Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 4/4/19

Welcome back to another huge Thursday night in the NHL with 12 games on the schedule. Let's jump in and take a look at the top goalies and teams target then check out our projections and lineup optimizer.

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GOALIE

Pekka Rinne FD - $8500 DK - $8300
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 5.01

While the Preds have locked up a playoff spot, they still have a lot to play for as there are two points separating the top three teams in the Central. This could be the difference between home-ice advantage against a wildcard team or having to play one of the two other teams. This is a big game so look for the Preds to fire up their #1 goalie and he has been terrific down the stretch recording a .927 save % over his last 10 games. He and the Preds also get a plus matchup as -275 home favorites against the recently eliminated Canucks. Fire up Rinne in all formats.

Also Consider: Petr Mrazek(CAR) into a smash spot for the Canes as they are at home as big favorites against the Devils who rank 30th in road offense

Carolina Hurricanes

Opponent - vs. NJ
Moneyline - CAR(-335)
Vegas Total - 6.0
Team Projection - 4.6 

The Hurricanes are a team going into the final few days of the season with a lot to play for. They currently hold down the #1 wildcard spot in the East but sit just one point ahead of both the Canadiens and Blue Jackets. Tonight, they get a terrific matchup to pick up two more points as the Devils come to town with their 30th ranked road defense giving up 3.9 goals per game on the season away from Jersey.
Dougie Hamilton FD - $6200 DK - $5800
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 13.33 DK - 3.89
Sebastian Aho FD - $6700 DK - $6700
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 14.75 DK - 4.25
Nino Niederreiter FD - $5600 DK - $5400
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 10.42 DK - 3.02

My top target on this team right now is Dougie Hamilton who has provided an incredibly consistent floor lately. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied a combined 51 shots/blocks and with the addition of seven points in that time, he has averaged 4.5 DraftKings/13.8 FanDuel points per game.

After Hamilton, I will be turning to the top line despite their recent struggles. Sebastian Aho has been terrific all season setting new career high's in goals(30), assists(52), and points(82) with two games to go. He has also provided a high floor averaging three shots per game with a 17.0 iCorsi per 60. I will be pairing him with Nino Niederreiter who came over in a trade with the Wild and it was exactly what he needed. In his 34 games with the Canes he has tallied 28 points while averaging just under three shots per game. All three players are excellent targets in all formats.

Also Consider: Justin Williams who also skates top line or Teuvo Tervainen who joins Nino and Aho on the top powerplay unit

Colorado Avalanche

Opponent - vs. WPG
Moneyline - COL(-114)
Vegas Total - 5.5
Team Projection - 2.9

With a win tonight, the Avs lock up a spot in the playoffs with an outside chance of overtaking Dallas as the top wildcard team. More good news for Avs fans as they have not only been playing well winning seven of their last 10 but they also get a plus matchup. The Jets have struggled down the stretch losing four of their last five games while giving up 21 goals.
Nathan MacKinnon FD - $8800 DK - $7600
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 17.8 DK - 5.29
Alexander Kerfoot FD - $4600 DK - $3900
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 7.51 DK - 2.21
Tyson Barrie FD - $6600 DK - $6400
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 13.87 DK - 4.17
Nathan MacKinnon is the second-most expensive center on both sites but is much affordable stacking him with his new first linemates, J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot. MacKinnon has been in beast mode for fantasy down the stretch averaging a point and 4.5 shots per game since the start beginning of the March and enters tonight tied with his career-high in points(97). kerfoot is coming off a two-goal game and has eight points over his last 10 games and has seen a huge boost in ice-time averaging over 18 minutes per game in that time(14.4 per game on the season). On defense, while I will probably settle on Hamilton who is cheaper on both sites, you cannot overlook Tyson Barrie right now. He is also providing a high floor with a combined 47 shots/blocks over his last 10 games but the upside has been greater as he has three-multi efforts in those games with 11 total points.

Also Consider: Gabriel Landeskog who joins MacKinnon on the top powerplay unit

Also Consider

The San Jose Sharks who take their 2nd ranked road offense into Edmonton to face an Oilers team that is sitting 29th in home defense. I will be targeting the top line of Timo Meier, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture and adding Brent Burns for GPP formats.

The Tampa Bay/Toronto game is one I would consider game stacking with a large 6.5 Vegas total with both teams ranking Top 5 in offense. For the Bolts, I am looking mostly at Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov and for the Leafs I like the Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen line.

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