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 ($8,700): The New Jersey Devils have scored just 10 goals in their last five games and that was against the easier part of their schedule. The St. Louis Blues roll into town as winners of eight straight games. Also, New Jersey has seen the under hit in eight straight contests, so goals in their games have come down quite a bit (3.8 per game in regulation in this span). Shot output has still been at 31 per 60, though, so Binnington should see just enough of a workload. He is the expected starter on Friday. Connor Hellebuyck ($8,100) is a reasonable alternative against the Vegas Golden Knights.
High-Priced Skaters
Nathan MacKinnon ($8,900): Just play him again on Friday, as the Colorado Avalanche center finally looked like himself against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. The goal and assist were great, but the eight shots and five scoring chances were even better. That high-output MacKinnon is the one most are accustomed to seeing. This has been absent for far too long. MacKinnon enjoys a solid matchup against a Vancouver Canucks team which has yielded 21 goals in their past five contests and is without Jacob Markstrom as well. They have also lost four of their past five games, so confidence is an issue. Auston Matthews ($9,200) may be viable because of how slow the Anaheim Ducks are defensively.
Max Pacioretty ($7,800): Pacioretty looked a bit more like himself on Tuesday night with a goal, assist, three shots, and three scoring chances against New Jersey. It is not easy playing without Mark Stone, but this was the first game it appeared where Pacioretty's adjustments worked. Winnipeg has just a 76.2% penalty kill at home on the season, and the middle of their defense is spacious to say the least. Pacioretty should be able to have plenty of opportunities on this night. David Perron ($6,300) may be someone else to consider against the Devils.
Value Skaters
Jake Virtanen ($3,800): Virtanen is risky because he can be shuffled from the first to third line and quickly. He is mostly getting around 14 minutes of ice time a game and had an assist with six shots in his previous contest. If he can fire up some shots against Colorado tonight, there should be a chance for an assist or goal. This is especially true if he takes some shifts with the top line. That will be something to keep an eye on in morning skate. Where will Virtanen be slotted? Danton Heinen ($3,500) is worth pondering, as well, with him seeing nearly 35 minutes of ice time the past two games for Anaheim.
Filip Hronek ($3,700): The Detroit Red Wings welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to town in a sludge versus arguably AHL-level talent matchup. Hronek came back and struggled against Colorado but still had a couple scoring chances. Since his return from injury, Hronek is playing 25-plus minutes a night and had several nights of rest. Chicago is in the midst of a brutal stretch, and this could be the one night where Detroit and Hronek can take advantage of this. Connor Murphy ($3,700) could provide a nice floor once more. He had five shots and blocked shots combined last night against the Edmonton Oilers.
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.