Daily Fantasy Hockey Value Update – December 13

I will mention that I generally do not pick two players playing against each other in the same game for a daily lineup. The same applies for a goalie and a player from opposite teams. You might see two players among the “value picks” from opposite teams, but that doesn’t mean you should take them both. No matter the value, you’re also likely cannibalizing points, so any gains made below a certain price point – the point where production and cost intersect – can be lost if production declines overall as well.

There are many things that determine value: The player’s history (both short and long-term), the price, recent production, opponent, line matching at even-strength, power play time and injuries are just some of the factors to consider. The “Top Value” doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest player, either.

Finally, as far as goalies go, it’s the one position I’ll pay through the nose for if I really like the match-up. The same applies for back-ups with good match-ups. In a given night, with a full slate of games, I won’t have more than three different goalies across all my lineups, usually two. I’ll name the goalies I like specifically in the match-ups they appear in.

Here is today’s slate of games (and DraftDay values). Reminder: check Left Wing Lock for up-to-the-minute information on starting goalies.

Games are color-coded as follows:

Green means load up. Yellow means grab a couple of players. Red means value plays only.

New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins

The Devils wrap up their three-game road trip tonight in Pittsburgh.

As a team, they are starting to score more, which is great for fantasy values. Over their last 10 games, the Devils have scored 25 goals, yet have just gone 3-6-1. So while the team has brought its goals for per game average up to 2.28 on the year, it’s not helping them win games.

A lot of this has to do with goaltending. Over those 10 games, Cory Schneider was 2-1-1 while Martin Brodeur was 1-5. The future Hall of Famer just isn’t what he once was, and Schneider (who is confirmed to start) gives them their best chance of winning.

Not that it’s a great chance of winning, anyway. Pittsburgh is 6-1 in their last seven games with their only blemish being a 3-2 loss in Boston.

One of the biggest reasons for Pittsburgh’s success is their special teams. Over those seven games, the power play is operating at a 40-percent efficiency while the penalty kill is at an even 90-percent.

The confirmation of Schneider as a starter means I’m less bullish on Pittsburgh than I would normally be. Keep in mind that James Neal is serving game two if his five-game suspension, so Jayson Megna is taking his spot on the second line with Evgeni Malkin.

Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers

The Capitals are on one of their patented hot streaks, having won three straight games and scoring 14 goals in the process. Florida, meanwhile, has won three of their last four in their own right.

When Washington gets hot, particularly Alex Ovechkin, there’s not a lot that opposing teams can do. It’s not to say that the Caps are playing particularly great hockey, they’ve been outshot by an average of three shots per game over those three wins, but they are scoring enough goals to win games, and that’s fantasy gold.

The matchup to focus on here is between the pipes for both teams.

Starting in net for Washington for the third straight game will be Phillip Grubauer, a Washington rookie that is now the apparent backup to Braden Holtby. The Caps are riding the hot hand, and Grubauer has only allowed three goals in his two starts for a .958 save percentage.

On the flip side, Scott Clemmensen will be making only his second start in net for Florida since early November, and the early returns on Clemmensen this year have not been good: In his three starts this year, Clemmensen is 0-2-1 and has given up 12 goals against over those games. Among his few starts was one in Washington a little over a month ago, a 3-2 shootout loss.

I like Washington to walk in and take on from the Panthers, lighting up Clemmensen all night long. I would also take Grubauer here on most sites.

Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver Canucks

Edmonton is playing on the second night of a back-to-back (they lost last night 4-2 at home to Boston), their third game in four nights and their fourth game in seven. In short, this team might be a little fatigued heading on the road to play a division rival.

There’s pretty much no hotter team in the NHL right now than the Vancouver Canucks. The ‘Nucks have won five straight games, outscoring the opposition 14-6 over that stretch, and have not allowed a power play goal against through those games. Their penalty kill is now tops in the NHL on the season.

This game seems pretty straight-forward to me. A defensively bad and tired team is going on the road to face one of the hottest teams in the NHL. I will be picking a lot of Canuckles tonight.

Good luck with today’s games!

Michael Clifford

Michael Clifford was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and is a graduate of the Unviersity of New Brunswick. He writes about fantasy hockey and baseball for XNSports and FantasyTrade411.com. He can be reached on Twitter @SlimCliffy for any fantasy hockey questions. Follow @SlimCliffy !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

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