NHL Plays will highlight the best and the most underrated daily fantasy options among forwards, defensemen and goaltenders.
Please note, these players were chosen early in the day, so make sure to check NBC Sports EDGE’s player news for any lineup changes, injuries and potential changes in the crease for starting goaltenders.
Additionally, it is worth reminding everyone that FanDuel allows you to roster nine players (2C, 2W, 2D, 2UTIL 1G) with a salary cap of $55,000, while DraftKings has a cap of $50,000 for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 1G, 1UTIL) and Yahoo has a $200 budget for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 2G).
There are four games scheduled for Friday night.
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Forwards:
Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg) – C – $7,600 FanDuel, $7,000 DraftKings, $27 Yahoo
Scheifele is on a three-game goal scoring streak and an eight-game point streak. He’s up to eight markers and 22 points in 16 contests this season. That’s good for sixth place in the NHL scoring race.
Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida) – W – $7,300 FanDuel, $5,600 DraftKings, $22 Yahoo
Huberdeau is on fire with three goals and five points in his last two games. He also now has three multi-point games over the span of his last five contests. Huberdeau has seven goals and 20 points in 14 games in 2020-21.
Alex DeBrincat (Chicago) – W – $6,900 FanDuel, $7,800 DraftKings, $24 Yahoo
DeBrincat has found the back of the net in five of his last seven contests. That’s propelled him to nine goals and 17 points in 14 contests this season. After being limited to 18 goals last season, he certainly seems to have rekindled his scoring touch.
Bargain Bin: Aleksander Barkov (FLA) - $6,900 FanDuel/$6,700 DraftKings/$26 Yahoo, Elias Pettersson (VAN) - $6,600 FanDuel/$5,600 DraftKings/$21 Yahoo, Patric Hornqvist (FLA) - $5,700 FanDuel/$5,900 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo, Vincent Trocheck (CAR) - $5,500 FanDuel/$6,400 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo, Jordan Staal (CAR) - $5,200 FanDuel/$6,000 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo
Defensemen:
Quinn Hughes (Vancouver) - $5,600 FanDuel, $5,400 DraftKings, $19 Yahoo
No sophomore slump here. Hughes had 53 points in 68 contests as a rookie and he’s done even better so far in 2020-21, scoring two goals and 20 points in 20 games. He’s on a three-game point streak going into Friday’s action.
Bargain Bin: Tyson Barrie (EDM) - $5,500 FanDuel/$6,200 DraftKings/$21 Yahoo, Rasmus Andersson (CAL) - $4,300 FanDuel/$4,500 DraftKings/$16 Yahoo, Josh Morrissey (WPG) - $4,200 FanDuel/$4,800 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo, Brett Pesce (CAR) - $4,000 FanDuel/$4,300 DraftKings/$16 Yahoo
Goaltenders:
Kevin Lankinen (Chicago) - $7,600 FanDuel, $7,200 DraftKings, $31 Yahoo
I’ve highlighted Lankinen regularly on this column, but he hasn’t given me much reason to do any different. He’s having an incredible rookie season with a 7-2-3 record, 2.29 GAA, and .931 save percentage in 12 contests this season. He’s coming off a 29-save shutout against Detroit on Wednesday. He’s well priced too, as evidenced by the fact that the “bargain bin” goaltender listed actually costs more than him on all sites.
Bargain Bin: Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) - $7,700 FanDuel/$7,700 DraftKings/$34 Yahoo
