Daily Fantasy Hockey DFS Value Update – May 7

I will mention that 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.

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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.

Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers

Things have gone about as well as could be hoped for Pittsburgh so far this series. A tough overtime loss was followed by back-to-back shutouts, assuaging concerns in net for now. Also, Sidney Crosby was able to get his first goal of the playoffs, the game-winning score, in Game 2. Tonight is also just the fourth game in nine days for the Penguins while it will be seven games in 11 days for the Rangers.

Also, Game 3 was the reunion of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on Pittsburgh’s top line. Alongside them was Chris Kunitz. That line was on the ice for Crosby’s goal following a four-minute Rangers power play to start the second period and stayed together the rest of the game. Crosby and Kunitz finished with a 55-percent and 50-percent corsi-for possession rating respectively. Not enormous, but considering half the Penguins team was at 40-percent or worse, they obviously stood out.

The big news for the Rangers in this game is the potential return of Chris Kreider. Having not played since March 24 due to an injury, he could potentially be available for tonight. He’s still considered “day-to-day,” but this is the playoffs.

I would have to think there are some goals coming tonight. Considering all the talent that is on these two rosters, and the ever-present blow-up potential in Marc-Andre Fleury, it’s hard to think that these teams will continue shooting at the aggregate 5.2-percent rate they have. I’d avoid the goalies here but am fine with skaters from either side.

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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