Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for Wednesday, March 16th 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.
With the exception of two relatively high priced goalies, Wednesday's lineup features plenty of value plays, all below $7,000 on DraftKings. Picking someone like Patrick Kane is an easy decision simply because he's likely to put up fantasy points in some fashion, despite his three game pointless drought.
Tonight's lineup features two of the hottest players in the league right now, both on teams looking up at a bunch of others in the standings. For updated goalie confirmations, check out leftwinglock.com.
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NHL DFS Picks for Wednesday, March 16th
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 today's action.
Jake Allen - Goaltender, Blues (DraftKings - $7,700 FanDuel - $9,200)
After getting lit up by the Calgary Flames, Allen will look to bounce back against the Edmonton Oilers; another opponent he should feast on. Prior to the loss, Allen had won six straight starts and will continue to be relied on heavily until Brian Elliot returns from injury. The Oilers sit in dead last overall in the Western Conference and score the third fewest goals in the league at 2.32 per game. They also surrender 2.92 goals a contest, six most in the NHL, as the Blues should have no trouble shaking off their last loss and supporting their netminder.
Semyon Varlamov - Goaltender, Avalanche (DraftKings - $8,000 FanDuel - $9,600)
Varlamov also heads into a solid matchup on Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks, like the Oilers, are in the bottom ten of goals for and goals against per game. Varlamov has had a pretty inconsistent stretch of about ten games, now coming off a loss against the Winnipeg Jets, but has proven that when he's on his game, he's on his game. He let up only one goal in his two starts prior to the loss, and the Avalanche will look to their goalie to keep them in the playoff hunt. Colorado is currently tied with the Minnesota Wild for the final wild card spot in the West.
Alex Galchenyuk - Center, Canadiens (DraftKings - $5,100 FanDuel - $6,100)
Amidst a disappointing plummet in the standings, one bright spot has emerged during the Canadiens rollercoaster season. Alex Galchenyuk has been arguably the hottest player in the NHL and will look to exploit the weaknesses of the Buffalo Sabres despite those that plague his own team. The Sabres score the fourth fewest goals a game in the NHL. Galchenyuk has scored an impressive 11 goals in 10 games, six of which came in three straight. He holds more value on DraftKings as only one of the 11 came via the power play, and has also displayed a knack for blocking shots consistently as well. Galchenyuk is far too cheap for his recent production as his price continues to jump.
Mark Scheifele - Center, Jets (DraftKings - $5,900 FanDuel - $7,300)
While we're on the subject of players tearing through competition, it's only fair to bring up Mark Scheifele, who's production has been seemingly lost among Winnipeg's lackluster season. Scheifele has picked up at least one point in eight straight games and nine out of his last ten. In that ten game span, he has tallied 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) and continues to fire the puck on net frequently. He enters an appealing matchup versus the Calgary Flames, a team that gives up the most goals a night in the league. He should be used on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Jakob Silfverberg - Winger, Ducks (DraftKings - $4,600 FanDuel - $5,500)
Silfverberg is coming off a monster performance against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday where he picked up his first career hat trick and tallied one assist in an average 15 minutes of ice time. This may have been a fluke considering Silfverberg has only 12 goals total on the season, but a night like that is tough to ignore. His last points came on the 5th of March and not since the middle of February before that. Look for Silfverberg to build off of his unprecedented performance now facing the New York Rangers, who have started to struggle a bit of late, specifically with keeping the puck out of their own net.
Troy Brouwer - Winger, Blues (DraftKings - $3,900 FanDuel - $4,400)
Brouwer has also strung together a nice bit of production recently, accumulating three points in his past two games and four over his last four (two goals, two assists). Brouwer is a very cheap option that can also tally shots on goal and the occasional blocked shot as well. His price has slightly jumped of late and he sees time on the power play. Brouwer is a solid cash game pick and has a nice matchup against the Oilers.
Kevin Shattenkirk - Defenseman, Blues (DraftKings - $6,700 FanDuel - $5,200)
Shattenkirk is the solid, final piece to a St. Louis Blues stack on Wednesday. He has scored three goals in two games and has blocked at least one shot in five straight games, and eight of his last ten. Shattenkirk also puts the puck on net often and could very well light the lamp for a third straight contest against the struggling Oilers. The talented defenseman sees over 20 minutes of ice time a night and is used heavily on the Blues power play. Look for St. Louis to shake off their last loss and explode against a shaky Edmonton team. Shattenkirk should be in the center of that explosion.
Shayne Gostisbehere - Defenseman, Flyers (DraftKings - $6,000 FanDuel - $5,400)
Gostisbehere has had an awesome rookie campaign and will continue his recent stellar play against a tough opponent. The Flyers draw the Chicago Blackhawks and will need to steal a win in order to keep pace in the Eastern Conference wild card playoff race. Gostisbehere has scored three goals in his last three games, and has displayed plenty of versatility for Daily Fantasy in only 47 games in his first NHL season. Gostisbehere has equal value on DraftKings and FanDuel because of his ability to block shots and his play on Philadelphia's special teams.
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