A good chunk of you played daily fantasy football this year, and I'd be willing to bet a significant portion of you 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.
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
Henrik Lundqvist ($7,800): The New York Rangers come in as -155 home favorites, which means we want to target Lundqvist for the win equity. It's not often we look towards Lundqvist as the ideal option in NHL DFS, but with only two games tonight, we have to mix things up.
What is true for Lundqvist is that he will always see a ton of shots, since the Rangers are dead last in the league when it comes to Corsi Against, meaning they allow a ton of shot attempts. He will have a significant amount of chances to rack up points via saves, but it also puts him in plenty of danger. Extra shots mean the opposing team could also pour in goals, thus limiting his fantasy points and the win.
Even with that said, the largest home favorite on the slate and a modest price tag should make Lundqvist a viable option at goalie tonight.
High-Priced Skaters
Connor McDavid ($8,900): Let me put it like this -- it's not even a question if you should be playing McDavid tonight. Just lock him in. He is by far the best player on this slate, and you shouldn't even think, "Oh, what if I fade him tonight?" Don't do that. McDavid has the highest floor along with potentially the highest ceiling. He is averaging over 3 shots on goal per game and has 24 real NHL points in 16 games, all while playing over 20 minutes a game.
He plays on the first forward line, the first power-play, and is at home, which means he has last line change. This is a clear "don't get cute spot" -- simply lock him in and move on.
Artemi Panarin ($7,700): The Rangers have an implied goal total sitting at 3.52 tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, so look towards Panarin as another top option tonight. The Red Wings are the 12th-worst team in the league when it comes to Corsi Against and ninth-worst in xGoals Against (Expected Goals Against). Detroit isn't good defensively and the Rangers aren't good defensively, which is why we are looking at an over/under sitting at 6.5 goals. The offense should be there for both teams tonight, and it's honestly a good spot for a game stack.
The Bread Man is averaging three shots on goal and one point per game, and he has a five-game point streak going. With his role on the first forward line and the first power-play, Panarin will see plenty of chances against this weak defense and stacking him with the first forward line isn't too expensive.
Value Skaters
Robert Thomas ($3,500): If you want to pay up for McDavid tonight -- and you should be doing so -- you will need to find value options on this two-game slate. One of those options is Rob Thomas, who is playing on the first forward line for the St. Louis Blues. He is nearly the minimum salary tonight and is also seeing time on the second power-play unit, which grants him some potential upside but is often not reached. In reality, Thomas is a bit of a "punt play," which will allow you to pay up for better players. He comes in with 13 shots in 13 games, along with only 3 points this season.
Dennis Cholowski ($3,800): As mentioned above, this Red Wings at Rangers game has an over/under of 6.5, and both teams are bad on defense. As much as we want to look towards the Rangers as a home favorite, the Red Wings have an implied goal total set at 2.98, which is decent. Cholowski is a defender on the second defensive pairing and the first power-play unit, granting you access to Dylan Larkin.
Cholowski only has four points in 13 games this season but is averaging almost two shots per game, along with one blocked shot per game. A consistent floor of points in a favorable matchup is tough to pass up.