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.
St. Louis Blues at Philadelphia Flyers
The Blues lost their last game in regulation 4-0 to the Blackhawks but that still puts them at a 8-1-1 record for the month and one win away from clinching a playoff berth. An interesting development from that Blackhawks game is that T.J. Oshie eventually replaced Jaden Schwartz on the top line with David Backes and Alex Steen. That was the trio that was together for the first half of the season when it was one of the more dominant lines in hockey. Schwartz was placed on a line with Dmitrij Jaskin and Vladimir Sobotka. The team’s power play has slowed down this month though, going just 4-for-25 this month. The penalty kill is also just 75-percent over their last five games.
Philadelphia has won four straight games and they are now sitting in second place of the Metropolitan division. While it had been the Claude Giroux line doing the heavy lifting for a good portion of the last three weeks, the second line has really started to kick it in gear lately: Wayne Simmonds has four goals and six points in his last four games; Brayden Schenn has two points in his last three games; Vincent Lecavalier has three points in his last four games. The power play has also gone 4-for-14 over their last four wins.
This is the first meeting between these two teams this year and could very well be a high-scoring game; these two teams have combined to average 3.5 goals each in their last eight total games. I would strongly recommend avoiding both goalies in this game and focusing on the top power play units. Reminder: It’s Kimmo Timonen and Kevin Shattenkirk on the respective top power play units.
|
Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
|
Wayne Simmonds (PHI) $11,526 |
(STL) $4287 |
(STL) $7647 |
Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) $8008 |
Vincent Lecavalier (PHI) $6393 |
