25 shots per contest over the last eight games. Whether that is better defensive responsibility or not, that just creates a better floor. Strome sees increasing power-play time as well, which creates value at his price point. Anthony Cirelli ($3,800) is one idea from Tampa Bay and Tyson Jost ($3,800) is another third-line play that could garner a surprising amount of ownership.
J.T. Miller ($3,900): Miller is heating up with seven points in his last nine games for Tampa Bay, and that should amount to more power play opportunities. The main knock on Miller is how streaky he is. Eight shots in the last three games is good, though the 14 attempts are more important. At least he is trying to hit the net, which was something Miller did not do earlier in the season. He draws a matchup against a Rangers team that yields 35+ shots per 60 at home since January 1. Drake Caggiula ($3,700) is a high-risk play from Chicago, and so is Alexander Kerfoot ($3,500) from Colorado.
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.