Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays for November 19

Welcome to NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays. We’re a fantasy hockey column focused on your top lineup plays each day. This edition is focused on the Main slate for Monday, November 19th 2018

Over the last week, I was only able to provide a few posts. This week, I should be able to focus on DFS NHL each day, and should be getting those fantasy hockey posts out daily. That’s exciting, but this week has some unique features.

Monday’s are typically somewhat quiet on the NHL schedule. But the Thanksgiving week, for the U.S., flips the NHL schedule around. This week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are HUGE slates. Tuesday only has one game, typically one of the biggest nights, and there are no games scheduled for Thursday.

Compared to the 14 game schedule on Wednesday, the nine game schedule on Monday is mild. But the slate provides an opportunity to stack many of the red-hot talented skaters we’ve been focused on this season, together, in an affordable way.

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 the Main slate on Monday, November 19th 2018:

Blue Jackets at Maple Leafs 7pm ET

Stars at Rangers 7pm ET

Sabres at Penguins 7pm ET ESPN+

Capitals at Canadiens 7:30pm ET

Panthers at Senators 7:30pm ET

Kings at Blues 8pm ET ESPN+

Lightning at Predators 8pm ET

Golden Knights at Flames 9pm ET

Jets at Canucks 10pm ET

The Maple Leafs are always an enticing DFS NHL option this season, and they’re hosting a team who also has a few hot offensive players, in Toronto. The Stars have an advantageous match up for their top offensive line, and the Sabres are traveling to Pittsburgh to exploit the Penguins current woes.

I’m not sure what to think of the Caps in Montreal, but I’m definitely getting a huge piece of the young offensive talent from the Senators and Panthers, facing off in Ottawa on Monday night. Also, the Blues should be able to easily handle the struggling Kings in St. Louis tonight.

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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

Then center position is a fun one for Monday night. We’re going to grab some value at the winger spot, and may save some money with the goalie pick, so I’m not afraid to spend big on a key position tonight.

I considered paying up for John Tavares ($8,400), given his nearly 19 FanDuel NHL point-per-game average this season. Bobrovsky is giving up 2.6 goals per game this season. However, that average is inflated by early season struggles.

In his last seven starts, Sergei only gave up more than one goal once. So in six of seven games, he’s consistently only given up one goal per game most of the time. That doesn’t excite me about Tavares’ potential tonight.

He’s streaky this season, but I’d rather take advantage of Tyler Seguin‘s ($7,600) point per game, 20 points in 20 games, this year against a struggling Rangers defense. That allows me to save about $800 in salary and still likely land over 20 FanDuel NHL points with this pick.

For a second pick, I love two options. In fact, you could also fade Seguin and go with Matt Duchene ($6,400) and Pierre-Luc Dubois ($5,800).

Dubois has four assists and three goals in the last four games, and is a cheap way to get double-digit points at the center position Monday night. But a better bet is the Senators second line leader Duchene hosting the Panthers struggling defense.

In his last six games, Matt has eight assists and four goals, for a total of twelve points or two points per game. That’s locking in 20 points for a mild price. Either of these guys works with Tyler, but you can also use them to create more salary for the other positions in your lineup.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Wingers

Before we identify some of the top winger spots for Monday night, we need to talk about value first. Monday has several great value options and I’ve got two wingers in every lineup combination I’m making because they allow me to pivot from one top expensive pick to the other.

Drake Batherson ($3,200) is very new to the NHL, only having played two games. So playing him in DFS may seem premature. But Batherson has become an elite 20-year-old NHL prospect and keeping him away from the NHL finally became impossible for the emerging Senators.

In his first game, Drake scored a game-winning power play goal against the Red Wings. Note, he was on the ice during a power play in his first game! That’s a big sign of what this coaching staff thinks of the young winger.

Then, playing on the Sens second line, he provided two helpers against the Penguins on Saturday. So going into a home match up against a struggling Panthers defense seems like a great time to grab Batherson’s value and watch him continue to give us double-digit points with a dirt-cheap price.

Andrew Shaw ($3,800) may not be the sexy young prospect pick that Batherson is, but the 27-year-old former Blackhawk winger now has five goals and two assists in the last five games for the Montreal Canadiens. So for under $4K, we’re getting double-digit points from a, red-hot, good winger on the Habs second line. Yes, please.

Now I’ve got a ton of salary left over to play with. I’m definitely spending bigger at the defensive position than I originally thought, and we’ll get to that soon. But I’m also grabbing two top winger picks for a reasonable price.

If you’ve been following this column over the last couple of weeks, even with the limited posts, you’ll notice I’ve been sticking with Blake Wheeler ($7,700) often. The veteran Winnipeg Jets winger is a dominating force on the ice, where he spends well over 20 minutes per game of his time.

Blake’s point streak stopped at eleven straight games after the Buffalo match up on Friday. But don’t expect Wheeler to be quiet on the stats sheet for long. In Vancouver, Blake and the Jets top regular and power play lines should score a few goals on Monday night, and Wheeler will most likely be very involved.

Back to the Senators game, how hot is Mark Stone ($6,700) this season? In just 20 games, Mark now has nine goals and 14 assists or 23 points and over one point per game. Stone’s offensive stats resemble Wheeler’s, but for a much cheaper price, and we love the match up the Sens have on home ice tonight. This is another no-brainer pick for Monday.

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

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Defenders

I almost created a problem for the defense picks. I now have so much salary left over that I can literally afford any defensive player in almost both spots. I love that problem.

If Bursy was on the ice, I’d plug him into my lineup immediately, but he’s not. Instead, I’m going with another go-to at this position this season, Morgan Rielly ($6,400).

We hear all of these other hockey names coming out of Toronto, like Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, etc, etc. But Rielly is the heart of the Leafs team right now. Last year, Morgan emerged as an offensive force for the Leafs, providing 52 points for the year. That seemed to be a spike in production, and there was a question if it was sustainable.

Now just 20 games into the 2018-2019 season, and Rielly already has 23 points, tied for sixth most in the NHL. That’s right…he’s becoming not only a great defensive player, but he’s one of the top scorers in hockey. Every time this guy is on the ice, this year, put him in your lineup.

Rielly’s a great pick, and I have plenty of cash to spend, but I’m going back to another consistently great defensive player this season, Thomas Chabot ($5,100). You’re probably sick of me talking about Chabot by now, and his salary is FINALLY over $5K.

But it’st he consistency that I love so much about this pick. Thomas is getting us double-digit points nearly every game, and has a ceiling of around 30 to 40 points each night. For $5.1K, that type of play needs to be in all lineup combinations.

If you’re sick of playing Chabot, considering flipping the pick to Alex Pietrangelo ($5,300). His offense has been heating up over the past two weeks, and the Blues have a fantastic match up on home ice against the dreadful L.A. Kings.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Goalies

I bounced around several options for the goalie position on Monday. Pekka Rinne ($9,200) appears to have a difficult match up against the Lightning, but his counter point likely loses tonight, so we’re at least getting the 12 points for the loss. Still, there has to be a better goal match up than Rinne’s.

Some of the offensive picks we like eliminates guys like Sergei Bobrovsky ($8,800) and Frederik Andersen ($8,800), but Ben Bishop ($9,100) could be a solid play against the Rangers. Still, I don’t like playing against Henrik Lundqvist ($8,000), no matter how old he is now.

I don’t like Carey Price‘s ($8,400) match up against the Caps, and Casey DeSmith ($8,200) hasn’t looked great for the Penguins either. Ironically, the later point is how I ended up finding my goalie.

Eventually the Penguins will turn things around, they’re just too talented. But the Pengs have been dealing with injuries lately and, frankly, they’re playing terrible hockey right now. Fortunately, they’re facing they’re facing a net-minder who’s only given up two goals in his last two outings.

Even better, Carter Hutton ($7,900) only gave up two goals to the Jets and Lightning, two of the best offenses in hockey. And the Jets win was in Winnipeg, one of the toughest places for a visiting goaltender to win a game. So while we know the Penguins will eventually bounce back, it’s not likely tonight, and we’re going to take advantage of that for our DFS NHL lineups.

Fantasy Hockey: FanDuel Power Plays November 19th 2018 Summary

At the center position, I’m likely playing Seguin as my top pick, and I’ll either add Duchene or the Blue Jackets Dubois. Another option is to just go with Duchene and Dubois, especially if I’m paying more at the goalie position.

At the winger spot, I’m grabbing the tremendous value we get from Batherson and Shaw before I do anything else. Now confident I got about 30 to 40 points on a cheap FanDuel NHL price, I’m loading my wingers up with greater talent from Wheeler and Stone.

At the defense spot, I love Rielly each time his on the ice, and while you’re probably sick of me talking about him, I’m also playing Chabot. If I don’t want to play Chabot tonight, I may flip Pietrangelo into the lineup.

I’m playing all of these guys on the back of Carter Hutton, whose been a red-hot net-minder this season and likely exploits a struggling Penguins team tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel Main slate on Monday, November 19th 2018:

C       Tyler Seguin ($7,600)

C       Matt Duchene ($6,400)

W     Blake Wheeler ($7,700)

W     Mark Stone ($6,700)

W     Andrew Shaw ($3,800)

W     Drake Batherson ($3,200)

D      Morgan Rielly ($6,400)

D      Thomas Chabot ($5,100)

G      Carter Hutton ($7,900)

Remaining Salary: $200

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!