NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: October 16th

Welcome to NHL DFS Power Plays. We’re a fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL players for your lineups each day. This is the Tuesday, October 16th 2018 edition.

Well, our suggestions worked out well yesterday, likely regardless of who you used. We recommended playing Auston Matthews in all formats, and with two shots and two assists, Matthews had 19.2 NHL DFS FanDuel points.

Whether you played Matthews with Tyler Seguin or Dylan Larkin, you had a similar total overall result with our center picks. Were we really made up a lot of our points was with the value plays at the winger positions.

Senators’ rookie Brady Tkachuk and Maple Leafs young top line winger Kasperi Kapanen were each under $4k of FanDuel NHL DFS salary to play and they both had over 20 points. Kapanen has two goals for just under 30 points.

Alexander Radulov and Mitch Marner were each just short of 20 points, giving us a total of around 80 points, just with the wing picks. Along with the center picks, you were likely over 100 points before we even got to the goalies or defensive plays.

At the defense position, we again found great value for Monday night. Maxime Lajoie is another rookie we grabbed from the suddenly exciting Senators who had a goal last night. Along with Morgan Rielly, the two combined for 28 NHL DFS FanDuel points.

And at Goalie, we liked Pekka Rinne as a safe play and took a shot at playing the Leafs back-up goalie Garret Sparks in more risky GPP plays. It turns out, they were both solid plays. The Leafs won 4-1 and Sparks gave us 34.4 NHL DFS FanDuel points, while Rinne gave us over 27 points.

Most of the lineups I played last night had around or over 170 points. With that many points each night, you should be able to cash out in all formats, most nights. However, the Tuesday and Thursday slates can sometimes be more challenging due to the larger schedule and more lineup combination possibilities. We have a lot of games to consider for Tuesday night.

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 16th 2018:

Stars at Devils 7pm ET ESPN+

Avalanche at Rangers 7pm ET

Panthers at Flyers 7pm ET

Canucks at Penguins 7pm ET

Hurricanes at Lightning 7:30pm ET 

Coyotes at Wild 8pm ET NBC Sports Network

Oilers at Jets 8pm ET

Sabres at Golden Knights 10pm ET

While tonight’s slate is more robust than Monday’s it’s not as big as last Tuesday’s. So, finding a winning lineup may not be as challenging as we’ll see on say, Thursday. We have eight games, and 16 teams to sift through.

The Stars offense looks hot at times, but they’ve been inconsistent both with their offense and defensive play. Meanwhile, they’re in New Jersey facing a hot Devils team with solid goaltending. The Stars top line will be popular for NHL DFS, but we may fade them with Kinkaid between the pipes.

While they’re in Madison Square Garden tonight, the Avalanche appear to have a distinct advantage over the Rangers tonight. The Avs are starting the season hot, while the Rangers are playing poorly in almost every facet of the get. We may need to stack the Avalanche tonight.

Looking at the rest of the match ups, there are some areas where I think we can get value plays, and some other affordable mid-range salary picks to make our overall lineup work. We’re shooting for around 180 points tonight. 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

Unlike last night, we have at least five top centers who are worth paying up for to get a lock on double-digit NHL DFS FanDuel points, with decent potential for 30 to 40 points as well. The Jets have struggled out the gate, and Connor McDavid ($8,800) seems like the only thing going well for the Oilers this season. So that’s a solid play.

The Penguins are hosting a so-so Canucks team on their home ice. While stacking Evgeni Malkin ($8,600) and Sidney Crosby ($8,400) is more difficult than the Matthews/Tavares stacking possibility last night, it’s appealing with this match up.

But, all three of those stars are likely played with high ownership on Tuesday night. Tyler Seguin ($8,100) may fall out of the chalk because of his tough match up against a hot goal in New Jersey. But that’s why Seguin is a good play at center tonight.

Compared to the other top centers, you’re saving money and have better odds of winning thanks to lower ownership. But, this match up is risky, which is why I’m more likely to use Tyler in a GPP lineup.

With those thoughts out of my mind now, I’m still set on my favorite play in all positions tonight, Nathan MacKinnon ($8,900). The only problem with MacKinnon is that he’s likely chalky considering the juicy match up against a Rangers team who’s off to a horrendous start this season. But, like Matthews but in less games, Nathan just keeps scoring.

MacKinnon has a goal in all five games played this season, six total, and an assist. Nathan is on the ice with the top regular and power play lines, allowing him to get around five to seven shots on goal each night as well. I’m hoping the other big plays at center lower MacKinnon’s ownership. Also, he’s not as well known.

I’m not going to dive too deep to find a value play at center. You can stack two of those top centers in the position, but you likely need to get value in at least three winger positions and a defense position to afford it.

Instead, I’m looking at a solid mid-salary range play like Nico Hischier ($5,900). The Devils regular line center hasn’t made a lot of noise yet this season. But, Nico is averaging around 17 minutes of ice time each game, has two assists in three games, and will get several shots on goal and add blocked shots to get you double-digit points, most outings.

As we’ve said before, the Stars have been inconsistent, and right now they’re struggling with defense and goaltending. So Nico could be in a good spot, while flying under most NHL DFS player’s radars.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Wingers

Looking at the winger options, frankly, I feel more confident playing an expensive pick at center. There are a few expensive plays at this position, but they’re all cheaper than our top center group and I’m not as included to pick some of these salary-grabbing stars.

If you’re going with MacKinnon, like I am in most of my lineups, I like stacking fellow Avs top-liner Mikko Rantanen ($6,900) with Nathan, and adding a cheap J.T. Compher ($4,000). Rantanen developed great chemistry with MacKinnon last season, and was often unnoticed in the NHL DFS world.

Don’t be fooled by the 4th line tag for Compher. J.T. gets plenty of time on the ice, especially with his position on the Avs second power play line. Also, in their first five games, Compher has three goals and one assist, a point in four of five games. There’s always some risk playing someone who’s only on the ice ten to 15 minutes per game, but J.T. makes productive use of his time there.

UPDATE: Compher is now OUT with a head injury. However, an easy pivot for this play is Colin Wilson ($3,800) who’s in a very similar situation, and is cheaper.

If you’re going with Seguin, or you want to get a risky piece of the Stars top line against the Devils, pay up for Jamie Benn ($8,400). I’ve thought about doing this in all of my lineups, but I’m likely fading him. I want to see the Devils struggle, first, before I understand how vulnerable they are, and when.

You could also pay up for Phil Kessel ($7,900) if you’re playing for a Penguins stack Tuesday. But my focus was Avs and now Devils. Taylor Hall ($7,800) re-emerged as a great NHL DFS option with the Devils last season, especially in the second half. Instead of paying so much for Hall, I’d rather stick with the hot stick and grab Kyle Palmieri ($6,400).

How hot is Palmieri? Well, the Devils have played only three games this season, and Kyle already has six goals. Even better, he’s consistently scored two goals per game, on 15 shots, and three of those goals were during power plays, adding more points.

He’s not quite as hot as Palmieri, but Micheal Ferland ($4,700) is off to a fantastic start on the second line of his new Carolina Hurricanes team. In six games, Ferland has three goals and three assists, tossing the puck to the net nearly five times each game, giving us nearly a lock on double-digit points each night.

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

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Defenders

Again, if you like the Stars offense tonight, don’t be afraid to continue an expensive stack with John Klingberg ($6,600). Or, if you’re fading the Stars top scoring units but want to get a piece of some of their potential scoring, Klingberg already has four goals and two assists in the Stars first five games. John is very active in their power play, and can pile up blocked shots as well.

Kris Letang ($6,400) is the obvious defensive play with a Penguins stack, but also expensive. Instead of playing Letang, I’ve actually toyed with the idea of plugging Shayne Gostisbehere ($6,400), into the lineup instead.

If I can afford him, Ghost-Bear only has a goal and two assists. But, the sharp-shooter has a great match up on home ice against a reeling Panthers team with bad goaltending right now. Also, Shayne already has ten blocked shots in five games, and 22 shots on goal.

For affordability, I’m likely going Alexander Edler ($5,500). It may seem counter-productive to pick Edler, when we think the Penguins offense will have such a great night. But please take a look at the number of blocked shots per game Edler has this season.

In five games, Alex has 29 blocked shots and never less than four. That is amazing! While Edler also has five assists, the big appeal is his time on the ice and the amount of blocked shots chances he’ll get against the Penguins on home ice tonight. Edler is a decent shot at 20 NHL DFS FanDuel points tonight, using a modest salary.

For a similar reason, I love the value Jets top defensive line Josh Morrissey ($4,400) gives us tonight. With McDavid on the ice, the Oilers should get a lot of shots on Morrissey’s line tonight, and he’s already averaging over three per game this season. Josh also has four assists in the last four games.

NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays: Top Goalies

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ben Bishop, and Matt Murray aren’t starting tonight so cross them all off your list. That makes the Wild’s top goalie Devan Dubnyk ($8,600), Jets Connor Hellebuyck ($8,600), and Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,400) as the top goalie options.

But, all three of those teams are struggling to start this season. Even against the Yotes, I’m not sold on Dubnyk right now and I don’t love Hellebuyck with Connor McDavid on the ice. Fleury looked fantastic against the Flyers last outing, but he’s playing a Sabres team who beat him four times for a win in Buffalo.

And looking at the rest of the starting options, my focus is now clear. We love the Avalanche against the Rangers in New York and I think Keith Kinkaid ($8,100) stays hot against the Stars on home ice.

However, while I think Kinkaid will have another good night, I’m worried about that Stars top line. They could put a dent on Keith’s save total and put the win at risk. I’m not, however, worried about the Avs net-minder Semyon Varlamov ($8,200).

In four starts this season, Varly is 3-0-1, giving up more than two goals only once, to the Calgary Flames in a 2-3 overtime loss. Even then, Semyon had 38 saves and gave us 18.4 NHL DFS FanDuel points. Tonight, Varly is a decent bet at 20 to 30 points, with a 40 point ceiling.

If you went with several expensive picks in the center, winger, and defense positions, there is actually a decent cheap goalie option. A few weeks ago the idea of playing Hurricanes Petr Mrazek ($7,400) against the Lightning in Tampa sounded crazy.

However, the Hurricanes are off to an impressive start. Mrazek has a solid offense, and defense, in front of him and the Bolts are struggling to score. This could be a great time to sneak Petr into your goalie spot for value.

DFS FanDuel Power Plays: October 16th 2018 Summary

We love the Avalanche on Tuesday night, at the Garden hosted by a Rangers team currently trying to find his 2018-2019 season identity. Although, that identity may be that they’re just not a good team. We’re stacking the Avs tonight.

The Penguins are another great stacking option against the Canucks. If you’re stacking the Stars, focus only on their top line, and we’re mostly fading them with the expectation the Devils are a better NHL DFS play tonight on home ice.

We’re also going to drop a hot Micheal Ferland into our lineup for value at winger, along with the Canucks Edler and Jets Morrissey at defense. For goaltending, we likely only Varlamov, Kinkaid, or a Mrazek value play.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel on Tuesday October 16th 2018:

C       Nathan MacKinnon ($8,900)

C       Nico Hischier ($5,900)

W     Mikko Rantanen ($6,900)

W     Kyle Palmieri ($6,400)

W     Micheal Ferland ($4,700)

W     J.T. Compher ($4,000) / Colin Wilson ($3,800)

D      Alexander Edler ($5,500)

D      Josh Morrissey ($4,400)

G      Semyon Varlamov ($8,200)

Remaining Salary: $100

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!