NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: October 5th

Welcome back to another NHL DFS Power Plays column. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day. This is the Friday, October 5th 2018 edition.

The big Thursday night NHL DFS FanDuel slate is already underway, but I’m already focusing on the small, two-game slate for Friday night. The results of Thursday’s game has little do to with the Friday night games, barring any jarring injuries. Also, analyzing the Friday slate is easier than the massive ten-game slate on Thursday night.

For the Friday night slate, we have three of four teams playing a second game in three nights. The well rested team, the Kings, will be knocking dust off their sticks, but could still be a solid consideration for NHL DFS lineups.

Before we get there, a reminder to never take a NHL DFS optimal lineup as ‘bible’ for your personal lineup each day. Use the suggestions as guidance. Also, make sure you follow final lineup thoughts throughout the day on our twitter account @FantasyCPR or me @MattyMcMatt17 look for late breaking lineup news.

Here’s a look at the NHL schedule for Friday, October 5th:

Hurricanes at Blue Jackets 7pm ET

Sharks at Kings 10:30pm ET ESPN+

The Hurricanes have struggled to avoid more than three goals scored, on them, per game over the last two seasons. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are one of the stingiest defensive teams in the NHL.

The Sharks appear to be searching for their identify, but with plenty of talent on their lines. And the Kings are a veteran team with the clock ticking on the possibility for more Stanley Cup playoff runs. Still, the Kings offense are very NHL DFS relevant.

So, let’s start building our NHL DFS optimal lineup by looking at the top centers for this slate…

 NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Centers

When looking at the Center spot, we really only have 12 players to consider for the Friday night slate, the top three lines of the four teams. Of that group of 12, there is a clear drop off in talent between the top half and the bottom half.

By far the best play of the night is the 2017-2018 season Frank J. Selke trophy winner, Kings top center Anze Kopitar ($7,500). After an injury-riddled season two years ago, Kopitar bounced back incredibly last year with 92 points in 82 games. Easy math tells you Kopitar was a great NHL DFS pick each time he was on the ice.

Anze averaged over 22 minutes of ice time last season, a very high mark for most centers in the league, even the best. Kopitar ‘only’ had 35 goals in 82 games, but he added another 57 assists in the same amount of time. That’s creeping toward one assist per game. Also, Anze piled up 200 shots in the 82 games, so we know we’re at least getting points from pucks to the net from Kopitar.

We could pick another expensive center for our second roster spot, but the other top options aren’t ideal. I generally love Sebastian Aho ($6,600), and he’s a great GPP play on Friday night, but I’m worried about Aho’s productivity against Bobrovsky.

Pierre-Luc Dubois ($6,100) was great, at times last season, but he’s also streaky. Also, while Dubois is leading the Blue Jackets top line, Alexander Wennberg ($5,200) seems like a steal on the Jackets second line.

Wennberg also leads the Blue Jackets second power play line, and can pile up as many as 20+ minutes on the ice. While Dubois had 48 points in 82 games, Wennberg had 35 points in 66 games. That’s nearly the same average between the two centers, with a $1,400 salary difference.

With Scott Darling going on IR this week, Petr Mrazek seems like a great signing for the Carolina Hurricanes. But, Mrazek is vulnerable, and if he’s off on Friday night, especially after potentially starting two nights in a row, the Blue Jackets top two lines are going to have a great value night for NHL DFS FanDuel plays.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Wingers

Before we get into the obvious stack of the night, can we please talk about Tomas Hertl ($5,300)? While I was all over Timo Meier ($4,500), who I still love for this season by the way, watching Hertl on Wednesday night was a treat.

Hertl was one of my favorite value and mid-salary range plays last season, but he was also streaky. Tomas may be streaky again this season, but I’d like to ride his start to the season streak on Friday night. The goal scored by Hertl on Wednesday night was playing at another level. We could see more of that, even against a tough Kings defense and goaltending on Friday night.

So, with Hertl already logged as a mid-salary range value play at wing, we’ll stick with the value discussion and focus on our top value play of the night. Boone Jenner ($4,400) isn’t racking up points, yet, against the Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Hopefully he eventually does because he’s a solid part of our Thursday night play. But, Jenner already has five shots on goal just mid-way through the second period. So for only $4,400 on a winger, we’re getting eight-plus points, with a high ceiling on Thursday, and Friday night. I’m playing Boone in all formats.

Now to the obvious stack. I backed into this one. Artemi Panarin ($7,600) and Cam Atkinson ($7,100) are going to be popular options to stack on Friday night. Especially after Atkinson scored on Thursday night. I like both, but it’s not the chalk I want on Friday night.

I also considered plugging Evander Kane ($6,800) in the lineup as a ‘one-off’ type of top winger. But I’m not confident Kane and the Sharks have a great offensive night against Jonathan Quick. Instead, I found myself grabbing veteran Ilya Kovalchuk ($7,000) and Tyler Toffoli ($6,200).

Kovalchuk may seem like a risk, if you’re a seasoned follower of hockey. He supposedly retired from the NHL in 2013, then continued to play in Russia, and suddenly signed a three year deal with the Kings in late June.

But, while playing in Russia, Ilya’s play was noted by many on social media, and his skills still appear to be sharp. So, it’s not surprising the Kings were willing to take a chance on Kovalchuk, and the paring with Kopitar is juicy.

Toffoli is a subtle 26-year-old Canadian who worked his way up the Kings depth charts last season, many thanks to injuries. But after piling up 47 points in 82 games, his play was noticed and he became a solid NHL DFS option.

On Friday night, we should see Toffoli on the Kings second regular and power play lines. In fact, it’s expected that Tyler leads the second power play line at center.

Alright, let’s look at a few top picks on defense…

 NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Defenders

For the second night in three days, we could consider stacking the Sharks top defensive talent Brent Burns ($7,200) and Erik Karlsson ($7,000) in the defensive spots. But, for the same reason I didn’t like it on Wednesday night, we don’t yet know how dynamic this duo can be for NHL DFS.

And, you’re spending way too much of your salary to get another eight or nine total points like we saw on Wednesday night. At some point, this pair should play out nicely, but I don’t like the trend Burns was on last season, DFS points dropping, and I hate the value so far this season.

The rest of the defensive picks are very affordable, and you could argue there is tons of value in these plays. Drew Doughty ($5,900) is the best NHL DFS option from the Kings defensive lines, but Jake Muzzin ($4,800) can be just as effective for $1,100 less in salary.

I’d rather go with Muzzin and afford the bigger plays at center and winger, along with my favorite play at Goalie, which we’ll get to shortly.

With a great top-line value play at defense already in our lineup, 21-year-old veteran (yes, veteran) Zach Werenski ($5,600) should be a great pick against the Hurricanes. We’re getting a 22 to 27 minute ice-time defender leading the Blue Jackets top lines with a high volume of shots on goal and blocked shots. All of that for a very reasonable price. I’ll take it!

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Goalies

While the goalies haven’t been announced yet, at the time of writing this column on Thursday night, I expect the following four starting goalies to be available for the Friday night slate; Sergei Bobrovsky ($9,000), Jonathan Quick ($8,800), Martin Jones ($8,500), and Petr Mrazek ($7,600).

The goalie I’m least confident to see start is Mrazek after starting on Thursday night. But with Darling on the IR this week, it’s very possible Petr continues to start as the Hurricanes figure out their backup situation.

Martin Jones is a solid play, even after getting blown out by the injured Ducks, 5-2, to start the season. I’ve seen Martin do this in the past couple of seasons; bounce back after a bad start. Maybe the Sharks turn to Aaron Dell ($7,600), who then becomes a great value play at the position, but I still don’t love either against a very good Quick in net for the Kings.

Instead, I’m going with the best bet for a win, and the better shot at a shutout. Bobrovsky was a surprise sit for the Blue Jackets on Thursday night. For whatever reason, Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella decided to start the season with Joonas Korpisalo.

Joonas was one of my favorite value plays at the goalie position on Thursday night, because the Blue Jackets have a solid defense and decent offense. Columbus should end the season somewhere in the top four of their conference. But a large part of that is Bobrovsky, the best net-minder on their team and one of the best in the Eastern Conference. He’ll get the home start in a favorable match up, and he’s worth the price.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: October 4th 2018 Summary

At Center on Friday night, we’re going to pay up for the 2017-2018 Selke Trophy winner Kopitar and grab the Kings top scoring opportunities of the night. We’ll stack Kovalchuk at the winger spot, with Kopitar on the top line, and add Toffoli to get a piece of the second lines for the Kings as well.

There’s plenty of value options for the Friday night NHL DFS FanDuel slate, and Blue Jackets second line leader Wenneberg is one of my favorite at the center position. After his amazing goal on Wednesday night, we’re enamored by Hertl, and have no problem paying a modest price for his hot streak.

Finally, we’ll plug in value play Jenner from the Blue Jackets third line, and second power play line. Werenski and Muzzin give us a piece of the top defender lines of the Friday night slate, and we have plenty of salary to pay up for Bobrovsky in goal.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel on Friday, October 5th 2018:

C       Anze Kopitar ($7,500)

C       Alexander Wennberg ($5,200)

W     Ilya Kovalchuk ($7,000)

W     Tyler Toffoli ($6,200)

W     Tomas Hertl ($5,300)

W     Boone Jenner ($4,400)

D      Zach Werenski ($5,600)

D      Jake Muzzin ($4,800)

G      Sergei Bobrovsky ($9,000)

Remaining Salary: $0

Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the slate. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building NHL DFS FanDuel lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

Best of luck in your NHL DFS FanDuel contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across College Football, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, EPL, PGA, and NASCAR this fall!