Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays for November 24

Welcome to NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays. We’re a fantasy hockey column focused on top lineup plays each day. This edition is focused on the Main slate for Saturday, November 24th 2018.

We played a big Fantasy Hockey slate on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and the results were mixed. Some of our value plays didn’t pan out, and we had a couple of top picks fall flat as well. But, depending on the combination you used, there were still some winning cash plays.

There was no hockey on Thursday, and the NHL returned in a big way on Friday. I didn’t write a post for Friday, choosing to spend the time with family instead. Although, frankly, I was also ‘spent’ from the big family Thanksgiving hosting the day prior.

Still, we had hockey on in the house and enjoyed a 4-0 shutout of the Rangers, by the Flyers, in Philadelphia. And I’m back for another solid Saturday evening Main slate edition, starting at 7pm ET. We’re again going to grab some hot top picks, snag some mid-salary range picks, and there’s aways value options we can find as well.

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 Sunday, November 24th 2018:

Flyers at Maple Leafs 7pm ET

Bruins at Canadiens 7pm ET

Sabres at Red Wings 7pm ET

Blackhawks at Panthers 7pm ET

Hurricanes at Islanders 7pm ET

Blue Jackets at Penguins 7pm ET ESPN+

Jets at Blues 7pm ET

Stars at Avalanche 9pm ET

Sharks at Golden Knights 10pm ET

Canucks at Kings 10pm ET

The Flyers and Maple Leafs game is intriguing. In theory, the Leafs are clearly a better team and should win easily. The Flyers defense has struggled all season. But, as we saw yesterday, the Flyers defense is playing better in November and they’ve had some hot net-minders from time to time. I prefer to stay away from that one, it seems too unpredictable.

As I scan the rest of the schedule, two games I’m really focusing in on are the Penguins hosting the Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh and Islanders hosting the Hurricanes in New York. I also always love getting a top offensive option from the Jets, and the Avalanche should have an advantage at home against the Stars.

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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

As I mentioned before, I’m trying to stay away from the Maple Leafs on home ice Saturday night, but that could be a mistake. As you’ll see later, we can afford John Tavares ($8,500) and if the Leafs can help the Flyers remember how terrible their defense was in October, John will have a big night. He’s worth a shot, especially in GPP play.

Another top pick I always love, and he’s still someone affordable, is Nathan MacKinnon ($8,600). In the last three games, MacKinnon has two goals and five assists. In the last six games, Nathan has three goals and eight assists, or almost two points per game. The kid is having a great year, and he’s always a top option when on the ice, especially at home.

Speaking of ‘the kid’, Sidney Crosby ($8,400) is one of my favorite picks on home ice tonight, against the Blue Jackets. Columbus has been inconsistent lately, and has given up buckets of goals in a few games lately.

Meanwhile, ‘Sid the Kid’ Crosby appears to be getting healthy again, and he has three goals and five assists in the last five games. I also like saving $400 in FanDuel NHL salary with Crosby over Evgeni Malkin ($8,800).

With one of these top picks, I’m going to add Pierre-Luc Dubois ($5,900) as a mid-salary value pick. We’ve recommended Dubois a few times lately, as he’s been heating up, scoring four goals and providing five assists in the last seven games.

Dubois should see another 20-plus minutes on the ice in Pittsburgh, and while the Penguins offense has looked better lately, their defense and net-minding still needs a lot of help. I also like the idea of stacking the Penguins game with Crosby and Dubois.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Wingers

We already mentioned MacKinnon at the center spot, and wether you’re playing MacKinnon and want a mini-Avs stack, or you want to get exposure to the Avs top offense in a good match up, Mikko Rantanen ($7,800) is one of the best winger picks in this slate.

Rantanen continues to quietly lead the NHL in points, and has four goals and eight assists in the last six games. That’s an average of two points per game, consistent with Mikko’s story for this season.

We didn’t mention the Winnipeg Jets stop lines in the center position, but I love the Jets offense against the Blues in Saint Louis. Patrik Laine ($7,700) and Blake Wheeler ($7,600) are each great options from the Jets on Saturday night.

While I like Wheeler’s value more, you’re saving at least $100, we don’t really need the additional salary. The Jets are currently on a road trip in the north, and Laine now has at least one goal in the last three straight games, and a jaw-dropping six total. I’m riding with the hot stock from Laine Saturday.

Remember that we like the Blue Jackets on Saturday night, and Cam Atkinson ($6,900) is absolutely on fire right now. Cam has at least one goal in the last six games, eight total along with four assists.

That’s a consistent two points (goal or assist) per game, and given the high volume of goals, Cam is providing over 30 FanDuel NHL points per game right now. We’ll keep riding hot hand of Atkinson tonight.

Speaking of red-hot, Andreas Athanasiou ($5,100) keeps making appearances in our posts thanks to his emerging offensive play and consistently awesome DFS NHL value. In the last six games, Athanasiou has six goals and two assists.

Three of those goals came in the last two games. Even when not piling up goals, Andreas has enough shots on goal to still give you double-digit points. So we’re getting a Laine or Atkinson like player for only $5.1K in FanDuel NHL salary.

OK, we’ve done a decent job of spending salary. That will limit our options, already, at the defense and goalie position. Fortunately, there’s a value pick, I’ve been playing a lot lately, available tonight.

Remember Andrew Shaw ($3,800)? In the last eight-straight games, Shaw has eight points in one game (the floor), 11.2 FanDuel NHL points in another, and all other games resulted in 17+ points.

That’s because Shaw is spending around 20 minutes per game on the ice with the Habs top lines, and as a result he has six goals and four assists in the last eight games. Like Athanasiou, even when not scoring, he piling shots on goal and jumping in front of the puck for additional blocked shots points. For this price, he’s in all of my Fantasy Hockey lineups for the Saturday night main slate.

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

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Defenders

Typically, I like to have a Brent Burns ($7,200) or Morgan Rielly ($6,600) type of defensive player in my lineup. They’re both about as close to a lock for double-digit points that you can get. But, I don’t like how constrained that makes our salary for the rest of the lineup.

Also, there are plenty of other solid picks I like on Saturday. Keith Yandle ($5,400) and the Panthers are hosting the Blackhawks. I don’t love the Panthers overall match up from an offensive perspective, but Yandle is similar to Burns and Rielly in that he will pile up blocked shots and shots on goal while on the ice so long.

He’s one of those rare dual-threat defensive players you want in all fantasy hockey lineups.

If you don’t like the risk Yandle is providing your lineup, a better pick may be Tyson Barrie ($5,100). I loved playing Barrie last year, but he started this season quietly. However, Barrie now has at least one point in each of the last seven games, three goals and six assists in those games.

Tyson’s line mate Ian Cole ($3,700) is also a great value and this stack is a great way to get over 20 FanDuel NHL points with an affordable total salary at the defense position. Ian isn’t scoring as consistently as Tyson, but Cole at least gets you a few blocked shots per game, and will pile up the shots on goal total.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Goalies

Frankly, writing about and picking a goalie on Saturday morning wasn’t ideal. Given all of the play over the last three days, and the entire NHL was on the ice on Friday, it’s hard to determine who the starting goalies will be. So, bare with me here.

I’m assuming Frederik Andersen ($8,900) and Sergei Bobrovsky ($8,800) are off the ice on Saturday night. We know Tuukka Rask ($8,400) is starting over Jaroslav Halak ($8,700). I don’t like the Bruins match up in Montreal, and Rask has been terrible lately. But that now takes four typically very good goalies off the list.

Jimmy Howard ($8,500) has been hot lately and the Red Wings are finally generating some offense. Howard is an attractive NHL DFS optimal lineups play on Saturday, I’m just worried about the match up, even on home ice, against a good and hot Sabres offense.

Scanning the other goalie options for Saturday, I’m hoping Thomas Greiss ($8,100) is on the ice Saturday night. Greiss has been a little inconsistent in the last three games, but he’s been generally hot since mid-November. Also, it should be his turn to start in goal.

But this pick comes with risk. The Hurricanes have looked OK at times lately. But Greiss has over 30 saves in four of his last six starts. And even with giving up more than two goals per game, something Thomas isn’t doing often this year, he’s been able to get the win thanks to the Isles solid offense this season. I’m taking my chances with this play, although I may need to pivot to Howard later int he day.

Fantasy Hockey: FanDuel Power Plays November 24th 2018 Summary

So while I like Howard as a goalie option tonight, I’m likely going with Greiss assuming he’s starting for the Islanders. That gives me plenty of salary left to pay up for big plays in the rest of the lineup.

Also, I can play either Yandle or Barrie along with a cheaper pick like Ian Cole and get over 20 FanDuel NHL points from the defensive position picks.

We’re going back to Andrew Shaw for a big value play at the winger spot. That allows us to have plenty of cash for Laine, Rantanen, Atkinson, and a much cheaper Athanasiou. We’re getting three of the hottest wingers in hockey, while still being able to pay up for a MacKinnon or Crosby at center, and Dubois at center.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel Main slate on Saturday, November 24th 2018:

C       Sidney Crosby ($8,400)

C       Pierre-Luc Dubois ($5,900)

W     Patrik Laine ($7,700)

W     Cam Atkinson ($6,900)

W     Andreas Athanasiou ($5,100)

W     Andrew Shaw ($3,800)

D      Tyson Barrie ($5,100)

D      Ian Cole ($3,700)

G      Thomas Greiss ($8,100)

Remaining Salary: $300

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!