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 Rotoworld’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). Yahoo has a $200 cap for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 2G) but there are no contests Sunday.[[ad:athena]]
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_ HK and @mfinewaxhockey on Twitter.
There are two games in the NHL Sunday.
Forwards
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) - C - $8,400 (FanDuel), $7,400 (Draft Kings)
Crosby has goals in each of his first two games, both losses to the Flyers, and picked things up Friday, firing six shots on the Flyers net. Crosby will face Alex Ovechkin for the first of eight games this season between the two superstars who both came into the NHL at the same time in 2005 and have been battling ever since in one of the best rivalries of all-time.
Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh) - W - $7,400 (FanDuel), $6,700 (DraftKings)
I always like going with lines, and having Guentzel team up with Crosby on your DFS squad makes sense. Guentzel has only one assist in two games but he scored 20 goals last season in only 39 games while scoring 40 the year before. There are not that many scorers in the NHL who can score every other game and Guentzel is due. Evan Rodrigues is the third member of the line until Kasperi Kapanen is ready to go but he does not see power play time.
Alex Ovechkin (Washington) -W- $8,500 (Fan Duel), $8,500 (Draft Kings)
Possibly the greatest scorer in NHL history, Ovechkin has hit the 50-goal mark eight times and it would have been nine had the NHL not paused its season last year with Ovie at 48 with 13 games left in the campaign. Ovechkin has two assists in two games with only five shots on goal, so he could break loose against Crosby and the Penguins this afternoon.
Bargain Bin: Dylan Strome (Chicago) - C - $5,000 (FanDuel), $4,500 (Draft Kings) Alex DeBrincat (Chicago) – W - $5,700 (FanDuel) $4,800 (DraftKings),Patric Hornqvist (Florida) – W - $5,200 (FanDuel), $2,500 (Draft Kings)
Editor’s Note: Looking for an added edge? Dominate all season long with our DFS Toolkit. Use our Lineup Optimizer to come up with winning lineups for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo! Click here for more!
Defensemen:
John Carlson (Washington) - $6,700 (FanDuel), $6,500 (DraftKings)
The NHL’s leading scoring from the blueline last season, Carlson has a goal and an assist in two games thus far. Expect a high-scoring game against Pittsburgh and look for Carlson to jump back on the scoresheet after the Sabre held him pointless last game.
Aaron Ekblad (Vancouver) - $5,200 (FanDuel), $5,000 (DraftKings)
Ekblad did not hit double digits in goals for the first time in his career last year but still managed a career 41 points despite playing only 67 games. He had 36 assists and will be on the first power play, replacing Keith Yandle who seems to be out of favor in Florida. Put Ekblad in your DFS lineup.
Bargain Bin:
Adam Boqvist (Chicago) - $4,700 (FanDuel), $3,500 (DraftKings), MacKenzie Weegar (Florida) - $4,100 (FanDuel), $4,100 (Draft Kings)
Goaltenders:
Chris Driedger (Florida) - $7,600 (FanDuel), $8,100 (DraftKings)
Driedger gets the start for the injured Sergei Bobrovsky who is practicing and may return Tuesday. Driedger was outstanding last season in limited play with a 7-2-1 record to go with a 2.05 GAA and a .938 save percentage. The Panthers take on the lowly Blackhawks who are in trouble up the middle with Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach injured.
Other plays: Ilya Samsonov (Washington) - $7,600 (FanDuel), $7,500 (Draft Kings)
