NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 12/5/19

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Dec 5th, 2019
Nikita Kucherov rises from the ashes and headlines the nine-game Thursday night slate. Who else can you trust in NHL DFS?

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

Brian Elliott ($7,600): The Philadelphia Flyers confirm Elliott will be in net on Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Elliott faces just over 32 shots per 60 at home, and Arizona is one of the better road teams (nine wins in 15 games) in the league. Elliott has topped 25 FanDuel points in three consecutive starts, and the goalie has seven wins in 14 appearances for the Flyers. Among the lower-priced goalies, Elliott represents the best potential for a win. Take a look to see who the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins start for the best chance at a win from the higher tiers.

High-Priced Skaters

Nathan MacKinnon ($9,200): MacKinnon is just ridiculous even on "off-nights." Yes, 23 FanDuel points is considered a below-average night for the center. He had a goal, an assist, and just two shots on goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night. The pivot faces Montreal on Thursday, and the Canadiens' penalty kill is a chief place to attack (74.1% conversion rate). There are few other options as good as MacKinnon on Thursday night, but Jack Eichel ($8,600) against a vulnerable Calgary Flames team is someone to consider.

Nikita Kucherov ($8,600): Kucherov is back! He has 18 real-world points in his last 10 games and is shooting at 3.1 shots per contest now (2.2 before the streak). Part of the lower shot output was due to injury and apprehension from the injury. It is clear that the winger is 100% and firing on all cylinders now. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward faces a Minnesota team that allows the second-most DFS points to right-wingers in the NHL. If one does want to spend up a little bit, David Pastrnak ($9,300) has an equally good matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks this evening.

Value Skaters

Conor Garland ($3,700): Garland is like the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season. He averages over 10 FanDuel points a game despite not always getting the most optimal minutes for a forward. His deployment is truly of a middle-six forward. He does have 10 goals in 29 games and averages right around 2.5 shots per contest. He also has 15 shots over his last five contests and may be due given he has no goals in his previous seven games. Brendan Lemieux ($3,700) becomes an intriguing choice from the New York Rangers against a Columbus Blue Jackets team minus Zach Werenski.

Mathew Dumba ($3,700): Dumba is an intriguing GPP play because of the loss of Jared Spurgeon. This almost guarantees maximum exposure for Dumba at least for the next several weeks. The hope is that he continues to fire pucks on net like he did on Tuesday (five shots, one block). Tampa allows 3.09 goals per game so there is some hope for the Minnesota offense and from the blue line, as well. Ryan Graves ($3,800) again looks like a decent enough punt play tonight.

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.