FanDuel NHL: Friday Targets

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Published on January 31, 2020

SLATE PREVIEW

We get another storied rivalry with the Penguins and the Flyers, who were victorious last time before the All-Star break. The two teams' records against one another have been quite even since the 2000's, and with so much parity and the Penguins at home a split seems very possible.

The Red Wings lost six straight games going into the break and will now face the Rangers on back-to-back nights. The Rangers, meanwhile, won four of seven going into the break, including two against the Isles and one against the Avs. The Rangers were 5-1 victors last time and I fail to see how the result will be significantly different.

The Oilers will host the Blues in another key game for a Pacific Division team. The Oilers trail the Flames by two points for second place but currently have two games in hand. The Golden Knights and Hurricanes should be also be an interesting matchup because both terms prefer an up-tempo aggressive style.

GOALIES

Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,000) will be a popular pick against the Ducks for obvious reasons.

Jordan Binnington ($8,700) is a bit dicier against the Oilers and even if he wins it's more likely that he'll have allowed a few more goals than usual. He allowed four against Calgary in his last start. I have the same reservations about Tuukka Rask ($8,600), who is coming back from a concussion and you never quite know about those things, and the Jets at home with Connor Hellebuyck's ($7,700) ability to steal a game means an upset shouldn't be surprising.

Tristan Jarry ($8,500) and Matt Murray ($8,500) should both be okay against the Flyers. Carter Hart will not start, removing arguably their biggest barrier to victory.

Ilya Samsonov ($8,300) and Igor Shesterkin ($7,700) are the best value plays. The Caps scored six goals against the Sens and Shesterkin faces the league's worst team.

VALUE PLAYS

Zach Sanford ($4,200) has been playing well for the Blues as their top-line right winger with two goals and three assists in his past three games. His net-driving style suits well with Ryan O'Reilly and all-star David Perron.

Tyler Ennis ($4,000) is at it again. Just when you think you've forgotten about him, he reminds you he can be a pretty good playmaker sometimes. He has four points in three games, including nine shots in his past two games. Connor Brown ($5,000) has also been playing well, playing 20 minutes most nights and registering a point in four of his past five games. Speedy rookie Drake Batherson ($3,300) has three assists in his past two games. The Caps, however, are a tough opponent.

FORWARD LINE STACKS

NYR New York Rangers (TOTAL: $17,000)

C – Ryan Strome ($5,200)
W – Artemi Panarin ($8,100)
W – Jesper Fast ($3,700)

Artemi Panarin is back and he carries this line. Without Panarin, Strome has a 40.4 CF% and Jesper Fast has 45.0 CF%, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Tampa Bay Lightning (TOTAL: $24,300)

C – Brayden Point ($7,000)
W – Steven Stamkos ($8,900)
W – Nikita Kucherov ($8,400)

An expensive line stack but one well worth it. The games have been close in the past but their last meeting in November resulted in a 6-2 win for Tampa. The Ducks have only managed to win two straight games once since Nov. 1.

WAS Washington Capitals (TOTAL: $21,300)

C – Nicklas Backstrom ($6,700)
W – Alex Ovechkin ($9,300)
W – Tom Wilson ($5,300)

The best part is Wilson has been scoring quite a few goals, making him a nice value play to go with this line stack. Ovechkin is on a tear with nine goals in his past four games. It's stretches like these that makes you think the Gretzky record won't be too difficult to reach.

DEFENSEMEN

Three top tier defensemen – John Carlson ($6,900), Kris Letang ($6,800) and Victor Hedman ($5,700) – are worth the price. Alex Pietrangelo ($6,800) is a little more difficult to justify because he'll see a lot of McDavid and you're usually the one defending in those situations.

Torey Krug ($5,600), Shea Theodore ($5,400) and Thomas Chabot ($5,400) are good options in the second tier, but Jets minutes eater Neal Pionk ($4,600) and New York's best QB, Anthony DeAngelo ($4,900), are probably better value plays.

Jaccob Slavin ($4,200) has taken on some of Dougie Hamilton's offensive load since Hamilton's injury. He's playing more on the power play and also making a more conscious decision to shoot. At this price and the growth of his offensive role, he might be the best value play among defensemen tonight. Nate Schmidt ($4,000), who usually sees plenty of ice time, and Filip Hronek ($4,000), Detroit's PP QB, round out the better value plays

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.