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While cash-game owners have the luxury of being able to rely on players who are going to register a handful of shots on goal, block a few shots, and roster a goaltender with a plush matchup who will allow only a goal or two and record an easy win, tournament owners need much more.
Unlike in other daily fantasy sports, there's no hard and fast rule for how many fantasy points a player you roster needs to produce. Scoring in the NHL is so volatile not only among individual players, but also league-wide on any given slate. Owners need to get exposure to the highest scoring teams, while making sure they're not getting shutout at any one position.
Here is how to address each position when assembling your tournament rosters:
Goaltender
Taking too many risks at goaltender can be ill-advised, but profits can be made in the proper situations. The most expensive goaltenders on a slate are usually your best option, except in a few cases.
Fade top goaltenders when they're facing a team which doesn't register many shots on goal. Goalies need high save totals as well as a victory to be of service. If they're stopping less than 20 shots, a single goal allowed could be detrimental to success.
The best route to go is a top-tier goalie from a quality team facing a top-tier opponent. While the matchup is volatile, owners can bank on talent winning out in the end. Favor goaltenders from home underdogs.
Be careful when looking for a value. DFS salaries incorporate the Vegas odds for the game, and a cheap goaltender is typically expected to face a lot of shots and allow multiple goals. Take these goalies only when the opponent has been slumping or is wrapping up an extended road trip. A tired team will take fewer shots, many of which will be of lesser quality.
Defensemen
While San Jose Sharks D Brent Burns or Ottawa Senators D Erik Karlsson provide the safest floors and highest opportunities of a multi-point or multi-goal game, their chance of doing so is often lower than the similarly priced forwards. With so few defensemen being capable of scoring at such a high level, ownership can often be high on the select few who can.
The best bet is to spend down for defensemen. Even cheap defensemen will log close to 20 minutes per game, while only the top forwards do so. Getting defenders from good teams with strong offenses, offers the most exposure to the overall team goal total.
Nashville Predators D Ryan Ellis played on the team's second pairing last season, but he still finished with 32 points thanks to one of the league's top offenses.
Exposure to power-play units can be a top GPP strategy as well. Minnesota Wild D Matt Dumba tallied just 26 overall points in 81 games last season, but he scored six power-play goals and added six assists. Take a player like this in a matchup against a team which spends a lot of time in the penalty box.
Forwards
Tournament owners need to be willing to take risks when rostering forwards. Chicago Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane, Pittsburgh Penguins C Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin routinely filled stat sheets, but their prices were high all season, as was ownership.
These players needed multi-point outings whenever they were drafted. Due to lofty salaries, a single goal or assist just wouldn't be enough to return value. Kane led the league with 27 multi-point games but this means he left owners wanting more in his other 55 games.
A player like Montreal Canadiens C Alex Galchenyuk is the perfect example of the player to target. His price was often extremely reasonable, as he finished the season ranking T58 with 56 points. He did, however, share the league lead with eight multi-goal games, with an additional four multi-point games.
Take these players in their most favorable matchups. Roster players from the former group in their least favorable matchups, as a means to temper ownership.
Stacking
As in daily fantasy football and baseball, stacking is a successful DFS hockey strategy. When one player from a line scores a goal, someone on the ice is likely to pick up an assist, while the others will get credit for plus-1 (some DFS sites factor in plus/minus).
The best strategy is to get as much exposure to a highly-favored team as possible. Load up on a full line - it may need to be the second line for salary reasons - and add in a lower-priced defensemen who may see power-play time with the same forward trio.
Use Corsica.Hockey as an excellent resources to find mismatches between opposing lines.
