Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for DraftKings and FanDuel - 10/22/15

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We have a busy night on tap in the NHL with 8 games on the schedule. Everyone should be well rested as there are no teams on back to back or playing in a 3rd game in 4 nights. Salaries for some of the players who have started off hot have started to rise slowly in week two but we are still left with a ton of value in the player pool. Let's have a look.

The first thing to know when playing DFS hockey is that choosing your goalie is very important. In most cases, especially cash games, it is smart to pay up for the best goalie who is the biggest favorite to win on any given night. If you are going to play multi lineups in GPP formats you can start to stray away from the top guys and pick some lower end goalies and stack your forwards and defense. Another thing I watch closely when looking for value picks in DFS hockey is to watch the line combinations as new guys jump up the depth chart and start playing with superstars. The pricing on these players doesn't catch up fast enough and close to minimum priced players can be found nightly with plenty of upside.

The two sites I will be making picks for will be DraftKings and FanDuel. Here is the breakdown of the points for each site:

DraftKings:
Goal(3 Pts)                                                   Goalie Win(3 Pts)
Assist(2 Pts)                                                 Goalie Save(.2 Pts)
Shot(.5 Pts)                                                  Goal Against(-1 Pt)
Short Handed Point Bonus(1 Pt)             Shutout Bonus(2 Pts)
Shootout Goal(.2 Pts)
Hat Trick Bonus(1.5 Pts)
Blocked Shot(.5 Pt)

Fanduel:
Goal(3 Pts)                                                    Goalie Win (3 Pts)
Assist(2 Pts)                                                 Goalie Saves(.2 Pts)
+/-(1 Pt)                                                        Goal Against(-1 Pt)
PIM(.25 Pts)                                                Shutout Bonus(2 Pts)
Power Play Point Bonus(.5 Pts)
Shot(.4 Pts)

There is no difference in goalie scoring between the two sites but there is a significant difference in forward/defense points. On DraftKings you get awarded points for short hand points, blocks, shootout goals, and can receive a hat trick bonus. FanDuel has none of these categories but awards powerplay points, +/-, and penalty minutes. More than anything this affects how I choose my defense. On DraftKings I look for defense who block a lot of shots while on FanDuel I really concentrate on +/- more than anything as it is worth 1 point either way.

GOALIES

Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers vs. Ari **CONFIRMED**
DraftKings - $7,800 FanDuel - $9,200
Huge favorite at home Thursday vs. the Coyotes who sit in the middle of the league in goals allowed per game. He has a .931 save % and gives us a nice floor as Rangers give up lots of shots per game. Once the team in front of him starts scoring more goals he will start picking up more wins. He is in a good spot to get one Thursday and is safe in all formats.

Andrew Hammond - Ottawa Senators vs. NJ *CONFIRMED*
DraftKings - $7,100 FanDuel - $8,400
Makes a nice GPP play at home vs an offensive lacking Devils team. The Sens come in as -180 favorites as Hammond makes his first start of the year. He is a nice salary on both sites but until we see a start or two I wouldn't use in cash games. He made 24 starts last season for the Sens and was an amazing 20-1-2 with a 1.79 GAA and .941 save percentage.

Also Consider - Devan Dubnyk - Minnesota Wild

CENTER

Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. DAL
DraftKings - $7,900 FanDuel - $9,000
He finally broke out last game with 3 points and remains under $8,000 on DraftKings. He will soon be in the top 2 or 3 priced forwards and needs to be played in all formats until this happens. With a goal scorer and elite talent like Kessel joining the team, it takes time to build chemistry. It looks like it starting to come together for the Pens top line.

Jason Spezza - Dallas Stars @ PIT
DraftKings - $5,900 FanDuel - $6,200
Getting a piece of the Stars offense has a been a positive play to start the season. The Stars are scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game(3rd in NHL) with 6 PP goals to start the year. Spezza remains a nice value on both sites and is playing nearly 4:00 a game on the powerplay.

Also Consider Niklas Backstrom - Washington Capitals

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WINGERS

Phil Kessel - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. DAL
DraftKings - $7,300 FanDuel(RW) - $7,900
Has started the year slow but playing on top line with Crosby who awoke from the dead last game. Kessel makes a nice GPP play stack with Crosby at home Thursday as he is attempting over 18 shots per game and is getting around 3:30 PP time per game.

TJ Oshie - Washington Capitals @ VAN
DraftKings - $5,700 FanDuel(RW) - $6,000
The Capitals are faced with a tough matchup Thursday night on the road in Vancouver but own the leagues highest scoring offense with 3.8 goals per game. He is a cheap way to get exposure to that production and he plays top line with Ovi.

Artemi Panarin - Chicago Blackhawks vs. FLA
DraftKings - $4,600 FanDuel(LW) - $3,400
Great salary relief option Thursday on both sites and is playing on a line with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov. He is getting nearly 18:00 min a game with around 3:00 of that on the powerplay. Stack with Kane in GPP for maximum exposure.

Also Consider - Daniel Sedin - Vancouver Canucks

DEFENSE

Erik Karlsson - Ottawa Senators vs. OTT
DraftKings - $6,700 FanDuel - $7,900
He is the top D option on both sites and might be under owned because of it. He has 8 points in 6 games and attempts a ton of shots every game and also blocks shots. He has a high floor and huge upside at home vs. a Devils team allowing 3 goals per game(21st in NHL).

Kris Letang - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. DAL
DraftKings - $5,500 FanDuel - $6,100
If you are looking to spend a little less on your D but still want the production, Letang is a great option. He plays over 27:00 a game with over 4:00 on the powerplay. Like Karlsson, he presents a high floor with high shot attempts per game and the added block shots which is a benefit on DratKings.

Also Consider - Michael Stone - Arizona Coyotes

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