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.
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Here is today’s slate of games (and DraftStreet values). Reminder: check Left Wing Lock for up-to-the-minute information on starting goalies.
Games are color-coded as follows:
Green means stack for GPPs. Yellow means targets for cash games. Red means value plays only.
Playoffs are much different from the regular season. Playing the same team over and over means mostly the same match-ups over and over. That also means fairly consistent value among players regardless of how the price moves, and THAT means how the price moves has a huge influence on daily plays. Also, nailing goalies is of utmost importance.
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
The Flyers looked very flat in Game 1 and a lot of that has to do with what the Rangers have to offer. The Blueshirts are a very deep team, at least among their forwards, who can attack in waves, bringing unrelenting pressure to the Flyers. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is seemingly reliant on their top line of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Scott Hartnell. They’re a good line, but one-line teams don’t go very far in the playoffs.
The Rangers took Game 1 by a 4-1 score but even the score flatters the Flyers a little bit. They were outplayed pretty much from start to finish, being outshot 36-15 and giving the Rangers six power plays (of which two were converted). I don’t know that this series is a sweep, but it could end very quickly.
I will have Henrik Lundqvist in most lineups today (along with one other goalie that I’m looking at, and I will get to). Also, Ryan McDonagh might be the most offensively gifted defenseman the Rangers have, but Anton Stralman was given easy assignments and fairly easy zone starts in game one (though everyone on the team did, in a way). I may even be tempted to stack the Rangers today.
| Top RW Value | Top LW Value | Top C Value | Top D Value | Bargain Bin |
| Rick Nash (NYR)
$10,667 |
Carl Hagelin(NYR)
$6707 |
Derek Stepan(NYR)
$10,575 |
Anton Stralman(NYR)
$4240 |
Braydon Coburn(PHI)
$4229 |
