NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 2/1/21
Hockey is officially back! NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.
Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com or DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.
Let's jump in to take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.
Goalie to Target
Carey Price ($8,300): The Montreal Canadiens come in as -178 home favorites against the Vancouver Canucks and should be a spot to look for goaltending. Price has been confirmed as the starter tonight and will look to pick up his third straight win, which is certainly achievable. The Canadiens come into this game allowing only 1.71 Goals Against Per 60 Minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the seventh-best in the league.
Price has always been one of the strongest goalies in the league and the level of consistency he brings on a nightly basis is tough to match at his salary. Price should be viable in all formats tonight since he is a large home favorite, which is great for cash games but should also see plenty of shot attempts. The Canucks have the 11th-best (55.3) Corsi For (Shot Attempts Created) Per 60 Minutes in five-on-five situations, giving him a nice ceiling to reach for tonight.
High-Priced Skaters
Artemi Panarin ($7,800): Panarin is off to a hot start this season -- nine real NHL points in eight games -- and has a chance to continue that trend versus the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. Panarin skates on the second forward line and first power-play unit for the New York Rangers, who have a solid 3.20 implied goal total tonight. This should give him plenty of opportunities against the Penguins and their lackluster defense.
To start the season, the Penguins are allowing 3.02 Goals Against Per 60 Minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-worst in the league. The Rangers aren't much better at 2.58 Goals Against Per 60 Minutes in five-on-five situations, the 10th-worst in the league. This should lead to plenty of scoring back and forth, which is normal when we see these two teams play each other. Eight of the last 10 games have hit the over, according to KillerSports.
John Gaudreau ($7,600): The Calgary Flames have a very healthy 3.34 implied goal total tonight and you should be considering them in all formats. Gaudreau is up on the first power-play unit and second forward line for the Flames and we have seen him get off to a strong start this year. He comes in with 17 shots and 9 real-world points through seven games, which is exactly the type of production you want to see from a player at this salary.
The matchup for the Flames against the Winnipeg Jets is one to attack tonight but this isn't a secret, so expect the Flames to be relatively chalky. The Jets are in the bottom half of the league in Corsi Against (Shot Attempts Allowed) and Goals Against both Per 60 Minutes in five-on-five situations.
Value Skaters
Corey Perry ($3,400): While Perry is known for being a pest on the ice, he has a very friendly salary tonight and is seeing time on the Canadiens' second power-play unit. Montreal comes into this game with a slate-high 3.63 implied goal total and should be the chalkiest team on the entire slate. Even though he is on the third forward line, Perry's role on the second power-play unit makes him a fantastic value option given the Canadiens' potential scoring output tonight.
Kasperi Kapanen ($4,100): If you are looking to get exposure to the Penguins and their 3.30 implied goal total on the cheap, Kapanen could be the value option for you. Kapanen skates on the second forward line and the second power-play unit, which has helped him post three points in his last three games. As noted above, both the Rangers and Penguins are lacking on defense this season, which should make this a very fantasy-friendly environment to target tonight.
