DFS Daily Fantasy Hockey Value Update – December 21

I will mention that I generally do not pick two players playing against each other in the same game for a daily fantasy hockey 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.

Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins

The second game of a back-to-back happens tonight, and the Bruins should be out for blood.

No offense to Buffalo, but they aren’t on the Bruins’ level and, despite the 4-2 win on Thursday, Buffalo was outshot literally from start to finish. That’s just the way hockey goes sometimes.

The Sabres put away four goals in each of their last two games, both wins, but only managed 44 shots in the meantime. Everyone’s shot percentage spikes at some point, and it spiked for the Sabres in their last two games.

The hiccup in the last game is not any indictment on the Bruins; this is still a solid team from top to bottom. Their 4-2 loss to Buffalo was only the fourth time this season they have given up at least four goals against. It’s not a common occurrence, and it won’t happen two games in a row.

Buffalo has continued their solid defensive play so Tuukka Rask is probably the best play in this game, but there is value all over the Bruins, too.

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');

See Full Bio