Welcome to the machine! As we dive closer to “Turkey Day”, there is still a ton of uncertainty as far as Daily Fantasy Hockey is concerned. It may possibly be until Thanksgiving or later where a better handle on new data is established. Until then, there are frankly a few tendencies, some hunches, and, of course, in your face fantasy hockey advice. You would expect nothing less from The Fantasy Fix. When you get right down to it, there are several teams that seem to scream “obvious target.” However, there are some risk/reward type of scenarios and then ones to possibly run far away from.

As always, make sure to check out LeftWingLock for goalie confirmations and let’s begin. 

Teams to Target

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Let’s look at the six game slate a lot like Monday night. Why did Monday work so well for some? That was because the chalk play was the St. Louis first line and it hit. The fun part was watching point totals bounce up and down like the bumpers of a pinball machine.

Now, the reality is Friday night features another potentially higher scoring night. It does not mean it will pan out but the possibility is there. The key is to spot some early trends and then exploit them in your cash and GPP lineups. What could Friday look like? Let’s take a look.

There are a couple teams on back-to-backs and those are Montreal and Columbus. Both teams do not exactly have the most favorable match-ups either. However, the return of Carey Price from a lower body injury is definitely worth noting. Mike Condon did more than an admirable job but it was clear he needed a lift. However, would you start Price? Some people are going to regardless, even if it is against a potent New York Islanders team and the game is in Brooklyn to boot. Islanders line 1 err John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Frans Nielsen will be owned by a significant chunk of DFS players. All three have been hot in the last two games and these games can escalate quickly.

The Los Angeles-Detroit game may be where one chooses their goaltender. Jonathan Quick should start for the Kings and his clutch performance against the Philadelphia Flyers was a good buoy for players looking for a break earlier in the week. Detroit will confirm their goalie but it seems Petr Mrazek would get the nod here. The likeliest potential for a shutout or one goal allowed performance is in this game. Is there a possible line one or two mini stack here from the Red Wings? Yes. Is it risky? Again that answer is also yes.

Chicago and Calgary could once more feature a battle of the line ones. Patrick Kane is on a forever and a day point streak. That means sliding Artemi Panarin in GPP games as a mini stack or even adding Artem Anisimov if necessary to ensure maximum points. Goals are very likely in Calgary. Calgary line one is going to pose a problem but Chicago line two will avoid facing T.J. Brodie. They might be an intriguing option if a player wants to go contrarian by a nose. Sam Bennett is a fun option to use in cash games if you are feeling lucky.

Edmonton line one is going to be stacked no matter what, whether it is a mini stack or full line. Consider that on DraftKings, Leon Draisaitl is still just $3700. Teddy Purcell is only $3500. Yes, Taylor Hall is at $6800 but each of the forwards have the potential for 5+ daily points easily. Draisaitl in projections has been well under $1000 per point for the last two weeks! As for New Jersey, is it line one or line two? The suggestion with Keith Kinkaid starting may be to just hope for goals again. If you mix players from New Jersey or take one from each line, you may get a break.

Rolling The Dice

Toronto and Carolina literally feels like a dead even game where there either could be very few goals scored based on the idea that neither team can score consistently. The common guess is to try James Reimer here and tempt fate because of the Canes inability to score. Then again, this game could go bonkers. Reimer would be a GPP risk and considering Toronto line two and Carolina line 3 is a weird possibility. We are talking taking very elevated contrarian risks. At least you pretty much know, ownership rates here will be near zero in some cases.

Nashville and Columbus are also very tough to guess but Pekka Rinne and Sergei Bobrovsky can be really hot or cold in this game, especially when they play each other. Both teams can score around three goals a game but they also could come close to allowing just as much. There lies the risk again. If you are thinking lines, trying Nashville one and Columbus one could work. Sneaking in guys like Nick Foligno in cash are a possibility and then a Predators mini stack defensively whether it is Roman Josi, Seth Jones, or Shea Weber. These are not easy decisions to be made but if you get a high reward for that chance, who is complaining?

Okay, let’s quickly look at some rankings.

Player Rankings

Ranking are price sensitive

 Centers

1. Leon Draisaitl–$3700—Edmonton Oilers
2. Frans Nielsen–$5100–New York Islanders
3. Boone Jenner–$4200–Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Tomas Plekanec–$6200—Montreal Canadiens
5. Mike Fisher — $4300– Washington Capitals
6. Sean Monahan–$5600—Calgary Flames
7. Jeff Carter –$6100-Los Angeles Kings
8. Travis Zajac –$3600—New Jersey Devils

Wingers

1. Patrick Kane—LW–$8600—Chicago Blackhawks
2. Teddy Purcell—RW–$3500—Edmonton Oilers
3. Tyler Toffoli–RW–$6000–Los Angeles Kings
4. Brendan Gallagher—RW–$5900—Montreal Canadiens
5. James Neal–RW–$6500–Nashville Predators
6. Taylor Hall–LW–$6800-Edmonton Oilers
7. Max Pacioretty—LW–$8100—Montreal Canadiens
8. Johnny Gaudreau—LW–$6100—Calgary Flames

Defenseman

1. Johnny Boychuk–$5600—New York Islanders
2. Morgan Reilly—$4500—Ottawa Senators
3. P.K. Subban–$6300—Montreal Canadiens
4. Roman Josi–$6700—Nashville Predators
5. Justin Faulk – $5800– Carolina Hurricanes
6. Duncan Keith – $5000 – Chicago Blackhawks
7. David Savard – $3600 – Columbus Blue Jackets

Goalie

1. Petr Mrazek–$7100–Detroit Red Wings
2. James Reimer — $6500 — Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Jaroslav Halak — $7500 — New York Islanders
4. Jonathan Quick–$7600—Los Angeles Kings
5. Cam Talbot — $6200 — Edmonton Oilers
6. Carey Price — $8000 — Montreal Canadiens

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