UPDATE: Join DraftKings Friday $8,000 Sniper Pool
The top Fantasy Hockey resource on the web (us of course) has teamed up with DraftKings, the best one-day fantasy sports site around.
Each week we will be bringing you DraftKings’ one-day fantasy hockey contests as well as my top picks at each position, to help you bring home some cash!
If you are new to DraftKings, they will give you a 100% bonus up to $600 on your first deposit.
Friday’s contest has a $2 entry free, but it is free for first time users. There is an $8,000 prize pool with first place taking home $1,000. The top 900 finishing positions will be paid, so your chances of taking home some cold hard cash are pretty good! Click HERE to sign-up!
DraftKings lineups are made up of eight skaters and one goalie. Each player is allotted a salary based off of performance and you have $50,000 to build the best team possible that consists of 2C, 3W, 2D, 1UTIL and 1G.
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 = +1 pts
- Shootout Goal = +0.2 pts
- Hat Trick Bonus = +1.5 pts
Goalies will accumulate points as follows:
- Win = +3 pts
- Save = +0.2 pts
- Goal Against = -1 pts
- Shutout Bonus = +2 pts
(Goalies WILL also receive skater points, if they score a goal or record an assist)
To help you build the ideal one-day lineup here are my top centres, wingers, defensemen, goalies and value picks for the January 30th games.
NOTE: Because most goalies are not confirmed until the day-of, this post will be updated on Friday with my top one-day goalie starts.
CENTRES
Sidney Crosby ($8,800) – @ NJD
Crosby played 19:42 in his first game back on Wednesday, showing no ill-effects from the lower-body injury. The NHL’s fifth leading scorer draws a fantastic Division matchup on Friday. Crosby has three goals in the first three meetings with the Devils and 51 points (24G / 27A) in 46 career games against New Jersey. He comes with a big salary, but he is almost a guarantee to pick up a few points.
David Backes ($7,700) – @ CAR
Backes continues to dominate in January. He is riding a seven-game point streak, registering seven goals and seven assists (14 points) over that span. He is as hot as they come and has a strong matchup in Carolina. A team might be able to fit both Crosby and Backes, but if you are looking for a cheaper option than Sid, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone better than Backes right now.
Paul Stastny ($4,400) – @ CAR
Stastny has really turned things around as of late. He has two goals and 11 assists (13 points) in his last 13 games, all while playing on the third line. With Jori Lehtera out on Friday, he is expected to skate between Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz, making him a strong one-day option.
Henrik Sedin ($4,000) – vs. BUF
Sedin is quietly on pace for his eighth 50-plus assist season. He has eight points (3G / 5A) in 11 January games and with the Sabres in town on the tail-end of a back-to-back and playing their third game in four days. They’re last in goals against this season, giving the Sedin twins a pretty good chance to connect for a goal or two.
WINGERS
Vladimir Tarasenko ($8,200) – @ CAR
Tarasenko is relatively pricey, but of players in action on Friday, he averages the most DraftKings Fantasy Points Per Game (FPPG) of all the wingers at 4.5. He is having his coldest month of the season, but still has eight points (2G / 6A) in nine games. There are cheaper options in St. Louis, but none of them are as dynamic as Tarasenko.
T.J Oshie ($5,400) – @ CAR
Of those cheaper Blues options, Oshie offers the best bang for you buck and he also plays on a line with Backes. Oshie has eight goals and eight assists (16 points) in his last 12 games—he has also seen a spike in shots over that time. In his first 26 games Oshie was averaging 2.15 shots, in his last 12 he is firing 2.83 per game.
Filip Forsberg ($5,600) – @ COL
Forsberg’s sensational season has slowed down just a touch in January, but he has found the back of the net twice in the last two games. On Friday, he will take on the Avalanche and their 22nd ranked defence. Forsberg has popped two goals and one assist in two games vs. Colorado this season.
David Perron ($5,200) – @ NJD
Since coming to the Penguins, Perron’s production has picked up considerably. He has scored six goals and three assists, with two PPG’s in 10 games in Pittsburgh. He comes at a fair enough price that he can be paired with Crosby and his high price tag.
Daniel Sedin ($5,100) – vs. BUF
With a juicy matchup, a Canucks stack makes sense. You could elect to go with Radim Vrbata, who averages more FPPG, but Daniel is a few hundred cheaper and is just as big of a threat to score against the Sabres. Pairing Henrik and Daniel together only costs $9,100 and leaves you with an average of $5,842 per player for the remaining seven positions.
DEFENSEMEN
Kris Letang ($6,800) – @ NJD
It is often hard to spend big money on a defenseman, but with a top-end matchup and 12 points (1G / 11A) in his last seven games, spending the dough on Letang just might be worth it on Friday.
Kevin Shattenkirk ($5,300) – @ CAR
Shattenkirk is second in scoring on the blue line and comes considerable cheaper than Letang. He has three goals and seven assists (10 points) in nine games in January and leads all defensemen in power-play points with 24 on the year.
Sami Vatanen ($4,600) – vs. CHI
Vatanen continues to roll. He picked up his 30th point on Tuesday and has three points and a plus-7 rating in his last five games. Friday’s matchup isn’t great but Vatanen’s mid-level price tag make him an intriguing matchup despite the matchup.
Dan Hamhuis ($2,700) – vs. BUF
Hamhuis has just one assist since returning to the lineup, but has collected an assist in 1/3 of his games this season. With Kevin Bieksa out, Hamhuis will take on a larger role, including power-play time.
VALUE PICKS
Alex Tanguay ($3,600) – vs. NSH
Despite being 35-years-old, Tanguay leads the Avs in scoring with 33 points. He has eight points (1G / 7A) in his last nine games and makes for a good cheap UTIL. He could also be facing the Predators third string goalie in Marek Mazanec.
Brandon Sutter ($3,500) – @ NJD
With Evgeni Malkin out, Sutter is playing in the top-6 with the likes of Chris Kunitz. He has one goal in two games without Malkin and at $3,500 he could be a solid way to round-out your roster.
GOALIES
Ryan Miller ($8,900) – vs. BUF
Miller has lost two in a row, but has a 1.42 GAA and .946 SV% over his last five starts. He’s been great lately and draws the best matchup possible—it is even juicier because it is the first time he takes on his former team.
Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,200) – @ NJD
Fleury is a little riskier than Miller because he has lost four in a row and the Penguins seem to struggle in New Jersey for whatever reason. With that said, he comes $700 cheaper and he is a nice 2-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .920 SV% in three starts against the Devils this season.
Jake Allen ($7,600) – @ CAR
Allen is the cheapest option of confirmed goalies tonight and he draws a strong matchup. Carolina is 28th in the league (17-25-5) and 29th in scoring (2.11 G/PG). They have played better recently behind Anton Khudobin, but the Blues are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, making Allen a safe option.
MY LINEUP
