NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 11/14/19

Nathan MacKinnon is playing at an elite level right now. Who else should you go with on Thursday night?

A good chunk of you played daily fantasy football this year, and I'd be willing to bet a significant portion of you 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.

Our analysis and projections can help you win. 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

John Gibson ($7,800): With high-risk options, there is always the potential of a catastrophic blunder. However, Gibson is one of those goalies who typically doesn't have three bad performances in a row. Facing the rival San Jose Sharks should get Anaheim motivated. They will likely allow 30-plus shots, which is almost a given in every one of these matchups. This is one the Anaheim goalie will have to steal, and Gibson tends to bounce back as he did versus Vancouver and Winnipeg after another losing streak (75 saves on 80 shots over those two games). See if Jonathan Bernier ($7,200) gets the nod for Detroit on Thursday or if Jacob Markstrom ($7,400) does so for Vancouver.

High-Priced Skaters

Nathan MacKinnon ($8,900): There is quite a drop in talent from MacKinnon and Connor McDavid on this slate, but MacKinnon is the guy with the most potential. Why? He is carrying the Colorado Avalanche right now. The center had a role in all four goals versus the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. MacKinnon is averaging six shots on net over the previous 10 contests. Also, that includes nearly 100 shot attempts. The numbers are mind blowing as MacKinnon elevates his play even without Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Both players are getting closer to returning, but for now, MacKinnon is the top center choice on Thursday night.

Artemi Panarin ($8,300): Quietly Panarin has looked like the Panarin many expected. He is up to eight goals on the season on 46 shots. The winger has dished out 11 assists, as well. He is on a nine-game point streak, which gets lost among some of the other players out there. Consistency is Panarin's trademark, and the forward enjoys a plus-matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a defense that gives up 3.2 goals per game at home. For other options, Leon Draisaitl ($8,900) is producing at a McDavid rate and still shooting over 20% on the season for Edmonton..

Value Skaters

Brian Boyle ($3,700): As long as Boyle has a top-six role at even-strength, he carries some value. The big center parks himself in front of the net and has good enough hands to play in a temporary top-six role. He has five real-world points in 10 games and averages 1.2 blocks per game, too. As long as his shot rate hovers around two a contest, the Florida Panthers' center has some value. Radim Simek ($3,600) is a defensive option to look at from San Jose at this price point.

Frank Vatrano ($3,700): Vatrano's price does not go up, so why not keep taking advantage of it? He has fired 16 shots on net with three goals and an assist in his past five games. That includes a power-play goal against his former team, the Boston Bruins. Also, his ice time has been at more than 18 minutes in the previous two contests. If Vatrano keeps getting the time, he will pile up the FanDuel points. Also, Winnipeg is quite the plus matchup as they allow more than 30 shots a game and 3.62 goals per game on the road. Other choices on the wing include Ondrej Kase and Robby Fabbri.



Chris Wassel is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Chris Wassel also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username chriswassel. 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/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.