Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays for March 14

Welcome to NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays. This edition is focused on the Main slate for Thursday, March 14th 2019. This is a fantasy hockey post focused on top lineup plays each day.

After a great fantasy hockey night on Monday, we had a so-so result on Tuesday, missing the big nine-goal scoring from the Flames. We captured the Flames obvious win with our goalie pick, but even that fell flat given they gave up four goals on limited shooting.

However, Hertl and Meier continued to stay hot, and Shea Weber had six shots on goal, three blocked shots, and an assist for 22.4 FanDuel NHL points. Jared McCann was also a great value play, again, for NHL DFS. All of these players are on the ice tonight, and we’re likely re-playing several for the Thursday slate.

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  to catch late breaking lineup news.

Here’s a look at the NHL schedule for the Main slate on Thursday, March 14th:

Penguins at Sabres 7pm ET (Total Projected Goals 6.5)

Canadiens at Islanders 7pm ET (Total Projected Goals 5.5)

Capitals at Flyers 7pm ET ESPN+ (Total Projected Goals 6.5)

Blues at Senators 7:30pm ET (Total Projected Goals 6)

Lightning at Red Wings 7:30pm ET (Total Projected Goals 6.5)

Stars at Wild 8pm ET (Total Projected Goals 5)

Bruins at Jets 8pm ET ESPN+ (Total Projected Goals 6)

Ducks at Coyotes 10:00pm ET (Total Projected Goals 5.5)

Predators at Kings 10:30pm ET (Total Projected Goals 5.5)

Panthers at Sharks 10:30pm ET (Total Projected Goals 6.5)

After a typical quite Wednesday night slate with only three games, we have a pretty robust ten-game Thursday night slate. Although, that’s normal for the NHL week. The best part about Thursday is that we have at least four games with projected goal totals nearly seven, and the majority or six or above.

However, there are also some low-scoring projections with great defensive teams playing several teams who have struggled to score all season. Although, that opens the door for some non-chalk plays, and I think we have at least one sneaky value play in those low-profile games on Thursday night.

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

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Centers

I’ve been bouncing around with the the top center picks all morning, on Thursday. On the one hand, we theoretically have great, but expensive, top plays from guys like Sidney Crosby ($9,400) and Patrice Bergeron ($8,500). They’re both great plays on Thursday and have a solid shot at over 20 FanDuel NHL points.

But, Aleksander Barkov ($8,000) and Sean Couturier ($7,600) are also consistent scoring fantasy hockey players over the last two months, and we’re effectively getting the same amount of points for a cheaper salary.

I don’t even see a big ceiling difference in FanDuel NHL points between Crosby/Bergeron and Barkov/Couturier. So, you could really play any one of those four and be comfortable. But, Tomas Hertl ($6,500) is also on home ice against the Panthers and give you another $1K+ back.

Hertl and the Sharks top two lines have been dishing out helpers and scoring on a consistent basis in the last two months, and he’s also a safe play, just with a lower ceiling. That beings said, Hertl helps you accumulate more points at the winger spot, potentially.

Fortunately, there are several good value plays at the center position making any of these top-five guys affordable. Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($3,500) continues to lead the Senators top line and has two goals and on assist in the last five games.

We also have Scott Laughton ($3,600), who’s likely off most fantasy hockey player’s radars on home ice Thursday against the Capitals. I’ve seen each of Laughton’s last five games and he’s playing with a fire in his belly lately, which is likely the reason he has five-straight games with points, three goals and two assists.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Wingers

Like the center position, and a result of having so many teams on the ice Thursday, we have several great plays to pivot back and forth to for the top winger plays. That starts with Nikita Kucherov ($9,200) and Brad Marchand ($9,000).

Kuch and the Bolts played the Red Wings on home ice recently, and Nikita had two goals with over 33 FanDuel NHL points by the end of the game. Even in Detroit, Kuch should be a fantastic play. But, I suspect Kucherov is the chalkiest play at the position, and with Marchand actually providing more fantasy hockey points than Kuch, lately, he’s a better overall play for NHL DFS.

But, you don’t have to spend that much for a top play at winger. You can easily afford a solid top second winger with Kucherov and Marchand, but you can also probably get two three of Jake Guentzel ($7,800), Claude Giroux ($7,300), Alexander Radulov ($6,400), and Timo Meier ($5,700).

Guentzel is a great way to get points from the Penguins top line while fading Crosby. Although, for that same reason Jared McCann‘s ($5,200) salary may have spiked a bit but he’s still a very good value play just above $5K in FanDuel NHL salary.

Giroux and the Flyers continue to stay hot, and find ways to score even when struggling against a good Capitals team. The Fly-guys are on home ice Thursday night. While Radulov quieted down a bit last game, he’s still one of the best scoring plays of the night. And, Meier, like Hertl, continues to be a steady top fantasy hockey play at the winger position.

For a top value play, I’m hoping Carl Grundstrom ($3,200) isn’t on most FanDuel NHL players radar’s yet. He’s only played in two NHL games this season, but Grundstrom has scored in each, and is getting 15 to 20 minutes of ice time on the Kings second line. I love this sneaky value play on Thursday too!

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

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Defenders

Roman Josi ($7,300) is smoking hot right now, with five or more shots in each of his last four straight games and a goal and three assists in those games. When Josi plays like this, he’s one of the best fantasy hockey players at the defense position.

However, he’s now in the Brent Burns level of pricing, which makes me pivot away from him, unless I can find more value at the winger or goalie position. That being said, a lot of FanDuel NHL players will likely take that approach, making him an ironically great play for GPP’s.

For most of my lineups, I’m likely going cheaper with my top D-man pick and grabbing someone like Victor Hedman ($6,200) or Shea Weber ($5,700).

Between those two, I’m leaning toward Weber, not because of the value but because Hedman has been so incredibly disappointing for Fantasy Hockey this season. Considering the amount of scoring we see from the Bolts, he should be a more consistently dominate fantasy hockey play, but…maybe that’s starting to materialize now.

And I’m very likely grabbing at least one value play at defense, and I’m going to keep using Ivan Provorov ($4,800) or Travis Sanheim ($4,300) until they no longer make sense. Provy and Sanheim get fantasy hockey quiet ever once in a while, but for the most part they’re giving you double-digit FanDuel NHL points on a consistent basis since the start of the new calendar year.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Goalies

While picking through my lineup options for the Thursday night main slate, I’ve mostly had an easy time settling on the best plays. Yes, there are so many great plays and value options to consider, but seeing those picks as been fairly clear until…we get to the goalie position.

The problem we have on Thursday, at this position, is that we have a VERY long list of great plays, but also there are plenty of sneaky value plays as well. If you take a step back and ponder that, there’s the problem. Most of these guys are playing each other!

So we know there’s decent risk with most plays, in terms of winning, but the best locks are Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,700) and Ben Bishop ($9,400). Between the two, I prefer to play Bishop…BADLY! He has three-straight shutouts and is flat-out on fire right now. I may play around with lineups today to see if I can find a way to get him in several of my lineups.

However, Ben is very expensive and puts you in a position where you could be giving up points to get points. Net, that isn’t really a good move. I’d rather find a solid play at goalie who could help me build a better total, which is ultimately your goal in NHL DFS each day.

After reviewing each of the options, as long as he’s in net, I’m likely going with Matt Murray ($8,700) in Buffalo against the Sabres. I don’t like playing road-ice starting goalies, but Murray has mostly had success both in and outside of Pittsburgh in the last two months. I also know he’ll see a high volume of save opportunities, which makes him a 20+ play even giving up a few goals, with a win.

Fantasy Hockey: FanDuel Power Plays March 14th Main Slate Summary

I really want to play Bishop in the cage again on Thursday night. I may find a way later on in the day, but my favorite safe play is Murray in goal, which allows me to save some salary to really target the better plays across the rest of the lineup.

Fortunately, value plays at center like Laughton and Pageau make is easy to play top center options like Crosby, Bergeron, Barkov, and Couturier. However, if I need to pay down a bit at the top center position, I’m also comfortable with Hertl.

At winger, you can flip back and forth between Kucherov and Marchand with little different in NHL DFS point ceiling on Thursday. But, if I’m pressed, I’d say Marchand is a better play as he’s been more consistently dominate of a fantasy hockey player lately.

Guentzel, Giroux, Radulov, and Meier are fantastic second and third winger plays, but could also be a solid value play if you combine the three for top three wingers. McCann is more expensive now, but he’s still a decent value, and Grundstrom may still be a sneaky value play making it easy to fit these guys into your lineup while still taking a shot at another additional 20 FanDuel NHL points.

Roman Josi is, by far, the best defensive play for fantasy hockey on Thursday night. The problem with Josi is the price tag. He’s likely taking some points away from another position, so I’d rather go with Hedman or Weber as a top D-man pick. Of those two, I lean toward Weber, and will grab Sanheim or Provorov for affordability.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel Main slate on Thursday, March 14th 2019:

C       Sean Couturier ($7,600)

C       Scott Laughton ($3,600)

W     Brad Marchand ($9,000)

W     Alexander Radulov ($6,400)

W     Timo Meier ($5,700)

W     Carl Grundstrom ($3,200)

D      Shea Weber ($5,700)

D      Ivan Provorov ($4,800)

G      Matt Murray ($8,700)

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 NHL, NBA, MLB, EPL, GOLF, College Basketball, and NASCAR this Spring!