There were a lot of teams that played last night: Anaheim, Carolina, Columbus, Nashville, NY Islanders, and Washington are all playing their second game in as many nights. A few other teams didn’t have morning skates, either. That means there will be unexpected scratches and line combinations at pregame warmups. DFSers would be wise to be by a mobile device leading up to first puck drop.
There is no sense in really paying up at any position. At center, there aren’t much for values above $7500 and there isn’t much to pay up for on the wing past $6100. In net, there are three good options in all under $8000. Tonight should be about balanced lineups just because there are so many good values everywhere.
Play Daily Fantasy Hockey on DraftKings Tonight!
As always, check Left Wing Lock for goalie confirmations.
Players will be in order of perceived value, by position, and there should be enough to mix-and-match for each type of game available on DraftKings. Some positions might only have a few plays, some might have several. It all depends on the day, the matchups, and the price.
Remember: players are in order of value, not necessarily in cost. Just because Sidney Crosby is $8000 one day doesn’t mean he’s a better value than Andrew Shaw at $4000.
Cash Games
| Center | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Giroux (PHI) – $7100 | Voracek (PHI) – $6100 | Stralman (TBL) – $3000 | Elliott (STL) – $7700 |
| Johnson (TBL) – $6100 | Pominville (MIN) – $6000 | Pietrangelo (STL) – $5800 | Bishop (TBL) – $7400 |
| Sheahan (DET) – $3100 | Schwartz (STL) – $6000 | Streit (PHI) – $4700 | Niemi (SJS) – $7900 |
| Seguin (DAL) – $7400 | Kucherov (TBL) – $4900 | Hamilton (BOS) – $3800 | |
| Lehtera (STL) – $3700 | Smith (BOS) – $3500 | ||
| Bergeron (BOS) – $6300 | Nyquist (DET) – $5200 | ||
| Bjugstad (FLA) – $4500 | Benn (DAL) – $6000 | ||
| Koivu (MIN) – $4400 | Gallagher (MTL) – $5100 | ||
- Given the matchup and price, it’s hard to not use both Giroux and Voracek. At the very least, Voracek should be in cash game lineups.
- Tyler Johnson’s price has dropped and I’m not sure why. He seems like a very good value today.
- With all the savings to be had everywhere, it’s not unreasonable to pay a bit extra for defencemen like Pietrangelo or Streit tonight.
- For cap relief at centre, either of Sheahan or Lehtera fine.
- Again, there is no reason to pay up for one of the expensive goalies tonight.
Guaranteed Prize Pools/Tournaments
| Center | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Giroux (PHI) – $7100 | Voracek (PHI) – $6100 | Streit (PHI) – $4700 | Dubnyk (MIN) – $7100 |
| Schenn (PHI) – $4200 | Benn (DAL) – $6000 | Goligoski (DAL) – $4200 | Mrazek (DET) – $7500 |
| Seguin (DAL) – $7400 | Smith (BOS) – $3500 | Hamilton (BOS) – $3800 | |
| Bergeron (BOS) – $6300 | Palat (TBL) – $5500 | Stralman (TBL) – $3000 | |
| Johnson (TBL) – $6100 | Kucherov (TBL) – $4900 | Spurgeon (MIN) – $4300 | |
| Koivu (MIN) – $4400 | Parise (MIN) – $6800 | Pietrangelo (STL) – $5500 | |
| Lehtera (STL) – $3900 | Pominville (MIN) – $6000 | ||
| Tarasenko (STL) – $7200 | |||
| Schwartz (STL) – $6000 |
- Philadelphia is obvious.
- Dallas didn’t have a morning skate, and with Ritchie and Hemsky out of the lineup for tonight, there’s no telling who the third wheel will be on the top line.
- Tampa Bay’s second line should avoid Tyson Barrie. That’s good news for that trio.
- I like the Bergeron/Smith duo as a mini-stack. They’re less than 20-percent of total salary cap, and that allows relief for bigger salaries like St. Louis wingers or Dallas top line.
Slim’s Pickins (bargain plays)
Cedric Paquette (TBL-C, $2700) – Tampa’s bottom-six may be jumbled tonight, but I expect their depth players to be involved in the scoring.
Matt Nieto (SJS-W, $2600) – Nieto continues to play on Joe Thornton’s line, one of the best places to be for guys who want to score.
Matt Dumba (MIN-D, $2600) – Dumba is part of the core that will try to make up the difference on Minnesota’s back end without Ryan Suter.
Good luck!
