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Tuesday night in the NHL brings us 7 games with some nice matchups for goaltenders along with some potential high scoring games in which we will try and find some offense. There are no teams on back to back or playing their 3rd game in 4 nights. Pricing around the industry hasn't caught up to some players which is going to help us find some value early in the season. Lets dig in!
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.
Carey Price - Montreal Canadiens vs. STL **CONFIRMED**
DraftKings - $8,400 FanDuel - $10,200
He is the best goalie in the NHL and will be playing at home Tuesday night as -140 favorites. He has started the year 5-0 with a .957 save % with a shutout. He will face the Blues Tuesday in what should be a low scoring defensive game.
Marc-Andre Fleury - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. FLA *CONFIRMED*
DraftKings - $7,800 FanDuel - $9,400
The Penguins as a team have started the year off slow with only 4 points in 5 games. Fleury has not been the problem though as he has posted a .937 save % up to this point. The Pens will be at home Tuesday night as the biggest favorites(-170) on the board. He comes in a bit cheaper than Price and makes a nice play on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
John Tavares - New York Islanders @ CBJ
DraftKings - $8,000 FanDuel - $9,100
He has started the year off strong with 8 points in 5 games and he is averaging 5.6 DK and 6.6 FD points per game. He enters a matchup on the road against a Columbus team allowing the most goals per game(5) in the league. The Blue Jackets also have the 2nd worst penalty kill, allowing 7 goals while short handed. Tavares plays a big role in the scoring for the Islanders and is in prime position for a multi point effort.
Nicklas Backstrom - Washington Capitals @ CGY
DraftKings - N/A FanDuel - $6,200
He played his first game back from injury on Saturday and looked as explosive as ever scoring a goal and picking up 2 assists. He is only available on FanDuel but comes in a nice discount to the other top centers. Get on him before the salary shoots up.
Also Consider Sam Gagner - Philadelphia Flyers
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Jamie Benn - Dallas Stars @ PHI
DraftKings - $7,600 FanDuel(LW) - $8,700
The Stars top line has started the year on fire with 5 goals(2nd in NHL). The Stars are scoring 3.75 goals a game(1st in NHL) and enter a matchup vs. the Flyers who are prone to high scoring games every now and then(as a Flyers fan it can be painful!). If you are looking to pay up at Winger is definitely one of the 3 best options on Tuesday and makes a nice stacking option with Seguin and Sharp.
Kyle Okposo - New York Islanders @ CBJ
DraftKings - $5,900 FanDuel(RW) - $6,400
As stated with Tavares the matchup is ideal for scoring on Tuesday as Columbus is dead last in goals allowed per game. Okposo has started the year with 6 points in 5 games o the second line and is playing on the top PP line. He takes a ton of shots and makes a great play in any format Tuesday night.
Tobias Rieder - Arizona Coyotes @ NJ
DraftKings - $4,000 FanDuel(LW) - $5,100
His salary has not quite adjusted to where it should be after this hot start. Rieder has 5 points in the first 5 games and is a +2 with 19 shots. Yes, 19 shots. That is about 4 per game and give Rieder a nice floor for cash games. He has been getting around 17 minutes ice time a game and about 3.5 minutes of that is on the powerplay. Great value in any format.
John Klingberg - Dallas Stars @ PHI
DraftKings - $4,500 FanDuel - $5,200
He is logging around 24 minutes a game and almost 4 minutes on the powerplay which is ranked 3rd in the league at the moment. The Flyers usually take quite a few penalties which should give Klingberg plenty of opportunities for fantasy points.
Roman Josi - Nashville Predators vs. TB
DraftKings - $6,100 FanDuel - $6,100
Is a nice high salary option on Tuesday who presents a high floor. He has 5 points in the first 5 games and he averages over 2 blocks a game which is what we look for in a D man on DraftKings. He gets the occasional PIM and is normally a + player which helps over on FanDuel.
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View Comments
Why is Nicolas Backstrom not in DK yet? I figured a 3 pt night in his first game back would solidify him as a top play at Center....smh