Daily Fantasy Hockey: Value Picks, February 18th
The Fix always has a full breakdown of significant NHL slates for our Front Office subscribers, but now we’re also going to be highlighting a few value plays for everyone on most days with big NHL slates. Below you’ll find three or four players who are cheap and undervalued in today’s DraftKings, FanDuel and Fantasy Draft contests.
If you’d like to read our full breakdown of tonight’s slate, complete with player rankings, you can become a Front Office member or purchase today’s breakdown individually right here.
FanDuel
Noah Hanifin—Carolina Hurricanes–$3100 ($6800 on FantasyDraft)
The rookie defenseman is having himself an excellent first season with the Hurricanes. With Justin Faulk unlikely to play tonight, Hanifin will continue to see a boost in minutes and will remain the quarterback on the top power play unit. The Sens aren’t a very good team—allowing 32.3 SA/60 at home—so expect Carolina to come out hard and throw everything at the net. This game will feature quite a few goals, and the 19-year-old should be able to get his name on the score sheet.
Antti Raanta—New York Rangers–$7600
This isn’t exactly a value play, but any backup goalie that gets a start against the Leafs should be considered a bargain. Even though the Rangers played last night, they still remain the favourites to win this game. Their performance against Chicago wasn’t great, so expect them to bounce back against a weak Toronto team. Raanta will be heavily owned, but his salary relief alone is enough for me to give him a go.
DraftKings
Nick Ritchie—Anaheim Ducks–$2500
I love me some Nick Ritchie tonight! The Duck’s forward is skating on a line with Rickard Rakell and Corey Perry and doesn’t seem to be out of place. The Canucks will focus most of their attention on Anaheim’s top line, so Ritchie and company should have an above-average matchup in this one. He isn’t seeing any power play time, so his ceiling is limited, but at minimum price, he’s worth a risk against a blow average Canucks tram.
Anthony Duclair—Arizona Coyotes–$3800
The Dallas Stars are a very dangerous team, but they just aren’t the same team away from American Airlines Arena. The Coyotes need to exploit Dallas’ bottom-six, and since this game is in Arizona, head coach Dave Tippett should be able to get Anthony Duclair away from Tyler Seguin and company. Duclair has been a key part of Arizona’s success this season—registering 30 points (16G, 14A) in 55 games—and should continue to see success playing alongside Max Domi and Martin Hanzal.
FantasyDraft
Charlie Coyle—Minnesota Wild–$8100
The Minnesota Wild have been a disappointment up to this point, but maybe they can find a way to salvage their season by stringing together a few wins. Since Jason Pominville was moved off the top line, Charlie Coyle has slowly found some chemistry with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. The Wild travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers, which means Coyle will have a chance to add some more points to his total. If you can’t find a way to fit Parise into your lineup, Coyle is an excellent plan B.