Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 3/21/19

Buckle up as we have a very busy night in daily fantasy hockey with 12 games on the schedule as the season starts to wind down. Let's jump in and take a look at some top goalies, teams, and players to target to help you cash. Then make sure to check out our projections and lineup optimizer.

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GOALIE

Tuukka Rask FD - $9100 DK - $8300
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 21.13 DK - 5.28

I normally don't start with a road goalie but I absolutely love the spot for Rask and the Bruins tonight. They have won seven of their last 10 games and sit as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings and now get one of the best matchups on the board. They face a Devils team that has lost eight of 10 in March while scoring just 21 goals, 10 of which came in a two-game span. Rask is coming off a shutout win over the Islanders and while he has been up and down he has held opponents to two or fewer goals six times in his last 10 games. The Bruins are -265 favorites tonight and Rask is in play in all formats.

Jordan Binnington FD - $8500 DK - $7900
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 23.07 DK - 5.77

If you are looking to go the value route at goalie, consider rookie Jordan Binnington. He may be one of the biggest surprises of the 2018-19 season as he has been terrific through his first 25 NHL starts. He has not only picked up 18 wins to this point but has also impressed with an elite .930 save % and five shutouts. Tonight, he and the Blues are huge -370 home favorites but he is still best for GPP as the Red Wings have their best player in Dylan Larkin back in the lineup and they are 2-0 since then.

Also consider Mike Smith(CGY) who has an elite matchup at home against the Senators

Calgary Flames 

Opponent - vs. Ottawa Senators
Moneyline - CGY -375
Vegas Total - 6.5
Team Projection - 5.1

The Flames are closing in on locking up the #1 seed in the Western Conference and it never hurts when you get a matchup against the worst team in hockey. With a three-point lead over the Sharks, the Flames get an elite matchup tonight against the Sens who sold the farm at the trade deadline shipping Dzingel, Duchene, and Stone out of town. Not only do the Flames rank first in home offense this season but the Sens rank dead last in road defense and will be playing on a back to back. This game has all the making of a big offensive output from the Flames and they are loaded with options for both cash games and GPP formats.
Johnny Gaudreau FD - $8300 DK - $7800
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0
Matthew Tkachuk FD - $6600 DK - $7100
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0
Mikael Backlund FD - $5800 DK - $5600
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0
Travis Hamonic FD - $4100 DK - $5000
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0

My Flames exposure starts with Johnny Gaudreau who recently snapped out of a slump with a six-point effort against the Devils and comes into tonight with points in three of his last four games. Despite the slight downtick in production for that brief period, Gaudreau still managed to provide a high floor with 38 shots in his last 10 games and now faces the league-worst defense in Ottawa. I then turn my attention to the second line led by Matthew Tkachuk who is in the middle of a breakout season with 74 points and has also seen an uptick in shot volume lately with 35 over his last 10 games. Centering that second line is Mikael Backlund who has provided nice PTS/$ value at a tough position to find "safe" value. He has 28 shots over his last 10 games while also contributing seven points. On defense, I will continue to turn to Travis Hamonic in cash games, especially on FanDuel. He is too cheap for a player averaging 3.2 DraftKings/10.7 FanDuel points per game over the last 10.

St. Louis Blues

Opponent - vs. Detroit Red Wings
Moneyline - STL - 315
Vegas Total - 5.5
Team Projection - 4.2

The Blues are hanging on to the #3 seed in the Central Division and lately it has been the offense carrying the load. Since being shut out by the Senators, the Blues have won two of their last three and more importantly for fantasy, have scored 15 goals. They now get a plus matchup against the Red Wings who rank 26th in road defense this season allowing 3.6 goals against per game. This game has one of the lower totals on the night so not only do you get the top line at a nice price but they could also be slightly lower owned.
Vladimir Tarasenko FD - $8000 DK - $7200
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 14.63 DK - 4.34
Brayden Schenn FD - $5900 DK - $5800
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 12.53 DK - 3.6
Ryan O'Reilly FD - $6600 DK - $6600
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 13.64 DK - 4
Alex Pietrangelo FD - $6200 DK - $5800
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 13.37 DK - 4

The top line is back together with Vladimir Tarasenko back in the lineup and while he didn't record a point in his return, he did tally five shots on goal. He isn't having his best offensive season but ha still provided an elite floor for cash games with an 11.6 shots per 60 and 20.4 iCorsi per 60. Ryan O'Reilly has been a solid mid-range center all season with 69 points in 73 games while skating over 20 minutes per game. Brayden Schenn has also dealt with injuries this season but has been solid lately with points in two straight and nine over his last 10 games with 27 shots on goal. On defense, Alex Pietrangelo checks all the boxes if you are wanting to pay up at the position. He has provided a high floor with 48 combined shots/blocks in his last 10 games to go along with the upside as he has six points in those games including two multi-point efforts.

San Jose Sharks 

Opponent - @Los Angeles Kings
Moneyline - SJ -210
Vegas Total - 5.5
Team Projection - 3.3

With this game being the last on the slate combined with it being one of the games with a lower total I think it could be a bit overlooked. I talked about the Flames above and it's the Sharks chasing them for that top spot in the West. Like the Flames, the offense has carried the team as they rank 3rd overall and 2nd on the road. The Kings defense is nothing to worry about these days either as they rank 21st overall and have averaged 3.9 goals per game against while losing 16 of their last 18 games. Let's take a look at some of the top targets on the Sharks.
Timo Meier FD - $5500 DK - $6400
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 12.96 DK - 4
Logan Couture FD - $7400 DK - $6200
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 12.2 DK - 3.98
Gustav Nyquist FD - $5300 DK - $5600
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 10.49 DK - 3.39

With the Sharks, I turn my attention to their top line and feel comfortable with any two-man stack combination for cash games and will stack all three in GPP's. Timo Meier is my favorite play of the three as his advanced stats completely back up his breakout season. He comes into tonight with an 11.5 shot per 60, 20.3 iCorsi per 60 while averaging 13.8 scoring chances per 60, 6.8 of which have come in the high danger scoring area. His best value comes on FanDuel where he remains in the mid $5K range. Logan Couture has been up and down from an upside standpoint but has tallied four or more shots six times in his last 10 games. The Sharks have been shaking up the lines regularly but Gustav Nyquist spent last game with those two and is a nice value on both sites.

Also Consider

The Boston Bruins who have a plus matchup against the Devils who have given up 25 goals in their last six games and rank 29th in defense. With David Pastrnak back, the top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron is an elite stack if you can afford it.

Game stacking the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks game. The Hawks are early -130 home favorites in a game with a 6.5 total with the defenses ranking 27th and 30th respectively.

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