NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: October 9th

Welcome to the 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 Tuesday, October 9th 2018 edition.

We took a few days off over the holiday weekend, fading some funky slates on Sunday and Monday. Full disclosure, I did play small amounts of GPP NHL DFS on FanDuel over the last two days though, and did OK. But with so much insane scoring in the NHL to start this season, it’s hard to cash even with 170 to 200 point lineups.

Typically, those total points are a sweet spot for a least some money in GPP, and is a slam dunk for cash games. But, due to the lack of solid goaltending to start this NHL season, the target has risen to around 220 lately. That being said, we’ve seen this happen in the past, and as goaltenders get settled into the crease for this season, the scoring will be more limited.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are typically the NHL’s big nights on their schedule each week. This week is no exception. However, with only six games on the schedule for Tuesday night, it’s lighter than usual.

Still, that gives us plenty of options at each position, looking at the lines from 12 teams. We may pay up a bit for goalie tonight, to anchor our team. There’s one goaltender we’ve been playing, consistently, and he could stay hot again tonight against a tough team.

We’ll also grab some value plays, there’s plenty of them tonight. That will give us he cash we need for some big plays at Center and Winger.

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 Tuesday, October 9th:

Sharks at Flyers 7pm ET NBC Sports Network

Canucks at Hurricanes 7pm ET

Avalanche at Blue Jackets 7pm ET

Flames at Predators ESPN+

Kings at Jets 8pm ET

Maple Leafs at Stars 8:30pm ET

The Sharks are struggling and the Flyers have been so-so. Between these two teams, the Flyers seem more offensively focused than the Sharks, who were just blanked by the Islanders yesterday afternoon.

The Canucks have some great young talent on the team, always dangling value plays when they’re on the ice. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes actually look like a good offensive team, so we need to consider a Canes stack.

The Avs’ will finally be tested on the road, after a great 2-0 start on home ice. They have a favorable match up as long as the Blue Jackets continue to struggling with scoring, and in the crease.

The Flames travel to Nashville to play a Predators team we also need to consider stacking. Meanwhile, the Kings and Jets both offer some great offensive players to consider. However, they’re both typically expensive.

And we end the night with a good Maple Leafs team traveling down to Dallas to play the Stars. Ben Bishop has been incredible in goal so far this season, not something we can say about many in the league right now

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

There are several top stars on the ice this week, so paying up for Nathan MacKinnon ($8,600), John Tavares ($8,400), Auston Matthews ($8,100), or Tyler Seguin (7,900) will be tempting.

Tavares and Matthews will continue to be a popular play for NHL DFS FanDuel players, but I’m avoiding them against the Stars in Dallas tonight. Especially if Bishop is in next. I also like MacKinnon’s scoring consistency over Seguin, as well as Nathan’s match up against the Blue Jackets goaltending, which has been sub-par so far this season.

But before you pay up for an expensive center, look at some of the more affordable options first. For example, the Hurricanes haven’t lost a game in regular time yet this season, after three. That’s mostly due to the great offensive play from their top two lines.

The lines of been consistent too, which is a great sign that you’re paying for a safer good result. Also, I suspect ownership will be higher on guys like MacKinnon, Tavares, and Matthews. That makes the Canes top line leader Sebastian Aho ($6,400) seem like a steal on home ice tonight.

Aho has a point in each of the first three games, totaling one goal and three assists for the season. Seb also has at least two shots or more on goal each game, and a total of four blocked shots already. Aho has at least 16 NHL DFS FanDuel points in every game as well.

This is a favorable match up for the Canes, so we could either pivot from Aho to Jordan Stala ($5,700) leading the Hurricanes second line, or we can stack Aho with Staal for really good value in our center positions.

Staal also centers the Hurricanes top power play unit, with Aho at the left winger spot of that unit. So Jordan is also on the ice for around 20 minutes each game, and logged two goals and two assists already this season.

Staal has the tendency to shoot the puck more versus Aho’s better defense. The combination of the two likely gets you around 40 to 50 points, on a cheap overall salary.

The Canucks Bo Horvat ($5,800) is a great pivot from Staal, or a decent play with Staal on the ice facing each other. While the Canes offense has won them games, their goaltenders are struggling and the Canucks should score some goals tonight as well. We could see another high-scoring result out of this one.

Another cheaper play at center I like, and we’ll talk more about the Predators when we hit the winger and defensive spots, is Preds second line center Kyle Turris ($5,100). The Predators haven’t had a lot of NHL DFS success at the center position over the last year.

But after getting Turris from the Senators, in a trade last season, Turris adds more value to the position. He’s started the season with two helpers in the first two games, and is averaging over ten points per game. Kyle will have a few 20+ point nights soon as well. He’s worth a shot with this salary.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Wingers

Before we go into our top picks at the wing spots, let’s complete the thought about stacking the Hurricanes. We got some value from stacking even the Canes top center, Aho. Well, the Canes top two lines also offer tons of value with guys like veteran Micheal Ferland ($4,600) on the first line and rookie Warren Foegele ($3,700) on the second line.

I’ve been watching Foegele since the start of the season. I didn’t get an article out for Sunday, but had Warren in my lineup against a struggling Rangers team. Foegele gave me 35.2 NHL DFS FanDuel points on a very cheap salary, thanks to two goals and one assist.

Now that Warren has scoring experience in the NHL this season, I suspect we should see more points on the stat sheet from Foegele this week. With the home ice match up against the Canucks, this should be another solid opportunity for more points.

Meanwhile, veteran Micheal Ferland ($4,600) has had no problem settling into the Canes top two lines, likely playing with Aho tonight. The former Flames winger already has two goals and two assists in just three games this season, 11 shots on goal and one blocked shot. For this salary, we’re getting a steal.

So, with our value plays locked in, potentially even completing a Hurricanes stack for tonight, and maybe even getting some value out of our center positions tonight, we have plenty of salary left over to make a splash with the other two winger spots.

That’s perfect, because there were two wingers I’m dying to play tonight. First of all, I love the Predators hosting the Flames in Nashville Tuesday night. And one of my favorite offensive wingers from the Preds is Filip Forsberg ($7,800).

After two road games, Forsberg logged a goal and assist in around 19 minutes of average ice time per game. The 24-year-old Swede has a very well-rounded game, adding a lot of shots on goal and blocked shots points to his totals each night as well. This could be another 20 point play on a guy we can now afford.

Speaking of great, young, well-rounded wingers from Scandinavia, Finnish native Patrik Laine ($7,600) was one of the top NHL DFS FanDuel winger plays last season, especially during his hot streak toward the end of the regular season.

Laine did most of his offensive damage against the Blues in the Jets first game of the season. But even without scoring against the Stars and a hot Ben Bishop on Saturday, Laine still had five shots on goal and blocked shot for 9.6 NHL DFS FanDuel points.

Hosting the Kings tonight, I think Patrik has a better opportunity for an outcome more like his 28.5 point affair against the Blues. In that game, Laine spent another 15 minutes on the ice, scoring a power play goal, adding a helper, and slapping five shots on goal. The sniper should have a goal or two tonight, and is always a potential hat-trick play.

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

 NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Defenders

When I noticed the Nashville Predators were in tonight’s NHL DFS FanDuel slate, my first action was to go to the defense positions, and plug in P.K. Subban ($6,200) and Roman Josi ($5,700). Subban is starting to look more expensive, but after scoring a goal and offering two assists in the first two games, that isn’t surprising.

Josi hasn’t been as productive yet, but he’s on the ice so long and consistently provides so many shots on goal and blocked shots, even if he doesn’t get a goal or assist he still has potential for around ten points. With Subban, they’re often a 30 to 40 point play.

But, a lot of NHL DFS FanDuel players likely notice this as well. So I’m going to go a different route with the same team, and same lines. How? Ryan Ellis ($5,200) is also a very talented defender for the Predators, and he is on the ice with Josi a lot. In fact, between the two, Ellis is becoming more of the scoring threat.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Mattias Ekholm ($4,800) has emerged as a great value play after scoring a goal and offering two assists playing alongside Subban on the Predators second line. In fact, to start the season, Ekholm has been a cheaper, and better, version of Josi, and a cheaper, and similar, version of Subban.

If you’re fading the Predators or want other options for GPP play, Shayne Gostisbehere ($6,400) hasn’t hit the scoring sheet yet this season, but the sniper could come alive on home ice in Philadelphia tonight. Dougie Hamilton ($5,100) is a great play at defense if you haven’t maxed out your four Canes players yet. And Jacob Trouba ($4,800) is a sneaky way to get a piece of what will likely be high scoring for the Jets on home ice.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Goalies

I’ve already hinted at who I like in goal the most tonight. It’s a bit of a no-brainer. However, because Ben Bishop ($9,200) is the most expensive option at the position, many NHL DFS FanDuel players may fade him. I find a lot of value in other positions, so I hope they do fade him. I’m playing him in all formats.

Bishop started the season with an easy match up hosting the Coyotes in Dallas. Ben had 30 saves on 30 shots, shutting out the Yotes and building up to 44 NHL DFS FanDuel points. But Bishop has a tougher match up against one of the NHL’s top teams, the Jets, next. Still, Bishop stopped 32 pucks from scoring on 33 shots, getting another win and over 30 points.

The Maple Leafs are also a tough team, like the Jets. But we have little reason to believe Bishop can’t handle them, and the Leafs goaltending has struggled to star the season. Yes, Toronto poured seven goals into a win over the Blackhawks on Sunday. But the Hawks goaltending is in a starkly different situation.

If you don’t want to spend that much money, or think others have caught on to Bishop’s great play tonight, I’d consider Pekka Rinne ($8,800) to be in a similar situation, and as good or better than Bishop.

But, Pekka only had one start so far this season, and it was against a terrible Rangers team. Still Rinne saw 36 shots on goal, more than Bishop in either of his first two starts, and made 34 saves. This too is a great play at the goalie position.

For value, I think Brian Elliott ($7,700) on home ice against a Sharks team struggling to find their identity this season, is a solid play. Elliott will give up some goals, but the Flyers have the young offensive fire power to help him get the win.

Curtis McElhinney ($7,600) is starting in goal for the Hurricanes in a favorable a match up, and Philipp Grubauer ($7,400) also gets a struggling Blue Jackets team for the Avs. Each are risky plays in net, but great for value in a GPP lineup.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: October 9th 2018 Summary

I love MacKinnon at the center spot tonight, and I’ve found plenty of value plays to afford Nathan. But I also love the prospect of stacking the Hurricanes top two lines with Aho and Staal. Along with two value winger plays from those same two lines, we can stack the Canes best offensive chances and still have plenty of salary left. This play works in all formats.

Our top two winger plays are Forsberg and Laine. Forsberg could become part of a Predators stack in a favorable lineup, and we’re hoping Laine takes a crack at a hat-trick tonight.

On defense, I started with Subban and Josi, and you can still stick with that Preds stack on defense. But while looking at the top four Preds defenders statistics for the season, Ellis and Ekholm seem like not only the best value, but the best plays at the position. Ghost-Bear, Dougie, and Trouba are three other really good options for defense.

Finally, when a goalie gets hot, he’s a great NHL DFS play. Ben Bishop started the season shutting out the Yotes, followed up by a surprise one-goal win over the Jets. I love him tonight, even against the Maple Leafs. If you’re not comfortable with Bishop, consider Rinne first. Eilliot, McElhinney, and Grubauer are great value or GPP plays at the goalie position.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel on Tuesday, October 9th 2018:

C       Sebastian Aho ($6,400)

C       Jordan Staal ($5,700)

W     Filip Forsberg ($7,800)

W     Patrik Laine ($7,600)

W     Micheal Ferland ($4,600)

W     Warren Foegele ($3,700)

D      Ryan Ellis ($5,200)

D      Mattias Ekholm ($4,800)

G      Ben Bishop ($9,200)

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!