DraftKings Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheet: December 4th

Tonight’s featured DraftKings contest has a $3 entry or FREE if you are a new user. The top 3,236 finishers will split a prize pool of $40,000 with first place taking home $3,000! Do you have what it takes to turn $3 into $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

TYLER SEGUIN – @ EDM – $8,800

I know I rolled with Seguin and Benn in their first meeting with the Oilers and Benn scored and Seguin had an assist. Not bad, but not great when you’re spending $8,800 for Seguin. Here’s a crazy stat about the 23-year-old: Seguin has 12 goals and nine assists (21 points) in 14 games on the road this season. His 0.86 goals and 1.5 points per game on the road is significantly better than the 0.17 G/PG and 1.17 P/PG at home. Anders Nilsson played very well vs. the Stars in their first meeting, but it’s hard to keep these Stars down.

RYAN JOHANSEN – vs. FLA – $5,700

Johansen’s last three games have been excellent for DraftKings purposes—he has registered 6, 5, 5 points in those games. His consistent production has been driven by an increased shot rate in those games and he draws a nice home matchup with Al Montoya starting for the Panthers, who are on the tail-end of a back-to-back. Johansen has 13 points (4G / 9A) in 11 home games.

RYAN O’REILLY – vs. ARI – $5,400

O’Reilly went on a stretch in November where he was borderline unstoppable and he has gotten back to that in the last two games, recording a goal and two assists. Tonight the Coyotes come in having been blown out in Detroit last night and the O’Reilly-Kane-Reinhart line makes for a cheap stack with high-upside.

VALUE OPTIONS: PATRIK ELIAS – vs. PHI – $3,800 / SEAN COUTURIER – @ NJ – $3,400 / SAM REINHART – vs. ARI – $2,900

WINGERS

JAMIE BENN – @ EDM – $8,400

Benn has been held without a point in two straight games for the first time this season. He failed to record a shot last night, so he will come into Friday looking for a big outing. Unlike Seguin, he is better at home, but his road numbers are nothing to scoff at. If you can find a way to fit Benn and Seguin’s high salary into your lineup, you won’t regret it.

EVANDER KANE – vs. ARI – $5,300

Kane is coming off of his best game as a Sabre—he had two goals on six shots and almost completed the hat trick in the shootout loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday. He has two goals and two assists in his last two games and appears to be hitting his stride after getting through his knee injury. The matchup is golden and Kane will be looking to increase his point-streak to three games.

WAYNE SIMMONDS – @ NJ – $5,300

Simmonds is trying to make up for a painfully slow start, registering three goals and two assists in his last two games. He has been the Flyers’ best player as of late and he will look to keep the ball rolling against a Devils team that played last night. His bad start has his salary sitting at a reasonable price, so deploy with confidence.

VALUE OPTIONS: CAM ATKINSON – vs. FLA – $4,300 / VALERI NICHUSHKIN – @ EDM – $3,400 / NICK RITCHIE – vs. SJ – $2,700

DEFENSEMEN

BRENT BURNS – @ ANA – $7,500

Is he expensive? Yep. Is he worth it? Hell yeah! Burns is insane. He is averaging 4.5 shots on goal and in his last five games he has four goals, two assists and 25 shots—that totals 35 total fantasy points or seven per game. He doesn’t have a point against the Ducks this season, but he has nearly a point-per-game on the road.

KEVIN SHATTENKIRK – @ NYI – $5,200

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Shattenkirk had an eight-game point streak, but he was held pointless vs. the Panthers. Shattenkirk has two goals and eight assists (10 points) over his last nine contests and $5,200 is a more than digestible price for a defenseman with his offensive ability.

RASMUS RISTOLAINEN – vs. ARI – $4,800

Ristolainen is coming off of an impressive three-assist game against the Red Wings and has five helpers in his last four games. Over that stretch he has 10 shots and is averaging 4.4 fantasy points per game. He is one of the league’s best young blue liners and makes for an excellent option when stacking the Sabres tonight.

VALUE OPTIONS: SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE – @ NJ – $3,400 / ANDREJ SEKERA – vs. DAL – $3,200

GOALIES

MARTIN JONES – @ ANA – $7,100

With a lack of elite options available tonight, Jones represents a safe choice in Anaheim. Don’t believe me? Take a look at these numbers. Jones is 9-1-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .943 SV% on the road and has gone 1-1-0 with an 0.51 GAA ad .977 SV% in his two starts against the Ducks this season. In addition to that, the Ducks have lost four of six while averaging just 2.33 goals per game.

MICHAL NEUVIRTH – @ NJ – $6,800

Don’t look now but Neuvirth is second in the NHL in SV% (.939) and eighth in GAA (2.05). He has been a bright spot for the Flyers in an otherwise ugly first two months. He comes having won two in a row with a .941 SV% and while I don’t invest a lot of stock in career numbers versus a team, it is worth noting that Neuvirth is 4-2-4 with an impressive 1.94 GAA and .933 SV% in his career vs. the Devils.

JONAS GUSTAVSSON – @ CGY – $6,600

Gustavsson might not be a sexy name, but for years he has been getting it done as a high-end backup and spot-start option. In his first season with the Bruins, nothing has changed. He is 5-1-0 with a 2.15 GAA and .920 SV%, so his matchup vs. the 9-14-2 Flames is worthwhile.

SAMPLE LINEUPS