NHL fantasy: Eric Staal still has significant value

Whether you are out of the playoff picture or making a run for your league title here are some potential deals you can make to help now or next season.

Spotting differences in pricing across the daily fantasy sports industry should be an exercise done every day. Everything comes down to price in the end, and saving even a few hundred dollars on three or four skaters can help you upgrade from a good player to an elite player.

Here are some players in good matchups today that have a price discrepancy between FanDuel and DraftKings.

Eric Staal (Carolina – Centre/Left Wing)

DraftKings – $6200
FanDuel – $7700

Advice: Use on DraftKings

The Carolina Hurricanes have quietly been on an impressive run of late (for them, anyway). The team is 8-7-2 since Feb. 1, and are second in the NHL in puck possession as measured by shot attempt differential in that span. Conversely, the Florida Panthers are 25th in possession since the start of February.

Part of the surge is the play of Eric Staal. He has 13 points in those 17 games, averaging over three shots a game. Considering the Panthers still won’t have Roberto Luongo back for tonight’s game, it seems Staal is a very good option on DraftKings.

Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay – Centre)

DraftKings – $5500
FanDuel – $7200

Advice: Use on DraftKings

Johnson’s price has been a yo-yo over the last month or so, as has been his production. While his price on FanDuel hasn’t really jumped around that much, his price on DraftKings certainly has. He’s now priced just $400 more than Tyler Ennis of Buffalo, and is $600 cheaper than Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles.

Winnipeg goes into Tampa Bay tonight, and with the Jets still missing Mathieu Perreault, Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, and Bryan Little, they are a shell of the team they should be. The second line from the Lightning should be able to run wild on the Jets, making Johnson a solid play on DraftKings.

Chris Kreider (NY Rangers – Wing/Left Wing)

DraftKings – $4200
FanDuel – $5700

Advice: Use on DraftKings

You know the drill by now, there should be a couple players in lineups going up against the Buffalo Sabres. Since the trade deadline they are trotting out what could easily be described as an AHL roster, and have already confirmed that Anders Lindback will be in goal tonight.

Kreider is a physical force on the ice, one that should be hard for the Sabres to contain. While going into Buffalo has not been fruitful for teams of late — just 19 goals against in Buffalo’s last eight home games — it shouldn’t be long until Lindback craters. With Kreider’s great value on DraftKings tonight he’s worth playing.

The final pairings for Sportsnet’s Pick ‘n Play were released yesterday, focusing on the Calgary-Colorado game tonight. With the Flames on a back-to-back, it’s hard not to like all three Avalanche players in this spot tonight.

Tyler Toffoli (Los Angeles – Wing/Right Wing)

DraftKings – $4800
FanDuel – $5800

Advice: Use on DraftKings

I wonder how many daily fantasy players realize that Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne has been just a .917 goalie in the calendar 2015 year, or that their five-on-five puck possession (52.5 per cent) isn’t dissimilar from Dallas’ (52.3 per cent).

Nashville is still a good team, which is why I would avoid using Toffoli on FanDuel; there are plus/minus concerns. I think that he can be a sneaky play, given his price, on DraftKings though because Nashville still carries enough name-value that daily players don’t like to pick against them, and low ownership rates carry value.

Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis – Wing/Right Wing)

DraftKings – $3200
FanDuel – $3300

Advice: Use on FanDuel

The last game St. Louis played saw Alex Steen join Jaskin’s line along with Paul Stastny. While former linemate Patrik Berglund is a good player, Steen adds a very solid offensive dimension to that line.

Jaskin has gone four games without a point, but has nine shots on goal in that span, so it’s not like the offence is drying up completely. Given his new linemates, and the softer in-game matchups against Minnesota’s depth defensive pairings, Jaskin carries a lot of upside tonight for his price point.

Alexander Edler (Vancouver – Defence)

DraftKings – $4200
FanDuel – $3900

Advice: Use on FanDuel

Vancouver is at home to Toronto tonight, and this is a good team to be picking against right now. The one concern here is that Yannick Weber may be drawing back in tonight for Vancouver, and that could disrupt Edler’s power play time. Keep tabs on the Vancouver writers to see how things might shake out.

Edler seems like a plug-and-play option tonight on FanDuel, but watch to see how Weber may be used. As a pivot option, New Jersey’s Damon Severson can be used instead (and for cheaper).

There are still weekly prizes being given out for Sportsnet’s Fantasy Hockey Pool, a salary cap-style game here on Sportsnet.ca. Next week, Vancouver has a four game week that includes: Philadelphia, Columbus, and Arizona. Weber is a minimum-priced defenceman. If he indeed returns on the power play, he’s a great option for the week.

*Some stats courtesy of War On Ice, Hockey Reference, and Hockey Analysis.

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