We at DobberHockey are proud to have provided Sportsnet readers with fantasy hockey tips all season long. With Sportsnet offering a FREE playoff hockey pool presented by RAM with $50,000 in cash prizes available and an all new 2019 RAM 1500, who better to offer up a strategy guide to get a leg up on the competition?
First – a couple of notes on this free pool:
1. You can still join
Are you interested in joining but missed Rounds 1 and 2? No problem. You can select a new team for Rounds 3-4 and still be eligible for overall prizes.
2. You can start over
Did your first-round team consist of numerous Kings or Ducks players, or players who didn’t record many points? Did your second-round team load up on Sharks and Bruins? Start fresh for the combined Rounds 3-4 with a whole new set of players.
3. Check out the previous tips
Before reading our tips for handling Round 3, make sure you’ve read the previous tips posted. First, Steve Laidlaw gave his prior to Round 1. And then Ian Gooding jumped in before Round 2 with some further advice. These tips cover the subjects of understanding the rules, paying attention to salary cap and league ownership numbers, and choosing your RAM Capable Players.
Next, the good stuff. Here are some tips on how to pick a winning lineup:
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1. Target one team on each side
In a league this deep (i.e. close to 60,000 entrants so far), you need every single player on your roster playing in both Round 3 and Round 4. Missing one or two of those spots because you hedged your bet with and opposing conference final team will destroy your chances. Remember – 60,000 entrants, so you know a few of them will have nailed it with every single player getting to the final. You don’t have a chance if you have a blank spot on your roster in the final, so what does it matter if you have zero players left at all? At this point in the contest, it’s all or nothing.
Pick your winner in the West, then select all six players from that team. Do the same in the East. If your two teams make it to the final, you’ll move up the standings awfully quick.
2. Only use defencemen who see PP time
It’s playoff time, so the power play is where defencemen get their points. John Carlson has 10 of his 11 points on the power play. The rest of the field does not see that kind of ratio, but the fact of the matter is the defencemen who have the most PP time have the most points on that team. Dustin Byfuglien has four of 13 points on the power play, but he has been out there for more than 77 per cent of Winnipeg’s available PP time. The three top defencemen for Vegas in scoring are Shea Theodore, Nate Schmidt and Colin Miller – each of whom average more than three minutes of PP time per game. So even though they have two power play points between them, they’re the guys getting the points.
The only other blueliners on the Caps to get any PP time at all are Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen, at 1:13 and 0:33 per game respectively. Washington mostly leans on Carlson. On the Jets, Tyler Myers (five points) averages 1:28 per game. With Tampa Bay, Victor Hedman has six points and averages 4:02 on the power play, while Mikhail Sergachev has four points and averages 2:13. Don’t go outside those 10 players. Ryan McDonagh may be tempting and he does have five points, but he’s not getting the PP time so I wouldn’t risk it (25.1 per cent did risk it – so there’s 25.1 per cent you can beat in that slot right there).
As a bonus, Myers, Orlov, Schmidt, Theodore and Miller are each at just 1 player value star, with Miller at just 2.8 per cent selected.
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3. Pick your Cup winner – there’s your RAM goaltender
In sticking with the strategy of choosing all players from just the two teams you feel will make the final – now pick your winner. That goaltender will get eight wins and it is two points per win. Double that and get 16 points. The other goalie, if all goes to your plan, will only get six or seven wins. Shutouts are the wild card, but obviously your odds of getting a shutout are better if your goalie has more wins, right?
4. Search for inexpensive players providing great value
Some players with a minimum salary (1) that stood out in Round 2 and are available in Round 3 include the following:
Washington
The best value is Tom Wilson. He has seven points in nine games and his three-game suspension is over so he’s back now.
Others…
Lars Eller (7 points in 12 games – 5 last series)
Jakub Vrana (5 points in 11 games – 4 last series)
Tampa Bay
Alex Killorn is worth 1 PV and he has six points in 10 games, but he managed just one point against Boston. So be wary. The Lightning don’t have other options at this value. At 2 PV Brayden Point offers great value, but a lot of players have jumped on him. Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde also provide upside at 2 PV and very few contestants grabbed them.
Winnipeg
As with Tampa, the Jets’ talented forwards are all in the higher PV bracket. Bryan Little is at 1 PV. But if you go up to the 2 PV bracket, Paul Stastny sticks out like a sore thumb with 11 points in 11 games and he’s running hot.
Vegas
Alex Tuch: Seven points in 10 games — five last series
In the 2 PV bracket you’ll find good value in both Erik Haula (six points in 10 games) and James Neal (seven points in 10 games).
After you’ve selected your more expensive star players, a low-salary player who explodes during the next two rounds could be a difference maker for you.
Good luck and have fun!
Darryl Dobbs is the founder of Dobber Hockey and DobberProspects, as well as a former long-time writer for such online publications as Sportsnet, Yahoo! and The Hockey News. You can follow him on Twitter @DobberHockey.
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