Finding value forwards in daily fantasy
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Here is how to find value at the forward position in daily fantasy hockey:
Third-Wheel Forwards
This is easily the best way to find extremely cheap forwards who have a chance to have a big game. Luckily, there are usually plenty of them.
On Pittsburgh, winger Conor Sheary is expected to play with C Sidney Crosby and and RW Patric Hornqvist. W Bryan Rust is projected to skate with C Evgeni Malkin and LW Chris Kunitz. Sheary and Rust have immense value because they don't have significant track records, but they play with two of the best centers in the league.
It is important to monitor line changes on a consistent basis when choosing your NHL daily fantasy lineup. You just never know who might end up skating on a line with C Tyler Seguin and LW Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars.
Oftentimes a coach will put an unheralded player on a line with two studs in order to provide balance to the lineup. In other cases, a top prospect called up from the minors will get a chance to skate in the top six. Rookies with no NHL track records often come near the minimum price in DFS.
Shooters
For skaters, most DFS scoring goes as follows:
| Stat | Points |
|---|---|
| Goal | 3 |
| Assist | 2 |
| Shot on goal | 0.5 |
| Blocked shot | 0.5 |
| Short-handed point bonus | 1 |
| Shootout goal | 0.2 |
| Hat-trick bonus | 1.5 |
Last season in the NHL, the average team scored 2.71 goals per game. Given that there are so few goals and so many players, scoring can be incredibly tough to predict. The average team took 29.6 shots, which are much easier to predict on a game-to-game basis.
Drafting high-volume shooters is necessary for cash games, where you need players who have a high floor. Alex Ovechkin usually leads the league in shots every season. Other top goal-scorers like Max Pacioretty, Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane are never too far behind. These players come at a pretty hefty price tag, however.
There are players in the middle to low tiers of pricing who still garner a high shot total. Evander Kane, Nazem Kadri, Jeff Skinner, Mike Hoffman, Cam Atkinson, and Boone Jenner all finished with at least 225 shots last season and won't make you break the bank when selecting your lineup. They are all cash-game staples.
Playmakers
On the other end of the spectrum, forwards who take very few shots are often vastly underpriced because their floors are so low. Yet, even if they are elite playmakers, such as Joe Thornton, their salary is low simply because they don't take many shots.
Thornton took only 121 shots last season, but he was fourth in league scoring with 82 points. He was often priced in the mid-tier of forwards despite the constant threat of a multi-point game. Players like Thornton have outstanding value in tournament lineups because of their affordable price and high ceiling, even if they have basement-level floors.
Other playmakers who can always reel off a multi-point game but come with a low price because of their unwillingness to throw pucks on net include Nicklas Backstrom, Henrik Sedin and David Krejci.