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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).
Friday night has four games on the schedule.
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Forwards:
Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles) - $8,300 FanDuel, $7,900 DraftKings, $21 Yahoo
Kopitar has gotten off to a fantastic start with five goals and eight points in three games. There are other star forwards who have been rolling early on, like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for example, but Kopitar is a more affordable option.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton) - $6,200 FanDuel, $4,700 DraftKings, $21 Yahoo
Nugent-Hopkins is going into this game on a three-game point streak. He already has six assists in four contests this season. The Oilers are on a roll in general and Nugent-Hopkins is one of the cheaper options among Edmonton’s skilled forwards and is a particularly good bet in DraftKings given that price point.
Timo Meier (San Jose) - $6,000 FanDuel, $6,400 DraftKings, $19 Yahoo
Meier is on a three-game point streak, scoring a goal and five points over that span. He’s somewhat borderline at his current price, but is worth rolling the dice on while he’s hot.
Bargain Bin: Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM) - $5,800 FanDuel/$5,800 DraftKings/$21 Yahoo, Zach Hyman (EDM) - $5,800 FanDuel/$4,800 DraftKings/$22 Yahoo, Victor Olofsson (BUF) - $5,200 FanDuel/$4,400 DraftKings/$16 Yahoo, Logan Couture (SJS) - $5,000 FanDuel/$5,100 DraftKings/$16 Yahoo, Radek Faksa (DAL) - $4,400 FanDuel/$2,900 DraftKings/$13 Yahoo
Defensemen:
Morgan Rielly (Toronto) - $6,200 FanDuel, $5,600 DraftKings, $21 Yahoo
Rielly has gotten off to a great start with three assists in four games. He’s been one of the league’s best offensive defensemen for years with 189 points in 264 contests dating back to 2017-18.
Bargain Bin: Drew Doughty (LAK) - $6,100 FanDuel/$5,900 DraftKings/$16 Yahoo, Darnell Nurse (EDM) - $5,900 FanDuel/$6,100 DraftKings/$23 Yahoo, Brent Burns (SJS) - $5,200 FanDuel/$6,300 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo, Erik Karlsson (SJS) - $5,100 FanDuel/$4,100 DraftKings/$16 Yahoo
Goaltenders:
Linus Ullmark (Boston) - $8,200 FanDuel, $8,100 DraftKings, $29 Yahoo
Ullmark will be facing the Buffalo Sabres tonight for the first time. I’m gambling on him doing well against his former team even though the Sabres have gotten off to a strong start this season. It certainly helps that Ullmark is a pretty solid goaltender in his own right. He had a 2.63 GAA and .917 save percentage in 20 starts last season despite playing for a dreadful squad.
Bargain Bin: Mikko Koskinen (EDM) - $7,900 FanDuel/$7,700 DraftKings/$26 Yahoo, Braden Holtby (DAL) - $7,400 FanDuel/$8,000 DraftKings/$27 Yahoo
