NHL DFS Picks
There are many benefits to using an NHL Optimizer when making daily fantasy lineups for DraftKings or Fanduel. FantasyData uses expert fantasy projections which creates an opportunity for spotting value in the cost when making your lineup. DFS sites do not adjust the prices of players of any slate once available, which means that if a player is ruled out from an injury the backup player’s price is not adjusted. Staying on top of all injuries can be a huge task, thankfully FantasyData’s team is making updates to their projections constantly to allow their subscribers an edge in finding the best players. All of our NHL player projections are fed into our NHL optimizer daily to allow the user the best possible DFS NHL Lineup.
Using FanDuel Salaries
Centers
Bo Horvat $7,300
Bo has been on a red-hot streak, recording double-digit fantasy scoring in 7 consecutive games. The Islanders are coming up against the Ducks in this contest and the Ducks have a tough time defending the center position, ranking in the bottom 10 of the league. In his last 10 games, Horvat has 5 goals and 6 assists.
Tage Thompson $7,000
Tage Thompson and his Sabres have a tough matchup with the Avalanche this tonight but the optimizer loves him in this matchup. The Optimizer has Thompson as the third-best Value of any center in tonight’s slate of games. Tage has just returned from injury and has been playing very well. In his 4 games since returning, he has recorded 2 assists and one goal. In 3 of the 4 games, he has scored 11 or more DFS points. He should see plenty of ice time as the team’s top forward and is a force on the powerplay.
VALUE – Projected Value based on Fantasy Points per dollar ratio
Matthew Poitras $4,200
Poitras is a very inexpensive option with good upside against the Devils. Poitras is seeing more ice time with the injury to Pavel Zacha and he has been solid. He has recorded 4 points in his last 10 games. The Devils play fast so Poitras should see decent ice time as both teams have good center cores. Poitras is even getting an opportunity on the second powerplay unit.
Wingers
Jake Guentzel $8,500
Guentzel is slightly pricey but has a great matchup in this game with the Canadiens. Montreal has not been great defensively so far this season, averaging over 3.3 goals against per game. The Penguins powerplay has been pretty bad, only scoring on 9% of their opportunities, but Montreal has a penalty kill percentage of only 73%, a possible ‘get right’ opportunity for the Penguins powerplay. Guentzel is very involved in the offense every game; he has recorded 10 points in his last 10 games. He is averaging 17 DFS points ln average through 27 games this season.
Kevin Fiala $7,100
The Kings take on the Winnipeg Jets, and the Jets are coming off a 2-1 defeat to the Sharks last night. Fiala is a great skater and with the Jets having tired legs, this could be a great opportunity for him to be involved in the scoring. Fiala is an excellent playmaker, recording 6 goals and 19 assists in 25 games this season. The point-a-game player has been consistent all season, averaging 14 DFS points through his 25 games played. The Kings are well rested and the Jets are playing the second of a back-to-back, a good recipe for scoring points in your lineups.
Jake DeBrusk $4,700
DeBrusk has a great opportunity in a matchup where the Devils have not been that good defensively this season. DeBrusk has yet to put it all together this season but has still been decent. DeBrusk has 11 points this season in 25 games but has 5 points in his last 10 games played. That tracks in his DFS scoring, recording 14 or more DFS points in 5 of the last 10 games and less than 6.5 DFS points in the other 5 games. He is an inexpensive option and has good upside in a game where the Bruins should score some goals.
Defensemen
Owen Power $4,800
Earlier this season when Power and the Sabres took on the Avalanche, he scored 14 DFS points. He has a solid play-making aspect to his game, recording 11 assists so far this season. Power is averaging just under 23 minutes of ice time a night on average and 8 DFS points on average this season.
Hampus Lindholm $4,100
The Optimizer loves the cheap Bruins defensemen in tonight’s game. Lindholm is the most involved of any of the defensemen though. He will be seeing first pair minutes, powerplay time, and time on the penalty kill. He is a do-it-all defenseman and is always on the ice, and that’s exactly what you want from an inexpensive defenseman. He only averages less ice time than Charlie McAvoy this season and McAvoy is going to miss this game due to injury. He has ample opportunity to score points in your lineup and he has a cheap salary in DFS.
Goalie
Ilya Sorokin/ Semyon Varlamov $8,400
The Islanders goalies have the best matchup of any team going into this game. The Islanders are heavily favored (-225) on FanDuel Sportsbook. The Ducks will also be without Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras. The Islander goalies may not be projected as highly as some of the others, but a win gets you 12 fantasy points on DFS and that is a huge reason behind selecting a goalie. Remember to check closer to the puck drop and see who is in the net, the goalies have the same salary so switching is very important to make sure you get whichever one is in between the pipes.
Recap From Last Week’s Picks
Centers
- Evgeni Malkin: Malkin only scored 4.8 points. Not a great showing but he had his chances, recording 3 shots on goals.
- Jesperi Kotkaniemi: I was right that I wanted players in the matchup against the Oilers, I was just on the wrong side with the Oilers winning this game 6-1. Kotkaniemei recorded 4.8 DFS points.
- Anthony Cirelli: Cirelli was one of the best centers of the whole night, recording 23.7 DFS points. Cirelli is so involved in the game for the Lightning, made evident by his goal, 3 shots, and 4 blocked shots in last Wednesday’s game.
Wingers
- Jason Robertson: In a game where the Stars scored 4 goals, I thought Robertson would be more involved. Only recording 2 shots and 3.2 DFS points, this pick was a whiff.
- Mark Stone: The Golden Knights won this game against the Blues 6-3 and hard to keep Stone off the points list when they score this much. Stone scored 11.2 points by recording 2 shots and 1 assist.
- Andrei Svechnikov: I was expecting the Hurricanes to compete with the Oilers have been red hot and were just outmatched in this contest. Svechnikov recorded 3 shots but only recorded 4.8 DFS points.
Defensemen
- Brent Burns: Ony had 1 shot and his team got dominated. 1.6 DFS points is not good enough.
- Kris Letang: Ice cold performance by Letang, not recording a single stat. Pittsburgh got handled by the Lightning in this contest 3-1.
- Brandon Montour: The Panthers scored 5 goals in this game and Montour only had 2 shots. A few of the other Panthers defensemen had good games but Montour took a back seat in the fantasy scoring.
Goalie
- Logan Thompson: Thompson was the third-best fantasy goalie on this night, recording 20.8 DFS points. He had 26 saves, 3 goals against, and got the win. Choosing a goalie of the team that you think will win the game is huge, a win is worth 12 fantasy points on FanDuel DFS scoring.
