DraftKings Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheet: October 9th

Opening night was a strong night for the cheat sheet, let’s just hope that is a sign of things to come this season and we can all make some money!

Today’s featured DraftKings contest has a $3 entry fee or FREE if you are a new user. The top 4,625 finishers will split a prize pool of $60,000 with first place taking him $4,000! Do you have what it takes to turn $3 into $4,000!

Are you new to DraftKings or Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)? Here’s a quick lesson 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.

It is difficult to build a team early in the season because there is not much to go off of, but there are a couple of nice matchups worth taking note of. Below I’ve listed my top DFS plays at each position as well as my ideal DraftKings lineup for tonight.

Centres

Jonathan Toews – @ NYI – $6,400

Toews and the Blackhawks draw a nice matchup tonight with Thomas Greiss in goal for the Islanders. Jaroslav Halak is out with an upper-body injury, which gives the Blackhawks the chance to exploit their backup. Toews line looked really strong in the season opener—he had one assist and two shots.

Henrik Zetterberg – vs. TOR – $6,200

I was all-in on the Canadiens in the season opener vs. the Maple Leafs and Pacioretty and Subban got the job done for me. So why shy away from stacking against the Maple Leafs tonight? Zetterberg will be the Red Wings offensive catalyst while Pavel Datsyuk is out and he dominated the Maple Leafs last season—scoring one goal, five assists (six points) and 15 shots on goal in five games vs. Toronto.

Jeff Carter – vs. ARI – $5,600

Carter and the Kings were embarrassed by the San so Sharks on opening night, so they should come into Friday’s game against an inferior Coyotes team very angry. Taking their anger out on a young Arizona team should yield positive results. If there’s anyone on this Kings team I want vs. the Yotes, it’s Carter—he had there goals and 17 shots in four games vs. Arizona last season.

Dylan Larkin – vs. TOR – $3,400

Larkin is the first teenager to make the Red Wings opening day lineup in forever, which shows just how much they think about this kid. Larkin didn’t only make the team, but he will open the season on the Red Wings top line with the aforementioned Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader. Larkin had 47 points (15G / 32A) in 35 games at the University of Michigan and five points in six AHL playoff games, so the offence is there. He draws a great matchup, plays on a great line and is extremely cheap…Now that’s a sleeper!

Wingers

Patrick Kane – @ NYI – $7,300

I’m a big fan of the Blackhawks tonight and I think anyone on their top two lines makes for a strong pick tonight. Kane, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin look to have some nice, early season chemistry and should get on the board tonight. Kane had one assist and five shots in the opener, while also having the would-be tying goal waved off.

Tyler Toffoli – vs. ARI – $5,200

If you go with Carter at centre, you might as well pair him up with one of his wingers, and Toffoli is the best of those two options. He had two assists and nine shots against the Coyotes last season and he is on the Kings’ second power-play until, Tanner Pearson is not as of now.

Teuvo Teravainen – $4,000 or Artemi Panarin -$3,500 @ NYI

Right back to the Blackhawks. Teravainen and Panarin are both young, talented and cheap options playing in the Blackhawks top six. Each of them played nearly 17 minutes in the opener and each of them scored their first goals of the season. You can choose between them or take both, your call.

Defensemen

Drew Doughty – vs. ARI – $5,300

Doughty picked up an assist on the Kings only goal in the season opener. He played over 27 minutes, including 5:51 on the power-play. He is the Kings’ best player and if you have room for an expensive D-man, Doughty is your guy. If you don’t have a lot of cash, but want a Kings’ blueliner, take a look at Christian Ehrhoff ($3,500) who played a team-high 6:21 on the power play and registered three shots.

Niklas Kronwall – vs. TOR – $4,100

Kronwall has been a consistent mid-40’s point producer over the last couple of seasons and despite the addition of Mike Green this offseason, Kronwall still anchors the Red Wings’ top power-play unit. He had one goal and one assist against the Maple Leafs in 2014-15.

Brent Seabrook – @ NYI – $3,800

Seabrook didn’t record a point on Wednesday, but played on the top power-play unit and recorded 23:17 TOI. He is a consistent point producer who will block a lot of shots (averaged nearly two per game last year) which a nice trait for a DraftKings defenseman.

Goalies

Henrik Lundqvist – @ CBJ – $8,100

I took Lundqvist on Wednesday because I figured he would face more shots than Carey Price and still win, but that wasn’t the case. Tonight he takes on a pretty strong Columbus lineup,  who should generate enough saves for King Henrik to make him a strong play. He had a 2-0-0 record with a 1.94 GAA and .941 SV% in two starts vs. the Blue Jackets last season.

Jonathan Quick – vs. ARI – $7,400

Quick was torched for five goals on 32 shots in the Kings’ season opener so he might not be on a lot of radars tonight despite a great matchup. Quick posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.62 GAA, .939 SV% and one shutout in three starts against the Coyotes last season.

Jimmy Howard – vs. TOR – $7,000

Howard is fighting for the starting job which should bring the best out of him in his first outing of the year. Not to mention he has a great matchup with a Maple Leafs team, whom he posted a 1.63 GAA and .929 SV% against last season.

My Lineup