FanDuel NHL: Friday Targets

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Published on April 15, 2022

SLATE PREVIEW

It's Good Friday and only two games are on tap with the Islanders at Canadiens and Jets at Panthers. The Isles draw the short straw because they're the only team on a back-to-back having lost to the Penguins on Thursday, though they're 1-0-1 against the Habs this season.

Fantasy managers looking for the more high-scoring matchup should focus on the Jets-Panthers considering the combined elite scoring talent with inconsistent goaltending. Their last meeting featured eight goals in a victory for the Panthers. Connor Hellebuyck and Sergei Bobrovsky were the starters last time and they're expected to go again.

GOALIES

Semyon Varlamov, NYI at MON ($7,900): This is an interesting matchup against Sam Montembeault because both netminders have done well head-to-head. Varlamov is 6-1-1 with a .924 Sv% and 2.44 GAA over his career against the Habs while Montembeault is 0-0-2 with a .959/1.22 versus the Isles. Even though the road side is on the second of consecutive nights, they offer more depth than Montreal and haven't had any trouble scoring goals of late.

Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at FLA ($7,400): Hellebucyk's chances of winning will be far greater if the Panthers start Bobrovsky. Neither goalie has looked particularly solid this season, but Hellebuyck's career numbers against the Panthers – 4-2-0/.915 Sv%/2.82 GAA – suggests his chances of coming out on top are pretty good, and at a discount. He's also had three days of rest with Wednesday's game having been postponed due to weather and has also won his two most recent appearances.

VALUE PLAYS

Josh Anderson, MON vs. NYI ($4,500): Martin St. Louis switched up his lines and Anderson has replaced Rem Pitlick is on the top line with Nick Suzuki (currently on a four-game point streak) and Cole Caufield. The power forward has only potted 18 goals this season, but now gets to skate with the Habs' top players and his style complements well with Suzuki and Caufield's more skill-oriented east-west game.

Morgan Barron, WPG at FLA ($3,600): Note Barron is listed as a center, even though he'll be on the wing opposite Nikolaj Ehlers with Paul Stastny in the middle. He produced two points on four shots the last time out while benefitting from a top-six spot vacated by the injured Mark Scheifele.

LINE STACKS

Panthers vs. Jets

Sam Bennett (C - $6,400), Jonathan Huberdeau (W - $9,300), Claude Giroux (W - $6,300)

For $100 less than Aleksander Barkov, Huberdeau offers substantially more offensive upside. Giroux has posted 12 points in 11 games with the Panthers and is on their top power play unit with Huberdeau while Bennett plays on the second group. Florida's offense is too good to get shut out, and the Jets allow the 10th-most shots per game at 32.9 and rank 24th on the PK.

DEFENSEMEN

Ryan Pulock, NYI at MON ($4,800): There's a real dearth of quality defensemen to choose from, so going for value is better. Pulock is back to playing 20-plus minutes a night on the top pair with Adam Pelech and has also been excellent at generating shots from the back end with 16 across his past three games. Pulock may not quarterback the first unit, but he's $1,200 less than Noah Dobson and might end up logging more overall minutes.

Chris Wideman, MON vs. NYI ($4,000): In keeping with the value theme, Wideman offers a lot of upside among Habs defensemen because he's the only one who's on the top PP unit. He does't play a big role at even strength, but will get the majority of the offensive opportunities.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.