NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 12/11/19
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
Philipp Grubauer ($7,700): While Grubauer isn't confirmed as the starter for the Colorado Avalanche tonight, he should be set to return after missing a start due to a hamstring injury. What's also an encouraging sign that he will be starting tonight is the fact the Avalanche sent Adam Werner back down to the AHL yesterday. This is all good considering Colorado comes in as a -165 home favorite tonight, the second-highest on the slate. Grubauer isn't expensive and is a large home favorite, which should make him very popular tonight.
In his last game he was pulled early for the injury, but prior to that, he had allowed a total of five goals over his last three starts, with 26 saves or more in two of those three games. On top of that, he picked up the win in each of those games, bolstering his floor of points. He's solid for cash games tonight since he should be in a spot for the win and a decent volume of saves.
High-Priced Skaters
Nathan MacKinnon ($9,100): MacKinnon is the best player on tonight's slate and is also the most expensive option, but he's well worth spending up for. He comes in with 8 points, 22 shots, and 4 blocked shots in his last five games -- a level of production no player can match tonight. He is on the first forward line and the first power-play for the Avalanche, who just got a bit stronger with the return of Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen.
MacKinnon will always be viable in all formats and should have some solid upside tonight since he is up against the Philadelphia Flyers, who are league average in expected goals against and the number of High-Danger-Scoring-Chances allowed per 60 minutes. Both teams are in the top half of the league in Corsi For, so we should see a strong pace in this game, opening up plenty of chances for fantasy production.
David Pastrnak ($8,800): Pastrnak only has two points in his last three games, which is actually bad for him. Right now, Pastrnak is sitting at fifth overall when it comes to points this season and leads the league in goals scored. So yeah, only two points in his last three games are actually bad, something most players can't say. The Boston Bruins are on the road to take on the Washington Capitals, where the over/under is set at 6.5, giving us a strong indication for fantasy production.
Despite both teams seemingly on a collision course for a matchup in the playoffs, we shouldn't see a 'playoff-type atmosphere' tonight but rather plenty of scoring on both sides. Pastrnak is on the top line and the top power-play unit, giving him a secure spot in the offense.
John Carlson ($7,500): Carlson is the best defender in the league and I'm not sure there is anyone even close to him. Carlson finds himself with the seventh-most real life NHL points this season, the highest for defenders and 13 points higher than the next best. He is the favorite for the Norris Trophy -- best defender in the league -- this season, and he has all of the production to show for it. He comes in averaging nearly three shots per game, nearly two blocked shots per game, and over one point per game. It's unbelievable production you want to lock into your lineups.
Value Skaters
Nick Suzuki ($3,800): Suzuki is the center on the third forward line for the Montreal Canadiens but is playing up on the first power-play unit. That is great considering he is under $4K tonight and going up against the Ottawa Senators, who are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. The recent production for Suzuki is very modest, with only two points and sevens shots on goal in his last five games. It's not great by any means, but the matchup shouldn't be passed up, and his role on the first power-play unit could allow him to exceed value rather quickly tonight.
Lars Eller ($4,700): As noted above, the Bruins at Capitals game has an over/under of 6.5 tonight, and we want to be looking here for fantasy points. The issue comes from the fact that both teams have a lot of skaters who are very expensive: Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand for the Bruins, and Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Nicklas Backstrom for the Capitals. If we want salary relief in this game, we should look to Eller, who has 2 points and 16 shots in his last five games and is on the second power-play unit. I like the shot volume from him, and the power-play role gives him some upside tonight in what should be a higher scoring game.
