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Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for February 8th of the 2015/2016 NHL season. Each day we'll be providing you with a handful of forward, defensemen, and goaltender picks for DraftKings and FanDuel GPP and cash games.
Tonight's lineup features players from four games, all with playoff implications attached to them. The New York Rangers host the rival New Jersey Devils as only a few points separate them in the standings, while the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning try to maintain and extend their big leads on the the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings. The Anaheim Ducks also visit the Pittsburgh Penguins as both teams fight for a playoff spot as well.
For updated goalie confirmations, check out www.leftwinglock.com. Let's get to it!
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NHL DFS Picks for Monday, February 8th
As per my colleague and fellow Hockey DFS writer, Chris:
A couple strategy notes. For cash game construction look for players who can contribute to your score when they are not providing offense. Examples are guys who take a ton of shots, defensemen who block a lot of shots(DraftKings). Also, look for guys who get powerplay time and especially Top 6 forwards. You can find value in players who join a new line due to an injury or just get a promotion and more ice time.
For large field tournaments (GPP's) you want to find payers who have multi point upside and can grab double digit fantasy points. To stack the most upside in your forwards a common strategy is to punt the defense position. This doesn't mean just grab anyone. Try and look for a D man who will be playing more PP time or might get a boost in overall playing time due to an injury.
Let's take a look at some solid plays for Monday's action.
Marc-Andre Fleury - Goaltender, Penguins (DraftKings - $8,100, FanDuel - $9,400)
Marc-Andre Fleury will likely be in between the pipes against the Anaheim Ducks, a team that relinquishes 2.16 goals a game, the fewest in the league. The Ducks have also scored the fewest total goals thus far this season at 106. Fleury and the Penguins have been hot of late in the midst of a late season run towards the playoffs, and should be able to handle the Ducks and their struggling offense. Fleury has also posted two shutouts lately while the Penguins continue to score an abundance of goals during his starts.
Henrik Lundqvist - Goaltender, Rangers (DraftKings - $8,100, FanDuel - $9,200 )
King Henrik and the Rangers get another crack at the rivaled New Jersey Devils. The Rangers lost the two team's meeting a week ago and you can only imagine Lundqvist and the Rangers have some revenge on their minds. The Rangers have struggled to string together any consistency since before the all-star break, winning a game, then losing one, winning, then losing, and will need to put together a winning streak in order to hold off teams like the Devils who continue to push and push. The Devils have also struggled offensively, scoring only 117 goals so far this season, fourth fewest in the league, and 2.25 a contest, second fewest.
Sidney Crosby - Center, Penguins (DraftKings - $7,900, FanDuel - $9,500)
How can you ever go wrong when selecting Sid the Kid for Daily Fantasy. His price is relatively expensive but is worth the look, especially based on his recent production. Recently, Crosby posted a hat trick against the Ottawa Senators and scored a goal in three straight games prior. He is a consistent threat on the power play and is one of the main reasons the Penguins have begun to elevate their game again. Crosby also takes a ton of shots a night and sees well around 20 minutes of ice time.
J.T. Miller - Center, Rangers (DraftKings - $4,500, FanDuel - $5,900)
Miller has been one of the hottest and most productive Rangers of late. He continues to score in consecutive games and could be the spark the Rangers desperately need to put together a winning streak. Miller has an impressive +/- of over ten, while he also shoots the puck on goal consistently and sees time on the power play. With the health of Rick Nash in question, the Rangers could continue to rely on Miller for production. He is still relatively cheap and should be used in both DFS formats.
Reilly Smith - Winger, Panthers (DraftKings - $4,700, FanDuel - $4,500)
Smith is an affordable option at winger that is consistently good for at least 3.0 fantasy points, mainly for DraftKings because of his tendency to block shots. Smith sees well around 20 minutes of ice time a night and plays on their power play. He also shoots a lot and has benefited from playing on a productive second Panthers line. Florida will battle a team looking up at them in the standings: the Detroit Red Wings.
Mark Stone - Winger, Senators (DraftKings - $5,400, FanDuel - $4,500)
Stone is among one of the top point-getters on the Senators and plays over 2o minutes a night. Stone heavily contributes on the power play as well, as he has posted over ten points on special teams this season so far. Stone also shoots a lot and tallies a lot of blocked shots. He has picked up his offense of late as well, after slumping for most of January. Stone should be considered for both DFS formats.
Aaron Ekblad - Defense, Panthers (DraftKings - $4,900, FanDuel - $5,100)
The 2016 All-Star is another affordable option for Monday and has been a very solid defenseman all season. Ekblad is Florida's leading scoring defenseman, and is another power play threat who skates for over 20 minutes a night. That stat has repeated often in this lineup but ice time is most important for consistency. Hockey is a streaky sport where players need to find their scoring rhythm. A boost in ice time always helps with that. Ekblad also leads the Panthers in plus/minus with 23. He is one of the top defenseman for both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Victor Hedman - Defense, Lightning (DraftKings - $6,000, FanDuel - $6,200)
Hedman plays on Tampa Bay's top defensive line with other impressive defenseman, Anton Stralman. Hedman is third on the Lightning in points and leads the team in minutes played per night. He also has the highest plus/minus of any Lightning defenseman while he sees plenty of power play time as well. Hedman is not a goal scorer but is an animal at posting helpers, as he also leads all of Tampa Bay in assists. He should be considered in all formats.
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