NHL: Weekly Targets and Friday Lineup
NHL Fantasy Overview and Friday Lineup
About the Writer: ‘Chewy’ aka Gary Wilson, operates LandShark Hockey, and has been helping others dominate Fantasy Hockey Leagues for almost 20 years now. Landshark Hockey provides fantasy hockey fans with daily news, updates, and draft strategy including the LandShark Hockey War Room for Daily Fantasy Hockey Lineup Help.
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If you’re playing hockey on Fantasy Sports Live this week, read on for players to target.
Goalie
Despite his hefty price tag (160), Tim Thomas gives you the most value, averaging a whopping 35 points-per-game (ppg), by far the most of any player at any position. Carey Price is next at 28 ppg with a hit of 136. Seemed silly a month ago, but at this point, you have to play Fleury any chance you get. His price has quickly climbed to 92, but it seems he can’t lose. He’s averaging about 20 ppg. In terms of Value, Niemi is priced at just 50 pts, but you have to know when he’s getting the start or you’re chancing it at the most important position.
Defense
The leaderboard on defense shows Byfuglien, Letang and Liles at the top, and it’s no different in terms of their ppg on FSL. All three are delivering 13 ppg or more. No other d-man is better than 10 ppg. Despite the gap, those three are priced way too high to get your value at that position. Instead, opt for more reasonably priced options like Fowler or Engelland. Rookie Justin Braun has been hot for the Sharks and can be had for 35 pts.
Center
While Stamkos has cooled off in the past week or so, Crosby continues to give you your money’s worth, despite the 101 point cap hit. He’s tops among forwards at 21 ppg. Niklas Backstrom is still a good deal at 66 points. Logan Couture has come on strong recently, at will run you just 52 points on the cap.
Left Wing
Plan on spending about 70 points for a top-end left winger on your roster. Daniel Sedin, James Neal, and Pavel Datsyuk give you top ppg production, and they all fall between 70 and 72 on the cap. If you’re looking to squeeze some blood from a stone, turn to Simon Gagne, who remains underpriced in the early stages of his return from injury.
Right Wing
No need to spring for major bucks at right wing, as there are many serviceable options in the 60 point range. Turn to Perry, Heatley, Horton, or Eriksson, who all deliver around 13 ppg. Claude Giroux remains a steady pick as well at 56 pts.
Opposing teams to target with your goalie selection right now:
- NY Isles
- Ottawa
- Carolina
- Minnesota
My Roster
This week I struggled with the goalie selection, as there are no real lopsided matchups. Tempted to go with Pavelec (ATL) against Colorado, but I’m taking a chance on Brodeur in his expected return against the Sens. At only 53 points, he leaves me plenty of room to load up across all positions.
Playing in the standard 10-team, 575 point cap league for Friday, here is my roster:
| Position | Player | Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goalie | Martin Brodeur | 53 | Ottawa has scored 5 goals in the last 5 games. Brodeur typically comes up big on a big night. His return from injury this week qualifies. |
| Center | Steven Stamkos | 91 | Sure, he’s been in a slump, but a trip to Edmonton should wake him up. Look for a goal or two from Stammer. |
| Center | Eric Staal | 63 | Could have gone with Staal or Zetterberg here. Staal’s been hotter as of late. |
| Left Wing | James Neal | 70 | Dallas should score big against Carolina. Neal’s on a 5-game point streak. |
| Left Wing | Pavel Datsyuk | 70 | Pavel is among the top forwards in fantasy points. |
| Right Wing | Loui Eriksson | 66 | Eriksson’s a point-per-game player and should keep that going against the Canes. |
| Right Wing | Corey Perry | 66 | Should exploit Calgary’s backup goalie tonight. |
| Defense | Cam Fowler | 23 | Fowler’s undervalued on defense at 23 pts. |
| Defense | Dustin Byfuglien | 72 | Normally don’t spend this silly on defense, but with Brodeur in net, I had room to splurge on the top defensive option. |
Here are my weekly target picks across FSL. For each position I’ve included the Top Price player who is the most expensive at that spot, my Target players who I am trying to get on my lineup at a fair cost, and my Value picks which are players that are priced very cheaply based on what they are expected to produce.
| Position | Player | Category | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Keith, Duncan | Target | 30 |
| Defense | Weber, Shea | Target | 27 |
| Defense | White, Ian | Value | 12 |
| Defense | Fowler, Cam | Value | 23 |
| Defense | Engelland, Deryk | Value | 17 |
| Defense | Bogosian, Zach | Value | 16 |
| Goalie | Thomas, Tim | Top Price | 160 |
| Goalie | Bryzgalov, Ilya | Target | 111 |
| Goalie | Kiprusoff, Miikka | Target | 79 |
| Goalie | Fleury, Marc-Andre | Target | 92 |
| Goalie | Niemi, Antti | Value | 50 |
| Left Wing | Ovechkin, Alex | Top Price | 83 |
| Left Wing | Datsyuk, Pavel | Target | 70 |
| Left Wing | Neal, James | Target | 70 |
| Left Wing | Sedin, Daniel | Target | 72 |
| Left Wing | Vanek, Thomas | Target | 46 |
| Left Wing | Gagne, Simon | Value | 10 |
| Right Wing | Semin, Alexander | Top Price | 80 |
| Right Wing | Skinner, Jeff | Target | 40 |
| Right Wing | Perry, Corey | Target | 66 |
| Right Wing | Heatley, Dany | Target | 64 |
| Right Wing | Pominville, Jason | Value | 19 |
| Right Wing | Kovalchuk, Ilya | Value | 21 |
Good luck.