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For those new to daily fantasy hockey, or sports for that matter, it's very important to know the difference between a cash game and a tournament (or GPP).
A prime example of a cash game contest is a 50/50, where if you win a $10 contest, you get your $10 back, plus another $10 (minus site's commission, typically around 10 percent) if you finish in the the top half of the contest. Fifty percent of the entries evenly split 100 percent of the pot. If the 50/50 has 100 entrants, the player who comes first and player who comes in 50th place will still win the same amount of money.
On the other hand, a tournament has a top-heavy distribution of winnings. For example, if 1,000 people enter a contest, but only the top 50 or so come away with winnings. The higher you finish, the more money you will receive.
In a nutshell, cash game lineups require safe picks. You need to draft players with high floors. Drafting players high ceilings but plenty of risk can be reserved for tournament lineups, where you are essentially going big or going home. Other than the obvious point of favorable matchups, here are the keys to assembling a successful cash-game roster:
High-volume shooters
In almost all daily fantasy hockey formats, players are awarded a half point for every shot on goal. Thus, players who send lots of pucks on net need to be rostered. That way, even if they don't register a point, they don't completely hurt your team.
Players like Alex Ovechkin and Vladimir Tarasenko are obvious high-volume shooters, but they cost a fortune on most DFS sites. Mid-low tier players such as 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.
Minute-logging shot blockers
Most daily fantasy sites award half a half point for every blocked shot, in addition to a shot on goal. This makes the defensemen pool much deeper than you'd think.
There are players in the league who don't wow offensively, but they make for great cash-game plays because they log big minutes and block plenty of shots.
Francois Beauchemin, Kris Russell, Karl Alzner and Calvin de Haan all ranked among the league leaders in blocked shots, and all four averaged at least 20 minutes per game. They are all usually very affordable in DFS. The great thing about a blueliner who plays a lot of minutes is that they are always one breakout pass away from logging a secondary assist.
Goalies with high-win probability
As far as addressing the goaltending situation, it's never a bad thing to pay up for a player of Braden Holtby or Carey Price's caliber. They rarely get shelled and more often than not come away with a victory.
If these top goaltenders prove to be prohibitvely expensive, look for a hot goaltender who may be underpriced against a team that has struggled to find the back of the net in recent outings.
