Daily Fantasy Hockey Update and Value Picks – December 14

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.

Chicago Blackhawks at Toronto Maple Leafs

The Blackhawks are on a hot streak that shows just how good this team is, having won three straight games while outscoring their opponents 19-6 over that stretch. Over their last 12 games, the Hawks are 9-2-1 while over their last six games, their power play is rolling along at a 34.1-percent efficiency.

The Leafs, meanwhile, are kind of the opposite. Toronto has lost three straight games, being outscored 14-6 over those contests. In their last 12 games, the Leafs are 3-7-2 and they haven’t won in regulation since November 19^th. Their penalty kill, which was such a strength for the team last year, is now down to 77.2-percent on the season (27^th in the NHL) after having killed just 17 of their last 24 chances short handed.

Chicago should be a well-rested team coming into this game, while the same cannot be said of the Leafs. The ‘Hawks have been off since Wednesday, while the Leafs will be played their third game in four nights. Not only that, but coach Randy Carlyle held a practice yesterday on their only day off. This could be a tired Toronto team tonight.

The Leafs offensive punch worries me enough that I don’t know if Chicago’s goaltending will provide value tonight, but their skaters certainly should.

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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