Hello folks and welcome to my NHL Positional Breakdown for Fanduel!
For those of you who are new to the DFS Army, new to NHL DFS, or just like to read different articles, my name is Matt Dell’Agnese and I’m an MLB and NHL coach and writer for the DFS Army. Hit me for a follow on twitter at mdellagnese14. If you are a DFS Army VIP member you will know that I’m fairly active in our NHL rooms and around to help coach for the amazing sport of Hockey. I was brought to the DFS Army in January and I wrote Painting the Black for baseball, analyzing pitching picks for the slates. If you’ve played MLB, NHL is very similar. The sports are both volatile and players can put up a 0 or low score at any time. Don’t get discouraged if you get cold, just keep with your process and the players will come around. For cash games, you want to correlate players who skate on the same line or same Power play line, in GPPs stack up the full lines. Thankfully, Chop has asked me to help out with our NHL content articles!
Check out Flynn’s article that describes how we start our process of creating lineups – Beginning NHL Strategy.
Check out our new and improved VIP Research Station tutorial here. When you sign up to become a DFS Army Member, use code “DFSMATT” to get yourself 10% off your monthly subscription!
I will be breaking down each position with the players who I like with my reasonings for liking them on the slate! I am a Fanduel player, so these articles will include Fanduel pricing and scoring references! Remember to always check for confirmation of goalies and lines! Let’s dive into this big Wednesday Slate!
First, here are some of our recent big wins! Remember to sign up with code, DFSMATT to get 10% off!
Okay folks, big slate tonight. This article will focus on solid floor plays for decent prices along with value plays! Don’t get too crazy trying to look at EVERY possible situation this will cause your head to explode. Let’s dive in!
Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK) (8.8k): Fleury has been hot and cold this year. The issue I have with this matchup is the Islanders don’t really shoot much. On home-ice though, Fleury should be able to capture this win against a team who is in the bottom 5 in scoring since Nov 28 (10 games).
Jacob Markstrom (VAN) (7.8k): Some salary saving at goalie may be needed today. Markstrom has been fantastic of late scoring over 20 fanduel points in each of his last 5 starts. The Blues have been playing a little better lately, but they still are in the bottom half in scoring over their last 10 games, scoring just 2.5 goals per game, mix in the fact that VAN has allowed the 6th FEWEST goals in that span, makes Markstrom an excellent play tonight.
Casey DeSmith (PIT) (8.3k): This dude keeps producing. He had an “eh” game last time out, but this matchup with the Wild looks good for now. In the Wild’s last 10 games, they have scored the 4th lowest goals in the NHL. They are shooting about 30 SOG per game, giving DeSmith save chances.
John Gibson (ANH) (8.6k): Tough matchup with the Bruins tonight, but Gibby has been great lately. Boston is in the bottom half of the league in scoring goals in their last 10 games or so and Gibson has a .928 sv% allowing just 2.2 GA/G in his last 10 starts.
Another to consider: Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ)
UPDATE: MY TOP CASH GOALIES ARE GIBSON, MARKSTROM, AND BOB
Centers
With such a big slate, I’m going to focus on lower priced guys with high floors. Auston Matthew, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares are 3 higher prices guys that I do like, but I don’t think I’ll be paying up for them today.
Dylan Larkin (DET) (6.6k): Larkin is running very hot right now. CAR isn’t allowing a ton of goals, but Larkin has 51 SOGBS in his last 10 games, good for about 5 per game, solid floor for his price.
Sebastian Aho (CAR) (6.1k): On the other side of this, Ago has been great of late too. With 47 SOGBS in his last 10, he brings a solid floor too. Both of these guys are rolling hot in their last 5 too.
Bo Horvat (VAN) (5.6k): Love how Horvat is playing right now. He’s just behind these top two guys for me tonight but is cheaper. Great matchup with the Blues and he has 11 SOG in his last 2 games. Pair him with Boeser or Edler on the PP.
Aleksander Barkov (FLA) (7.6k): Andersen has been a little shaky lately, and Barkov is starting to really heat up in his last 2 games. The price is a bit hight for me, but I’m liking this for tournaments tonight.
Logan Couture (SJ) (7.4k): Consistent scorer of late, Couture has scored 20+ fanduel points in 5 of his last 6 games. His floor isn’t as high with SOGBS, but he’s getting goals and assists. The Jets have allowed the 9th most goals in the last 10 games too.
David Krejci (BOS) (5.8k): I don’t love to go against the Ducks are they are decent defensively, but Krejci has been trending up. The Ducks are still allowing nearly 33 SOG per game in their last 10, just not allowing goals. Krejci has been running hot and his price is nice.
Others to consider: Tyler Seguin (DAL), Elias Pettersson (VAN)
Wings
Cam Atkinson (CBJ) (7.2k): I love CBJ tonight, but production is hard to find. Atkinson is the consistent guy here and the matchup is good with a rookie Goalie. Cam hasn’t scored since his hatty last week. Perfect matchup to get back into the scoring column.
Timo Meier (SJ) (6.2k): Meier may have had a crappy game last time out, but I’m going right back to him. I like this matchup tonight and he’s been on fire before that.
Andrei Svechnikov (CAR) (3.9k): Here’s value for you tonight. Svechnikov has been decent for his price lately. DET is allowing the 4th most goals of late too.
Tomas Hertl (SJ) (5.4k): Good value here against the Jets at home. Hertl has been rolling lately aside from 1 game. He has over 17 FD points in 4 of his last 5 games.
Bryan Rust (PIT) (4.7k): Too cheap for what he’s doing right now. Yes, he had a breakout game last week, but he’s still rolling from there. He’s got a solid floor lately and is very cheap too.
Jaden Schwartz (STL) (5.6k): The Blues are hard to roster, but Schwartz is rolling. I like Markstrom a lot tonight, but Schwartz can pop off. He’s in the top 10 in fanduel scoring in the last week or so and trending upwards.
Ondrej Kase (ANH) (4.5k): Another great value rolling right now. Kase has had 1 dud in his last 5 games. Under 5k, he’s been shooting and getting goals and assists too.
Others to consider: Johnny Gaudreau (CGY), Matthew Tkachuk (CGY), Mathieu Perrault (WPG, Large-field GPP ONLY), NJ1 (GPPs), BOS1 (GPP), Brock Boeser (VAN)
Defense
Mark Giordano (CGY) (6.3k): A little pricey, but Gio has been the hottest D-Man in the last 10 games. He’s averaging 5 SOGBS with 26 Fanduel points. Aside from last game, he was on a streak of 5 straight games over 20 fanduel points.
Erik Karlsson (SJ) (7.3k): Expensive, but worth it lately. Karlsson has been nothing but consistent as he is starting to really gel with the Sharks. He has 15 SOG in his last 2 games and WPG can be leaky.
Alexander Edler (VAN) (4.5k): Uhm, not sure why Edler is so cheap. Before he got hurt, he was rolling and he’s starting to warm back up. In a matchup against STL, who is allowing the 6th most goals of late, I love Edler and his value tonight.
Seth Jones (CBJ) (5.7k): I see CBJ finally getting out of their slump, so I have to like Jones, right? Jones brings a solid floor to the table and aside from his last two games, he was on fire. It’s only a matter of time for them to break out again, and tonight is the night.
Roman Josi (NSH) (6.3k): I always love Josi. The matchup with PHI is a great one and he could be a tad overlooked tonight. Brings a solid floor with great upside.
Jeff Petry (MON) (4.6k): More great value for a guy whose price doesn’t seem like it will ever go up. This matchup is a bit tougher for him today, but he still brings a solid floor each night.
Others to consider: Kris Letang (PIT)