NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 2/20/20
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 a goalie, some high-priced skaters, and lower-priced players to target for today's slate.
Goalie to Target
Jordan Binnington ($8,400): The St. Louis Blues goaltender comes off a shutout against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night and faces the Arizona Coyotes on no rest. Arizona lost to the Dallas Stars last night 3-2, despite peppering 41 shots on Ben Bishop. If Arizona can come close to that output, then Binnington is very much worth a play similar to what Bishop was on Wednesday evening. The schedule does the Coyotes few favors but does help out DFS players a little bit. See who starts for the Washington Capitals. It may be Ilya Samsonov ($8,000), but that has not been confirmed at press time.
High-Priced Skaters
Auston Matthews ($9,000): The expectation is that of a very different game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. This is especially from the Matthews line. Now Matthews did have a goal on four shots in Pittsburgh, but he could have done more with his four scoring chances generated. That spells big numbers potentially for the center at home -- as he has one of the best home splits in all of hockey (30 goals and 46 points in 30 games on 143 shots). Aleksander Barkov ($7,100) has some more value than usual against Los Angeles on Thursday.
Alex Ovechkin ($8,800): Ovechkin has gone into a bit of a slump since scoring goal 698 and remains two tallies from the 700 mark. He does have 25 shots and 16 scoring chances in the last four contests, though. It tends to mean the goals and assists are going to come eventually. He does have a goal in his only meeting against the Montreal Canadiens this season, along with several high-danger scoring chances. Montreal has a sub-75% road penalty kill and has struggled mightily all year at special teams. Patrik Laine ($8,200) can be equally streaky but has played well of late for the Winnipeg Jets.
Value Skaters
Frank Vatrano ($3,700): There is some risk here, but Vatrano has exceeded value in three of the last five games, including the last two contests with double-digit FanDuel points in each. Vatrano's speed drove Anaheim nuts and should do the same against Los Angeles tonight. The Kings have little left other than a top-heavy team, and not much defensively. It may be a night for the middle-six, and particularly a player like Vatrano. Tyler Ennis ($3,800) is another player to watch for from the Ottawa Senators.
P.K. Subban ($3,800): The New Jersey Devils' blueliner carries quite a risk on Thursday, but the San Jose Sharks are nowhere near the same team they were a month ago. Injuries have pressed Subban into a top-role again in all phases (at least for tonight). If this were ever a time to showcase his talents, this would be it. His floor has been at four shots and blocked shots over the last two games. With 25+ minutes of ice time expected tonight, the rearguard should see some scoring chances at least. Jakob Chychrun ($3,900) represents as high of a floor even while not rested on Thursday versus the St. Louis Blues.
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.
