Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid works for the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 4, 2016. The Blue Jackets won 6-3. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Welcome back to another busy Thursday in daily fantasy hockey. Tonight we have 10 games on the schedule with just two teams(BOS, CAR) playing back to back. Looking at the matchup chart the theme for the night looks to be target the away teams as for of the top five matchups come from the traveling teams. Let's take a look at some of the top value plays from our projection system.
Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
**As of 10:30 am ET neither of these goalies has been confiirmed starting. Please check back for updates before finalizing your lineups**
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 19.02 DK - 4.75
Look at his last 10 games(3-6-1, .916 sv%) and you probably feel a little sick to your stomach. Here me out though. He comes in as the top PTS/$ value of the top tier goalies tonight as the Lightning are huge -230 home favorites to the Canucks and their struggling road game. Bishop also appears to be coming out of his mini slump going 1-0-1 in his last two starts limiting the opponent to just one goal in each game. Look for Bishop to lead his team and your fantasy team to victory tonight.
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 13.24 DK - 3.31
Don't feel like trusting Bishop tonight? You certainly can't go wrong with Price, especially on DraftKings where he is just $200 more. While he has looked human over the last six starts(3-3) he is still nearly unbeatable at home with a 11-1-1 record and impressive .947 save % with two shutouts. Tonight he draws the offensively challenged Devils who rank in the bottom half of the league scoring(2.56 goals/game) and struggle on the road(4-7-4). He makes a great play in all formats on DraftKings but with a $10K+ price tag on FanDuel I would limit my exposure to tournaments only .
Also Consider: Antti Raanta(NYR)
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 17.96 DK - 5.82
Not only is he cheaper than Crosby on both sites, he also has the better matchup. The Oilers will travel to Philly to take on the red hot Flyers who have won six straight but are more prone to high scoring games than any other team in the league. I know I am repeating myself from past articles but I will keep stressing the point until they improve. only once all season have they been involved in a game where less than four total goals were scored. Now they get to face the league leader in points(36) who looks more like a seasoned veteran than a 19 year old. His shot volume have also been trending up over the last few weeks further cementing his status as safe in all formats.
Stack With: Leon Draisaitl, Milan Lucic
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 14.16 DK - 4.24
From a PTS/$ perspective, Carter has been destroying his value lately. Over the King past 10 games he has tallied six goals and four assists while providing a very high floor averaging just under four shots on goal per game. He has also been the driving force behind the powerplay with four of those points coming with the man advantage and even picked up a short handed goal. The best part about Carter in tournaments is that when he does get on the score sheet it very likely be a multi point contribution. He and the Kings are in a great spot tonight as they face the Hurricanes who not only struggle on the road(3-7-6) but will also be playing on back to back nights in Cali after giving up six goals to the Ducks on Wednesday.
Stack with: Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 8.13 DK - 2.46
Don't get me wrong, I realize this level of production is unsustainable from the 36 year old veteran. Get it while it's hot, at least on DraftKings where his salary continues to hover in the bottom tier. He is definitely not safe for cash games as he isn't providing much value outside of points. He has 10 in the last 10 games including three multi point efforts but just seven shots on goal in that time. The Preds have a very favorable matchup tonight as they take their 5th ranked offense on the road to Dallas to face the Stars who rank dead last in defense, allowing 3.22 goals per game. Ribeiro, Forsberg and Fiala provide affordable exposure to a great DFS situation.
Stack with: Filip Forsberg, Kevin Fiala
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 16.79 DK - 5.12
Other than the one six game stretch in mid November, Voracek has been extremely consistent this season. He is averaging just under a point per game(24 points in 28 games) and has provided a very high floor averaging over 3.5 shots on goal per game. The Flyers have mixed up their top two lines all season but it doesn't really matter as they all click together and share time on the top powerplay unit. This should be a high paced, high scoring game and Voracek definitely provides the safest floor for cash games and a ton of upside in stack for tournaments.
Stack with: Claude Giroux, Michael Raffl, Wayne Simmonds(PP)
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 17.88 DK - 5.13
His price is getting up there in price on DraftKings but leads all skaters in PTS/$ value on FanDuel tonight. His salary continues to sit in the mid $6K range which is a tremendous bargain for the level of production he is providing. He has points in four straight and seven of his last eight games and is averaging over three shots on goal per game over the course of the season. He gets another plus matchup tonight facing the struggling Avs who have lost six straight allowing 24 goals against in that time. Load up on the Bruins and start with Pastrnak.
Stack with: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 9.09 DK - 2.68
The Pens enter a tough matchup tonight on the road in Florida to face a Top 10 defense. This doesn't mean avoid the Pens all together as they own the league's #2 offense on the back of superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. In the tougher matchups I try to pick and choose the value plays who are boosted by playing alongside these two stars. Tonight it is Carl Hagelin who comes in under $5K on both sites and plays the second line with Malkin and Kessel and is averaging just under three shots per game over the last 10. He is safe in all formats with that shot volume and opportunity.
Stack with: Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 11.44 DK - 3.41
With no Burns or Karlsson on the slate tonight it will be a great opportunity to crack open the mid tier and find some value. Leading the way is Pietrangelo who has been trending upwards and now is the time to buy as the price hasn't fully adjusted yet. Not only has he tallied seven of his 14 points in the last 10 games, he has also provided a very high floor averaging 2.5 blocks and 2.9 shots per game in that time. He is safe in all formats.
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 10.33 DK - 2.92
You guessed it. The Flyers are playing so here sits Provorov in my picks. He continues to crush his value on both sites as the price is coming up at a snail's pace. The most important thing for Provorov is the high floor he is providing with shots and blocks and the rookie D man has already flashed his upside with 12 points this season including a few multi point efforts. Continue to roll with him in all formats until that price starts to get close to $5K on both sites.
Also Consider: Roman Josi(NSH)
Hockey is back and with it comes our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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