NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 3/15/19
A good chunk of you played daily fantasy football this year, and I'd be willing to bet a significant portion have also tried out daily fantasy basketball and baseball. But hockey? Hockey?
It's time to give it a try over on FanDuel, because it's a ton of fun. And our analysis and projections can help you win.41.9
To help, let's take a look at some goalies, high-priced skaters, and lower-priced players to target for today's slate.
Goalie to Target
David Rittich ($8,100): The Calgary Flames are at home and massive -280 home favorites against the New York Rangers, which puts Rittich at the top of the list when it comes to cash game options on tonight's slate. He has three wins in his last five starts while allowing three or fewer goals in three of those games. In terms of pricing, he isn't super expensive but also isn't cheap, which can make him a great option for tournaments, since goalies in this range can go overlooked. The potential downside with Rittich is the fact he has over 30 saves only one time in his last five games, meaning his potential ceiling of points is limited due to the lack of saves. You are going for safety and the win with him, as he has very little save upside with the Rangers coming in with the lowest expected Corsi For on the slate at 41.9 tonight.
High-Priced Skaters
Auston Matthews ($8,000): The Toronto Maple Leafs are on a two-game losing streak and seem to be losing a bit of steam as the season comes to an end, but they're in a spot to right the ship and pick up a win tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. Matthews has 3 points and 11 shots in his last three games, which is the level of production we should be in for tonight, since the Flyers have a 51.69 Corsi Against over the past month, which is the second worst on the slate tonight. This means Philadelphia is allowing an insane amount of shot attempts per game, which gives Matthews and the Maple Leafs the solid floor of points you aim for in cash games. The 3.75 implied team total, and Matthews being on the first power-play unit provide a nice ceiling of points to reach for in tournaments, too, giving him the best of both worlds tonight.
Mark Stone ($7,300): Stone and the Vegas Golden Knights are coming off four full days of rest and have them on the road to take on the Dallas Stars, who are on the second night of a back to back. The Stars should have Anton Khudobin in net tonight since Ben Bishop got hurt last night and had to be removed from the game. Excluding his time on ice last night, Khudobin has allowed three or more goals in five of his last seven starts, putting Stone, who is on the second forward line and the first power-play, in a great spot. Stone already comes in with four points and nine shots in his last three games, setting him up for another consistent outing with Vegas boasting a 50.8 Expected Corsi For tonight.
Value Skaters
J.T. Compher ($4,300): The Colorado Avalanche are seeing their playoff hopes slip away in recent games but have a chance to pick up an easy win tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, who are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Why are the Ducks so bad? Well, they are in the bottom four in the league when it comes to both Corsi Against and the number of High-Danger Scoring Chances allowed per 60 minutes. This not only provides Compher and the Avalanche with plenty of chances to shoot the puck, but those chances are very likely to lead to goals. The Avalanche are dealing with a few injuries right now, which has Compher now up on the first forward line and the first power-play unit, getting you exposure to the always dangerous Nathan MacKinnon.
Andrei Svechnikov ($3,700): Svechnikov is coming off a massive three-point game on Monday, which has seen him bumped up to the second forward line and still on the second power-play unit. Those are his only three points in his last five games but could be a sign of good things to come since he has shown to be a streaky scorer this season, as most rookies are. The Carolina Hurricanes are second in the league when it comes to Corsi For, i.e. how many shot attempts they take per 60 minutes. Shot attempts lead to points and opportunities, which will help him pay off his cheap salary very quickly tonight.
Thomas Vecchio is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Thomas Vecchio also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TomVec629. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
