FanDuel NHL: February 13
By Matt Rogers
FanDuel NHL: February 13 is a daily fantasy sports column focusing on the best FanDuel NHL player and value options for your daily lineups. The salary options are based on the daily salaries set by FanDuel. We’ll review the best options at each position, and help you afford an ideal lineup for your big FanDuel NHL paydays.
With the NHL only scheduling two games tonight, we have very limited lineup options. So the goal of this lineup is to pick some big plays, while also identifying value options which may be low-owned, and present a competitive advantage against other FanDuel NHL players. Here’s a look at the schedule for tonight:
Rangers at Blue Jackets (7:30pm ET)
Coyotes at Flames (9pm ET)
Before we review the top options for each FanDuel NHL lineup position, let’s review the FanDuel NHL scoring rules:
Forwards/Defense
- Goals = 12pts
- Assists = 8pts
- Shots on Goal = 1.6pts
- Short Handed points = 2pts
- Power Play Points = 0.5pts
- Blocked Shots = 1.6pts
Goalies
- Win = 12pts
- Goals Against = -4pts
- Saves = 0.8pts
- Shutouts = 8pts
Next: Top Centers
Top Centers
Mikael Backlund ($5,400) is a top-five option at center and has the best match up, along with Flames 1st line center, Monahan. Leading the Flames 2nd line, Backlund has a goal and three assists in Calgary’s last three games. Mickael is hotter than Sean coming into the game tonight at home against the Coyotes. Also, we’re saving $1.5K by going with Backlund over Monahan. It’s not worth it to pay up and lose the value from Backlund.
The New York Rangers offense is hot, once again, and so is 3rd line leader Kevin Hayes ($5,600). Since getting back into the Rangers offense on February 7th, Hayes averaged 18 FanDuel NHL points-per-game over the last three games. Kevin has been hot the last two months and his salary is finally beginning to climb. We’ve used Hayes often in the last couple of weeks with great results. We’ll go with Kevin again tonight in the match up against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
Next: Top Wings
Top Wings
Sticking with the Rangers, we’ll stack fellow 3rd liner J.T. Miller ($6,100) at the wing position. Miller has been scolding hot since dropping 12.8 FanDuel NHL points on the Blue Jackets at the end of January. J.T. followed the game up with four-straight 20+ point results, and had 14.4 points against Colorado over the weekend. Miller will likely be heavily owned, but we don’t want to be the one lineup void of Miller, with another big night.
Like Miller, young 23-year-old Calgary Flames all-star Johnny Gaudreau ($7,300) is on fire. However, Johnny is more consistent, as he’s been doing this all year-long, and is expensive. But again, we need to have Gaudreau in our lineup, in a very favorable match up for the Flames tonight.
Cam Atkinson ($7,100) emerged as a star on the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. Cam is now 4th in the NHL with 27 goals on the year, and 18th in the NHL with 49 points. The Rangers are sitting Lundqvist tonight, so with Raanta in net, at home in Columbus, Atkinson becomes a more attractive option, even with the hefty salary.
To afford this expensive wing line, and leave some money on the table for good defensive picks, I’m looking for a value play from Tobias Rieder ($4,500). I’m not expecting much scoring from the Coyotes tonight, but if they slip one or two into the net, there’s a good change the 24-year-old first-stringer will be involved. Tobias is coming into this game after scoring a goal in Arizona’s surprise win over the Penguins. He’s getting hot. This could be a great value pick tonight.
Next: Top Defense
Top Defense
We didn’t spend too much salary on our Center picks, and we had some nice value picks at wing. So with plenty of money left over, I’m grabbing the top two defenders tonight, Ryan McDonagh ($5,400) and Dougie Hamilton ($5,600).
Both McDonagh and the younger Hamilton are the leaders of their team’s defenders this season. Hamilton can be on the ice as long as 25 to 28 minutes in a game. Dougie is so active in each game that even if he doesn’t get an assists or goal, he’s probably going to have four to five shots on goal along with several blocks. So Hamilton is a high probability 12-14 FanDuel NHL pick, with 20+ point potential.
McDonagh is the top-line defender on a Rangers offense who scores often this season. Over the last five games, Ryan has four double-digit FanDuel NHL point games, with the lone sub-10 point game still landing at 8 points. McDonagh will be on the ice as often as Hamilton, and should get us over 10 points as well tonight.
Next: Top Goalie
Top Goalie
Before the Rangers announced Raanta in goal, earlier this afternoon, I was very excited to play a hot Lundqvist. However, Raanta has not been as locked in as Henrik, and the Blue Jackets are a good team playing the Rangers at home. So I’m fading any goalie in that match up.
So my options are the Coyotes Smith, or Chad Johnson ($7,900). This is a fantastic match up for the Flames, at home. The Coyotes are 2nd to last in the NHL in scoring, although Johnson will likely also see less shots than he’s accustomed. Still, 12 FanDuel NHL points for the win is highly likely, and Chad should add another 8+ points for saves. So we’re expecting around 20+ FanDuel NHL points with Johnson minding the net.
Next: FanDuel NBA Picks & Pivots
Always check NHL lineups throughout the day when playing FanDuel NHL. As a fan, you likely know the league isn’t overly forthcoming with injury news, and players are often scratched at the last-minute with little information. Also, goaltenders are never a sure-thing. Good Luck today FanDuelers!