Score Goals Playing Daily Fantasy Hockey
Though low scoring, daily fantasy hockey can actually provide one of the largest edges for the skilled NHL researcher. Because hockey is less visible in the sporting mainstream, there are plenty of mid-range and low-end value plays that can be used to bolster your lineup. Most of these plays are only apparent to the veteran hockey fan, which makes daily fantasy hockey an excellent place to jump-start you daily fantasy sports career!
Daily fantasy hockey shares a major similarity with baseball, in that just like the pitcher, you’ll usually be building your lineup around around one player. The goalie is by far the most important draft selection in daily fantasy hockey, and as with pitchers in baseball, you can often find yourself “locked out” of prize money by neglecting to draft the night’s most successful goalie. The reasons for this are twofold. One, the goalie is the only player on the floor guaranteed to score (or lose) points. Hockey in general is a game where even the best players are sometimes unable to leave their mark on the stat sheet. It’s not uncommon to win a daily fantasy hockey contest with zero or negative points from a player or two. The other reason the goalie is so valuable is that they are awarded bonus points for both winning the contest, and shutting out the opposition. Combine the two and you have a single player who can propel you to victory.
As if the goalie position in daily fantasy hockey wasn’t already tough enough, many teams employ a dual-goalie approach. This means that often times you’ll be pressed to lock your contests in but won’t have a confirmation on who the night’s starting goaltender will be. This is a perfect example of why FanThrowdown’s Late Swap Feature is so crucial to daily fantasy sports success. Always make sure to check and see if your goalie has been confirmed.
The offensive positions (center and both wings) share much in common with baseball as well. When a player scores, there is generally an assist or two on the play. This means that drafting top options on the same line will often times pay off in good matchups. Look for injury fill-ins on high powered offensive units as a great way to snag points at a bargain.
Defenseman is the position with which you generally have the most flexibility in daily fantasy hockey. On nights with a high number of games you’ll often want to find the cheapest high-upside defenseman options, and pour your salary into playing a lockdown goalie. On nights with fewer games that also happen to feature one of the league’s handful of consistently high-scoring defenseman, you’ll often want to go that route. The likely points missed out on will often be too much to overcome.
Daily fantasy hockey is an excellent way to learn the ropes of daily fantasy sports, while cashing in a sizable edge by staying informed and up to date on the latest hockey news.