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
Darcy Kuemper ($8,500): The Arizona Coyotes come in as -145 home favorites tonight and are facing off against the Anaheim Ducks, one of the weakest teams in the league, which is shown by the fact they have scored the fewest goals this season. The Coyotes are currently holding down one of the wild card spots in the Western Conference, and this is a winnable game for them with the Ducks only projected to score 2.03 goals tonight. That lines up nicely for Kuemper, who has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of his last 12 starts, which is why the Coyotes are only allowing 2.36 goals per game over the past month, the third-best of any team on the slate. Kuemper comes in with 30 saves or more in three of his last four starts, which gives him plenty of scoring upside, along with a strong chance of picking up the win.
High-Priced Skaters
Jake Guentzel ($7,800): The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting hot at the right time and come in winners in 6 of their last 10 games, with another win on tap tonight against the Sabres, who are still without their star player, Jack Eichel. The Penguins check in with an implied team total sitting at 3.68, which is the third-highest on the slate, meaning they are projected to score plenty of goals and thus, plenty of fantasy points. Guentzel should be in the middle of all that scoring as he is up on the first forward line with Sidney Crosby, along with seeing time on the second power-play unit. Guentzel comes in with a whopping 10 points in his last six games, along with 16 shots in that same span. The fantasy points are there for him every single game and tonight will be no different against a depleted Sabres team.
Nicklas Backstrom ($6,800): Backstrom rolls into tonight riding a four-game point streak with three goals and three assists in that span, which is set to continue tonight given the favorable matchup. The matchup is so favorable because the Washington Capitals are up against the Philadelphia Flyers, who are dead last in the league in Corsi Against since the start of February. That means the Flyers are allowing far too many shot attempts per game, which provides the Capitals with a solid floor of points, something you look for in cash games. With the Capitals having an implied team total set at 3.39 tonight, and Backstrom being on the top power-play unit next to Alex Ovechkin, he brings plenty of multi-point upside, which is great for tournaments.
Value Skaters
Tim Heed ($3,600): Heed is very cheap tonight and is still playing on the second power-play unit for the Sharks since Erik Karlsson is out with an injury. Heed has posted two points, three shots, and five blocked shots in his last three games, which may not seem like a ton, but at under $4,000 tonight, that is strong point-per-dollar value. The Sharks find themselves at home tonight in a game where the over-under is set at 6.5 and has them with an implied team total of 3.75, the second-highest on the slate. They will be up against the Florida Panthers, who will have rookie goalie Sam Montembeault in net making his fourth career start against the best team in the Western Conference.
Jordan Weal ($3,300): Weal and the Montreal Canadiens are on the road and up against the New York Islanders, who are known as one of the better defensive teams in the league, but oh, how things have changed recently. Over the past month, the Islanders have a 52.69 Corsi Against, which is the worst of any team on this slate. Things are quietly changing for the Islanders defense, which has now allowed three or more goals in four of their last six games and presents a nice spot to attack tonight, especially in tournaments. Weal is on the third forward line for the Canadiens but is also on the first power-play unit, which is easily stackable tonight due to the savings he offers.
Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. 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 articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.