Hey guys, its CrossCzech here with your daily dose of fantasy on a healthy 7-game slate over on Draftkings. Draftkings has some nice satellites running for the Fantasy Hockey World Championships with a $33 entry qualifier that runs tonight, so get your entry in if you are looking to qualify for the F.H.W.C in Miami in March!! Also the Spin-O-Rama GPP 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! It’s Tuesday so the Line Change Special is in play with $10,000 going to the one who snipes that, a $33 entry as well, with only 2 thousand plus entries allowed. 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. Know your opponent, is Sun Tzu’s first rule of war in his book. 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.
Leon Draisaitl $5,800
It sounds like the Oilers want to see what Draisaitl can do without McDavid on his side.( Especially in a looming contract situation). With 20 goals and 49 points, I am a buyer at this price as well as the fact that he can handle himself without McDavid on his side. His new line mate Milan Lucic looks to be a nice play if you want a correlation play with Draisaitl as the two also play on the power play as well.)
Adam Henrique- $4,800
The captain of the Devils will see plenty of time on ice and shots against a rookie goalie at home in Newark tonight against the worst team in hockey, yep, you guessed, the Colorado Avalanche. Jeremy Smith will be making his NHL debut tonight at the Rock in Newark for the Avalanche and Corey Schneider will look to show up his rookie counter-part on the opposite end and is a strong play in goal, but will be a popular play in many formats. Henrique’ price and the match-up situation make him a strong value and one that may go under the radar somewhat in terms of ownership percentages. I am looking for him to get on the board on the power play tonight as the Devils try to ruin the Irishman’s homecoming.
Max Domi-$5,200
I though Domi was gonna pop last night but all the scoring got spread out. Domi has smooth hands and the genes to to show as he was coming off a strong rookie campaign before he was injured. In his second game back tonight, I like him to have even more of a pep in his step as he plays the second game in two nights. Playing on the first line with Vrbata and Hanzal, the three combined together for the first Arizona goal but then went quiet. Domi’s battle is a little more uphill against a stingy Edmonton defense(at times) BUT the Oilers have been off for 5 days and if we look to what happened last week when the Kings played the Panthers who had been off for 5 days, the Kings found the back of the net quickly…and often. Domi and the Coyotes aren’t the Kings and my girlfriend isn’t Kate Moss but one thing IS for sure, confidence is a killer. A whiff of it last night in their shutout and these kids who have struggled all year, may come and take it to the Oilers who may be a little FLAT. That said, its your call on where to draw the line in the sand on this game, especially in roster construction for a tourney if you are looking to play lines along side each other as a correlation play. Fading this game could be costly one way or the other I think. Draftkings seems to have lost there minds when they put out the prices for the PGA players last night so hopefully today’s prices in the NHL are somewhat correct, but you never know.
Kyle Okposo $5,100
I still get upset to think of the what ifs about Okposo leaving he Islanders, but alas, nothing ever lasts, does it?! The Sabres have the top Power Play in the league and with paying up for Eichel, exposure through Okposo and or O’Reilly is a value play that I cant say no to. Against at Ottawa team that still struggles defensively, hovering around the middle of the pack stats wise, Vegas likes this to go over 5.5 goals and I agree.
Mark Stone- $5,800
Over on the Senators we get Stone at a healthy value price in the same game that will likely see over 5.5 goals, projected by Vegas. Alongside Dzingel and Brassard, I like Stone to have a hand in some scoring with a point or two this evening.
Chris Kunitz- $4,500
Matt Murray $8,300
I still don’t think the Draftkings also has caught up with Kunitz yet because at the price he is on the first line with the best player in the world, at home on the best offensive team in the NHL, for $4,500 I am all in for him to reach his value tonight. Playing against the Vancouver Canucks no less, a team that ranks in the bottom of the league defensively, I also like Matt Murray who will be in goal tonight for the Penguins. At $8,300 he is the most expensive player in goal but respectively so. The Pens rank first in scoring but 20th in defense while surrendering even more goals when a man down. That said, Vancouver struggles to score and the likely hood of them keeping up with Pittsburgh if this happens to shoot out, is a long shot. Pens win at home. (Getting Malkin back won’t hurt either.)
NHL NOTES:
Jason Spezza wil be back tonight after missing almost 6 games due to injury, while goalie Craig Andersen will be in net again after his wife was just diagnosed with cancer. The Winnipeg jets will be without Toby Enstrom, defenseman, who was injured and the JEts look to get off the snide but are now without another key injury to what little defense they have, I am starting to lean towards this game somewhat. That said, using Ben and Seguin with Spezza will be the obvious plays, but Shore and Faksa have really been playing well and are priced in the $4k range, so if you are looking to differentiate your team with a second or third line player correlation, this game could be a sneaky play. Don’t forget about the Islanders who are playing the Leafs and with a win, jump over them for the wild-card, so that games has some added incentive and may be closer than expected. That said, it may also shoot-out but I am leaning it to be a closer game than expected, thats why I left out some key players there. The line in the sand, somewhere along the way, you gotta take a stand in what you think and believe in.
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.