Each day I will be providing my recommended player picks for your FanDuel daily fantasy hockey lineups.
My FanDuel NHL Plays will be broken down by player positions, and will include picks for cash games (50/50s/double-ups/head-to-head) and GPPs (guaranteed prize pool tournaments).
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Are you new to Daily Fantasy Hockey? Check out these strategies documents first for tips and recommendations to craft your winning FanDuel hockey lineups:
Daily Fantasy Hockey Primer: 2014-15 Season
Winning Strategies for Cash Games (head-to-head, 50/50s)
Winning Strategies for GPP Tournaments
Advanced Tips for Winning by Utilizing Vegas Odds and Line Combinations
FanDuel Daily Fantasy Hockey Research and Strategy Tools
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We have a typically slow Monday night in the NHL with a three-game slate. With that being said, we still have six teams hitting the ice, and that gives us plenty of options for our cash games and our GPPs. The St. Louis Blues are the only big favorite on the board tonight and you can expect most daily fantasy hockey players to be using their fair share of them in their cash game lineups. However, in GPPs I suggest avoiding the popular Blues in some lineups in hopes of separating yourself from the pack. The other five teams in play will be a little harder to predict. Let’s see if I can help with my NHL Daily Plays!
Editor's Note: Rotoworld's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $15,000 Fantasy Hockey league for Monday's NHL games. It's just $2 to join and first prize is $1,400. Starts Monday at 7pm ET. Here's the FanDuel link.
GOALTENDERS
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to game time.
Martin Brodeur, St. Louis Blues, $7,000 – Brodeur looked sharp versus the New York Islanders Saturday night in the Blues’ come-from-behind win. St. Louis is one of the best teams in hockey on home ice (9-3-1) and they come into this game as a huge favorite. Florida has been a solid hockey club all year long, but they still struggle offensively. The Panthers lack a true goal scorer and rank 2nd to last in the NHL in goals per game (2.20). The Blues are one of the best defensive teams in hockey and I think they control this game from get-go.
Other Goalies To Target (Cash Games) – Henrik Lundqvist
Other Goalies To Target (Tournaments) – Marc-Andre Fleury, Anton Khudobin, Cory Schneider
CENTER
Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues, $5,100 – Lehtera continues to be a key piece to the Blues offense and has found great chemistry with linemates Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz. This trio has been one of the NHL’s biggest surprises and most effective lines all season. Lehtera’a price has yet to catch up to his production, so I think he makes a tremendous value play tonight.
Other Centers To Target (Cash Games) – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Derek Stepan
Other Centers To Target (Tournaments) – Eric Staal, Adam Henrique, Paul Stastny
LEFT WING
Rick Nash, New York Rangers, $8,800 - Nash is having a fantastic season (17 G, 27 PTS, +8, 86 SOG in 25 GP) and has played great versus the Penguins this year (1 G, 3 A, 11 SOG in 2 GP). Pittsburgh is a banged up squad and the Rangers have owned them recently. I think the Rangers continue their dominance over the Penguins and Nash has a multi-point effort.
Other Left Wingers To Target (Cash Games) – Jaden Schwartz
Other Left Wingers To Target (Tournaments) – Jeff Skinner, Mats Zuccarello
RIGHT WING
T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues, $6,200 – Oshie has really struggled this season (8 PTS in 20 GP), but he is a much better player than he has shown. Oshie had a multi-point performance Saturday night and I think he starts to get going from here. He is now playing on the Blues’ top powerplay unit and has seen an increase in overall ice time. Normally I would recommend Oshie as a GPP play, but with only three games on the schedule, I think Oshie is in play for all game types this evening.
Other Right Wingers To Target (Cash Games) – Vladimir Tarasenko, Martin St. Louis, David Backes
Other Right Wingers To Target (Tournaments) – Alexander Semin, Michael Ryder
DEFENSE
Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Penguins, $3,800 – With all of Pittsburgh’s injuries (e.g. Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz), Maatta has been bumped up to the Penguins’ number one powerplay unit. Pittsburgh has the top ranked powerplay in the NHL and as the Penguins’ powerplay quarterback, Maatta has great value tonight. The Pens offense has sputtered recently, but they can explode at any time. The Rangers are in a mini slump, losing two in a row, allowing nine goals in the process.
Other Defensemen To Target (Cash Games) – Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Dan Boyle
Other Defensemen To Target (Tournaments) – Damon Severson, Aaron Ekblad, John-Michael Liles