DraftKings Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheet: December 22nd

An early Merry Christmas to all of you DailyFaceoff users who keep coming back to use my DraftKings Cheat Sheet each week. Because there are no games on Wednesday, here is a special Tuesday edition of the Cheat Sheet.

There are two featured contests tonight.

The first is a Tuesday Special with a $20 entry fee and a $70,000 Prize pool! The top 822 finishers will be paid out with 822nd taking home $40.00 and first place taking home a whopping $7,000! Not a bad early Christmas Present!

The second is a little cheaper option for those of us who have spent too much on presents! It has a $3 entry fee and a $42,500 Prize pool. The top 3,300 finishers will be paid out with 3300th winning $6.00 and first place winning a cool $3,000!

Are you new to DraftKings or Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)? (If so, SIGN UP for an Account HERE) Here’s a quick explanation on how to build your lineup an play! You have $50,000 in Salary space, to build a team that consists of 2C, 3W, 2D, 1G and 1 Util. Below you will find how skaters and goalies scoring works!

• Players will accumulate points as follows:

Goal = +3 PTS
Assist = +2 PTS
Shot on Goal = +0.5 PTS
Blocked Shot = +0.5 PTS
Short Handed Point Bonus (Goal/Assist) = +1 PTS
Shootout Goal = +0.2 PTS
Hat Trick Bonus = +1.5 PTS

• Goalies only will accumulate points as follows:

Win = +3 PTS
Save = +0.2 PTS
Goal Against = -1 PTS
Shutout Bonus = +2 PTS

• Goalie Scoring Notes:

Goalies WILL receive points for all stats they accrue, including goals and assists.
The Goalie Shutout Bonus is credited to goalies if they complete the entire game with 0 goals allowed in regulation + overtime. Shootout goals will not prevent a shutout. Goalie must complete the entire game to get credit for a shutout.

Below I’ve listed my top DFS plays at each position as well as a few sample DraftKings lineup for tonight.

Centres

Steven Stamkos – vs. VAN – $7,400

After going 10 games without a goal from November 25th-December 15th, Stamkos has collected three goals in his last two games, while firing 12 shots on goal. During his goalless drought, he had just 19 shots in 10 games, so it is nice to see him firing the biscuit and scoring goals. The Lightning remain banged up, but Stamkos’ line has been playing well without much of a supporting cast. Tampa Bay draws a strong matchup with the struggling Canucks in town. Jacob Markstrom gets the start for Vancouver—he has a career 3.69 GAA against Tampa Bay.

Sean Monahan – vs. WPG – $5,800

Monahan is a big body who plays on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and those two drive the vast majority of the Flames’ offence. In December, Monahan has five goals and five assists (10 points) in nine games in December. Monahan remains under $6,000 and offers a solid play against a Jets team on the tail-end of a back-to-back with Michael Hutchinson starting in goal. The Jets have the third worst road goals against average (3.28) in the NHL and the Flames have won nine in a row at home.

Mikael Granlund – vs. MTL – $4,400

My fantasy love for Granlund in the past has been well documented. He is the centre on a hot top line in Minnesota and one of the NHL’s best playmakers. He only has three goals in 32 games this season, but comes in with five assists and 19 shots on goal in his last eight games (2.63 FPPG). He’s not an elite DraftKings option, but at $4,400 he offers a cheap stack option alongside Zach Parise.

Value Options: Vincent Trocheck – vs. OTT – $4,000 / Leo Komarov – @ARI – $4,000 / Vladislav Namestnikov – vs. VAN – $3,400

Wingers

Zach Parise – vs. MTL – $7,700

Parise is playing at an elite level as of late, scoring four goals with six assists (10 points) and 37 shots on goal (4.63 S/G) over his last eight contests. He has been flying around and doing damage regardless of the matchup. Tonight he will face a Canadiens team that has lost eight of their last nine while giving up an average of 3.33 goals per game over that span.

Johnny Gaudreau – vs. WPG – $6,500

Gaudreau has been unreal in the month of December, posting 13 points (7G / 6A) in nine games. As I previously mentioned, the Flames have been excellent on home ice and Gaudreau has 24 points (10G / 14A) in 15 games at Scotiabank Saddledome this year. All of those numbers are pushing in Gaudreau’s favour and so is the matchup with the Jets.

Nikita Kucherov – vs. VAN – $5,900

Kucherov had 64 points (28G / 36A) last season while playing on the “Triplets” line, but with all of the injuries, he has been playing with Stamkos for most of the last month. Kucherov has six goals and four assists (10 points) in his last eight games and tonight’s matchup makes Kucherov and his $5,900 price tag very appealing. Over that eight game stretch Kucherov is averaging 4.81 DraftKings points per game.

Value Options: Teuvo Teravainen – @ DAL – $4,200 / Anthony Duclair – vs. TOR – $4,000 / Nino Niederreiter – vs. MTL – $3,500

Defensemen

Kevin Shattenkirk – @ BOS – $6,200

Shattenkirk went pointless in three games after returning from injury, but since then he has picked up five goals and 15 assists (20 points) in his last 19 games, including nine points (2G / 7A) in his last eight contests. Shattenkirk is the Blues defensemen to own and despite Tuukka Rask playing much better hockey as of late, Shattenkirk is going to get his fantasy points one way or another.

Mark Giordano – vs. WPG – $5,800

The Flames have really turned things around lately and it has been reflected in Giordano’s stats—he has two goals, five assists and 23 shots (4.81 FPPG) over his last eight games and he rounds out my Flames stack. He was regarded as one of fantasy’s elite blue liners coming into the season, so take advantage of his slightly lower than usual price tag while he’s got a good matchup.

Victor Hedman – vs. VAN – $5,200

Hedman had a slow start to the season, but has picked it up as of late, registering five assists, 19 shots and 3.69 FPPG over his last eight contests. The Lightning continue to tread water despite being extremely banged up, upfront and Hedman provides a stable blueliner, who will shoot, block shots and hopefully score against weak Canucks squad.

Value Options: Alec Martinez – vs. SJ – $4,000 / Dan Boyle – vs. ANA – $3,800 / Justin Braun – @ LA – $3,500

Goalies

Jonathan Quick – vs. SJ – $7,800

Quick posted a 45-save shutout in his last start and was given the night off on Saturday, so he will be well rested coming into tonight’s game vs. the Sharks. Quick is 6-1-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .927 SV% in December, 10-5-0 at home this season and is looking for redemption after giving up five goals in a loss to the Sharks in the season opener—that Sharks team came out flying, this Sharks team is 2-6-2 in their last 10.

Ben Bishop – vs. VAN – $7,400

Bishop is coming off of a 23-save win over the Senators on Sunday and has been one of the better fantasy options this season. He comes in at 5-2-0 with a 1.89 GAA and .930 SV% in December and 8-5-1 home ice. He will face a Canucks team who has lost four of five and who are averaging just 2.33 goals per game on the road this year.

Jimmy Howard – vs. NJ – $7,400

At $7,400, Bishop is the play, but if you want to go away from the norm, Howard offers a nice option at the same price tag. He has lost three straight games in overtime or the shootout, but even with the losses, he has picked up 5.6, 4 and 4.4 DraftKings points in those games, so he should face enough shots and make enough saves to be relevant regardless of the outcome. One of those losses came in New Jersey, so Detroit will be looking for a better showing tonight.

Value Options: Karri Ramo – vs. WPG – $6,900 / Louis Domingue – vs. TOR – $6,100

Sample Lineups