Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 2/23/17

Welcome back to a nice little six-game slate in the National Hockey League. It should be a high scoring night with five teams projected for three or more goals with some elite matchups. Only the Bruins are playing on a back to back and no team is playing a third game in four nights. Let's dive in and take a look at some of the top plays from the 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.

GOALIES

Ben Bishop FD - $8700 DK - $7800
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 15.64 DK - 3.91

He crushed it for us on Tuesday and continues his red-hot pace in the month of February. He has now won five straight games while stopping 121 of 127 shots he faced(.953 save %). He has helped give the Lightning some life in the playoff race as they now sit just four points back of the wildcard with a return of Steven Stamkos in site. Look for the Bolts and Bishop to carry their momentum over to Thursday where they will be fairly big home favorites to the visiting Flames and their 19th ranked offense. Bishop is a great play in all formats.

Carey Price FD - $9200 DK - $8100
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 15.56 DK - 3.89

Price should be considered a GPP play only tonight and it honestly has nothing to do with his play. He is an elite netminder and while it appears he is struggling, all you need to do is watch a period of Habs hockey to realize the struggles are not his fault. They struggle to get the puck out of their own end when playing 5 on 5 and give up a ton of chances in which Price has been bailing them out. Don't believe me? Take a look at his 5 on 5 save %(.939) which ranks Top 5 among goalies who have played 20 or more games. Price will be on home ice tonight where he has been much better with a 17-7-3 record with a .928 save % and two shutouts.

 

 

Also Consider: Pekka Rinne(GPP)

 

 

CENTERS

Jonathan Toews FD - $7300 DK - $6300
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 15.37 DK - 4.87

There are a few centers at the top of the salary in some tough spots which has me dipping down a bit where there is excellent value plays. It starts with the Blackhawks captain who has been on fire since the All-Star break with 14 points in nine games including a GPP winning five points last game. While I don't believe he will duplicate that again anytime soon, he should be able to hit value in a top matchup vs. the Coyotes 27th ranked defense. Stacking him with Panik and Schmaltz is a very cheap stacking option that allows you a ton of flexibility throughout your lineup.

Stack with: Richard Panik, Nick Schmaltz

 
Patrice Bergeron FD - $7100 DK - $6700
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 14.28 DK - 4.61

Bergeron is a very similar player to Toews in that both are perennial Selke Trophy award nominees and have both won it in the past. The Selke is the award that goes to the best two-way player in the league, a sign of an elite hockey player. For fantasy, we are concentrated almost exclusively on offense and Bergeron is hitting on al cylinders in that department lately. He has tallied 13 points over his previous 10 games including five points on the powerplay and one shorthanded. Not only does he come with multi-point upside, but the shot volume(40 shots last 10 games) makes him safe in cash games as well. The Bruins are playing on a back to back night which could make them a lower owned option tonight on a smaller six-game slate.

Stack with: Brad Marchand, David Backes

 
Calle Jarnkrok FD - $4000 DK - $3500
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 8.98 DK - 2.6

The Preds get the pleasure of playing the league's worst defense tonight which vaults Jarnkrok and his value price tag right to the top of the PTS/$ rankings. He isn't just a great punt value with upside either. He has been skating over 17 minutes a game with James Neal and Colin Wilson and is also getting powerplay time. Over the last 10 games, he has tallied five goals and eight points(two on the PP) while providing a decent floor with 25 shots on goal. He is safe in all formats.

Stack with: James Neal, Colin Wilson

 

 

WINGERS

Nikita Kucherov FD - $7500 DK - $7200
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 14.61 DK - 4.83

Patrick Kane is going to be mighty popular tonight as the Blackhawks are projected for around 3.5 goals. If you are looking for a pivot to gain a little separation, consider Kucherov who is one of only eight players who is averaging over a point per game this season(min 20 games).  The Bolts are projected for just under three total goals tonight in a home matchup vs. the Flames who rank 18th in defense. Kucherov also provides a high floor with 36 shots over his last 10 games and 170 on the season. He is safe in all formats.

Stack with: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat

 

 
Filip Forsberg FD - $7000 DK - $6200
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 12.88 DK - 4.02
Viktor Arvidsson FD - $5600 DK - $6100
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 12.93 DK - 3.79

I list both Predators top line wingers together as they come with huge upside tonight vs. the league's worst defense. The best part is that not only do they make great GPP plays, they also provide excellent cash game value. Both rank inside the Top 30 in shot attempts per 60 minutes which has translated to 2.8 shot per game for Forsberg and over 3.0 shot per game for Arvidsson. While the Preds don't strike many as an offensive power in the NHL, they do rank 11th(2.83 goals per game) and with the matchup come in as the highest projected scoring team of the night. Get as much exposure as possible.

Stack with: Ryan Johansen

 

 

 

DEFENSEMEN
Roman Josi FD - $6100 DK - $6000
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 12.98 DK - 4.27

With so much value on such a smallish slate combined with the lack of top end D-men, I will venture up in the $6K range tonight. The offensive production has taken a bit of a hit from previous years but he did miss nearly three weeks(9 games) with an upper-body injury. Since returning he has averaged a point per game including three multi-point efforts, 30 shots on goal and 16 blocks. He is by far the top D man on the slate.

 

Niklas Hjalmarsson FD - $3600 DK - $3500
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 8.42 DK - 2.59

I can't get through an article without mining for at least one punt play that can provide us with a decent floor and allows us to pay up for some top plays every night. We have mentioned Hjalmarsson before and while he doesn't provide much of anything offensively, he does provide that floor we are looking for. He has tallied 37 blocks over his last 10 games and averages over 2.5 per game on the season.

 

 

Also Consider: Brady Skjei(NYR)

 

 

 

 

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.