Hey guys, its CrossCzech here with your daily dose of fantasy hockey on a small 4-game slate over on Draftkings. Draftkings has some nice satellites running for the Fantasy Hockey World Championships and don’t forget to get in on the Spin-O-Rama GPP that will be running on February 21st so get into as many satellites as you can, cause at $360 a clip, winning a few sounds better than forking over the dough!
If you are playing only a few bucks and want to take out the mass-entry/bankroll factor, look to the 3-entry max games that Draftkings offers, that way every player has the same amount of entries and it doesn’t matter if you have $100 or $10,000 as your bankroll, you get 3-entries regardless. Single-entry games are also another way to go if you are looking to avoid mass-entry players and like to play a single lineup or are a cash game player. Head-to head games are terrific as well but don’t be afraid to block certain players who a sharks in the shallows. Make sure you know who your opponent is, or who is entered into the game you are looking to enter. Sun Tzu’s first rule of war in his book is to know your opponent. Know who and what you are up against because biting off more than you can chew in DFS can be costly. Literally! Don’t be afraid to avoid playing people as long as you use them as a stepping stone or building block into becoming a better player. Look over who wins every night and look over their rosters to see what they did that you maybe didn’t do or look to see how they constructed their roster. If you are not spending time reverse-engineering the best players then you might as well open your window and throw out your money. I don’t mean that in a negative connotation, but trying to instill the fact that ‘learning’ on a daily basis is a huge part of DFS and finding the people who are successful and figuring out why they did what they did, makes you a better player. If you are doing this to have fun or win money is the ultimate question, and one that it is the basis for everything you do in DFS. A word to the wise, play it safe and close to your chest on these 3-game slate nights. It is very easy to be on the wrong side of the slate and miss entirely, so money management is vital to your long term success.
Oliver Bjorkstrand -$2,700
Yep, that’s right, Bjorkstrand has made up to the second line with Saad tonight after practicing Tuesday and getting a confidence boost from the coach. Looking to infuse some young blood into the team, Torts is going to give the young kid a chance to prove himself. Bjorkstrand has zero goals and one assist and will look to prove the coach right against a Toronto team that has been playing very well considering at any time there are 33.3% of the team having NEVER had played in the NHL before this season. With the best power play and top 5 offensive force, Columbus will look to skate the Leafs into the ice after travelling from Toronto to Columbus after last nights win. The top lines are all in play, but I think Bjorkstrand gets overlooked on a 4-game slate where one player can make all the difference.
Brent Burns -$8,200
I don’t care what you say, fading this monster on a 4-game slate is the line you are going to have to draw tonight when constructing your cash game roster. Expensive yes, but with 230 shots on goal, Burns is is a player that is starting to make people pay attention. Playing defense, Burns has amassed 25 goals and 36 assists, which ranks him in the top 10 scoring overall. That said, his ability to use his size and finesse allows San Jose to open up the ice even more as teams back up when he carries the puck.Not since Bobby Orr has such a free-flowing defenseman taken the puck end to end so effortlessly as Burns. He may be chalk, but he is def worth the money.
Seth Jones -$ 5,500
Jones is the defensive foundation for Columbus and will look to take advantage of a tired Toronto team that travelled last night from Toronto to Ohio. Jones has 12 goals and almost 20 assists with 113 shots on goal this year. Seeing time on the ice in every match-up, he looks to add offense to an already top 5 offensive weapon that looks to build on the confidence Tortorella has instilled in these kids. I wasn’t sure that he could pull it off wit his style of coaching, but I have to hand it to Tortorella for turning around this team and getting them to believe in him.
Alex Steen -$5,100
With the Blues without Stastny and his offense, they look to the veterans to step up and fill-in. Steen has 11 goals and 37 points and is on the road against one of the weaker defensive teams in the league, the Detroit Red Wings. Allowing the 26th most goals in the league, the Blues will look to exploit the Wings and continue there push to the playoffs. I think playing Schwartz in a correlation play is healthy here and Dmitri Jaskin will slot back into the line-up and even though he plays only 8-12 minutes a game, those minutes are full of energy that sees him get involved, so if you need another flyer for GPP at price below $3,000 he is your guy.
Brandon Saad -$5,600
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist out figure out how popular a play on a 4-game slate the Blue Jackets will be tonight at home. That said, choosing who to roster will ultimately be the salvation and doom to many through this game this evening g. A run and gun type of feel, this game will see upwards of 5 plus goals as the Blue Jackets look to build momentum towards April in the chase for the Cup. Saad has found his identity in Columbus after his stint in New York. With Tortorella at the helm again as his coach, it makes you wonder the correlation of the two and his ability to get the best out of his players.
Martin Jones -$8,100
I think a lot of people will lean towards Bobrovsky, but Jones at home against an East Coast team that has struggled offensively plus the fact that Toronto is a top 5 offensive power and can score goals, so all that combined makes me like Jones a tad more. Jones has 2 shutouts this season and a .914 save percentage. While his goals against average is 2.34, San Jose is looking to fine-tune their defense as the Cup approaches and ALL the players begin to really play hard and get ready for the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 1994 I watched my team, my home state, the NJ Devils, lose in double-overtime in in game 7 of the Conference Finals, to a man whose name I will not type ever. That next year I sat and watched from section 205 as the Devils run through the Wings and won their first Cup. Could this finally be the year that it ALL GOES RIGHT for the San Jose Sharks? I hope so.
Macaulay Scott Renner began playing ice hockey at age 6 in the Brick Hockey Club, N.J. in 1978 and then moved on to Christian Brothers Academy High School (alumnus include Trevor/James VanRiemsdyk). After lettering in varsity all 4 year, he moved on to play college hockey in the ACHA for both Johns Hopkins University for two years and finishing his eligibility at Monmouth University. In 2002, he worked for NBC in Broadcast Operations for NBC Sports covering all men’s Olympic ice hockey games in SLC, Utah. In 2003 took over the Commercial Coordinator job (that his father helmed for 19 years) with the NHL at the NJ Devils in 2002-2003. A diehard DFS NHL/PGA/NFL grinder playing since its inception in 2000, he is a world traveler, surfer, and golfer of 35 years. He currently resides in South Philadelphia with his girlfriend Micha and cat Rosie. He can be found on DraftKings playing under CrossCzech and MissCalculated(the tuna fishing boat) and is always willing to help answer any type of hockey/strategy/DFS questions.