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 DraftStreet values). Reminder: check Left Wing Lock for up-to-the-minute information on starting goalies.
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Games are color-coded as follows:
Green means stack for GPPs. Yellow means targets for cash games. Red means value plays only.
San Jose Sharks at New York Islanders
San Jose won last night in Columbus in a shootout but tonight makes back-to-back nights on the road and three games in four days for them. As good as the Sharks are, every team wears down. That was evident last night as the puck possession battle was about even nearly halfway through the second period and then Columbus just dominated the rest of the game. Yes, San Jose has won four in a row and allowed eight goals against along the way. They’ve also showed signs of slowing down and teams in the NHL can’t take nights off. Tonight seems like a good letdown spot for the Sharks.
In the post-John Tavares era, the Islanders have managed to go 3-3-1 and they’ve won the possession battle in more games than not. This team actually isn’t playing bad hockey right now, despite the losses of Thomas Vanek and Andrew MacDonald on top of it. One thing this team has done is score 24 goals in those seven games (still 17 in 6 even without the meltdown game in Vancouver), so the team is still able to score goals. Anders Lee has also made his way to the top line with Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo, though his price is still a little high.
The Islanders beat this team in San Jose back in December, though obviously that was with a more plentiful lineup. Obviously the line heavily favours the Sharks tonight but I don’t think it’s a great spot to stack the Sharks in any way. In fact, I will probably take some cheap Islanders players and will gamble on Evgeni Nabokov in a GPP or two.
|
Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
|
(SJS) $6360 |
Josh Bailey $5993 |
Frans Nielsen |
(SJS) |
(SJS) |
