NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 3/9/20
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
Connor Hellebuyck ($8,700): The Winnipeg Jets goalie expects to get the start on Monday night versus the Arizona Coyotes. Hellebuyck has two shutouts in his previous five starts and has allowed two or fewer goals in four of those games. The interesting thing is that Hellebuyck has not faced the shot load that he has throughout most of the season. In this time, the Winnipeg goalie has only seen 136 shots -- that is an average of just 27.2 shots per contest. Arizona is averaging 31 shots per 60 on the road this year so that could increase Hellebuyck's margin of error a bit. Watch to see if Ilya Samsonov ($7,400) starts for the Washington Capitals.
High-Priced Skaters
Nathan MacKinnon ($8,900): Just play him again on Monday, as the Colorado Avalanche center looked great in a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday night. He had a goal, two assists, and the goal was a power-play tally. That gives him a four-game point-scoring streak. Also, the Los Angeles Kings are a team that has won five straight but can easily allow 3+ goals at any time (see the Minnesota Wild game). The Colorado center had a bit of a rough patch that seems to all but have disappeared now. Not even Anze Kopitar and his line should be able to slow him down. Connor McDavid ($8,700) against a tired Vegas Golden Knights team is quite the alternative.
Leon Draisaitl ($8,800): Draisaitl's strong season just keeps on going. However, last night against Columbus Blue Jackets was interesting. He only had one shot on goal with a couple scoring chances. The good news tonight is that the Edmonton Oilers are home again to face an even more fatigued Vegas squad. Columbus plays a good defensive system and they seemed to slow down Edmonton's second line very effectively. Vegas does not quite have that depth to do so. Expect more chances and an easier time on the power play for the Oilers. Alex Ovechkin ($8,700) against the slate's worst penalty kill in the Buffalo Sabres (74.5% overall) is a possibility as well.
Value Skaters
Frank Vatrano ($3,800): Vatrano has seen the goal well dry up with just one goal in his last 12 games. However, he does have 3+ shots in each of his previous three games as he is seeing more and more of a second-line role with the Florida Panthers. He has eight scoring chances in this span and several high-danger opportunities. Simply, the puck has just not gone in for him. If he keeps getting these chances, the goals will come. Even against the St. Louis Blues, Vatrano is in a good spot because he will not be facing the Alex Pietrangelo pairing. Zack Kassian ($3,700) is seeing some top-line time at even strength from Edmonton and may be worth a value pick.
Ryan Graves ($3,900): The Avalanche defenseman has not tallied many points of late but he has blocked ten shots in his last three starts. That will at least increase his floor as he is playing 24 minutes a night over the past week. The test will be to see how he handles a third game in four nights on the last leg of this California trip. At the very least, his floor should be elevated again and any offense at all is a bonus. Nick Jensen ($3,600) is a high-risk play from Washington who does have assists in consecutive games and his role has increased a bit due to inconsistent blueline play in Washington.
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.
