There is a five game NHL schedule on Friday night, with three of the games featuring matchups between some of the league’s best teams (Anaheim, San Jose, Chicago) facing some of the league’s worst (Buffalo, Arizona, Colorado). Those three big favorites will be heavily used in daily fantasy hockey in both GPP tournaments and cash games (50/50, head-to-head). In today’s article we’ll break things down and highlight what top players and value players to use from those three teams, and other players who are great targets as well. Included also are a few sample FanDuel lineups.

Top Teams to Target Tonight for Daily Fantasy Hockey

The top three teams to target on Friday night are the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks. All three are playing well lately, have explosive offenses, are big favorites and face struggling teams that are at the bottom or near the bottom of the league in most defensive metrics – goals against per game, shots against per game, Corsi %. A combination of players from these three teams should be used to build cash game lineups, and multiple lines for each team could be stacked for tournaments.

Recommended Players for FanDuel

TOP DEFENSEMEN PLAYS

Brent Burns ($6,900) – The Sharks have an outstanding matchup at home to the Coyotes and they’ve been getting scoring from multiple different lines lately, including goals from their 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines in a 5-1 over Colorado on Wednesday. A similar result could happen tonight in a home game against the Coyotes. With this balanced scoring, using a top defenseman like Burns (who had two assists in that last game) is a great way to get coverage for the Sharks’ scoring, regardless of which line scores. Burns has a really high price tag, but he’s worth paying up for considering his five game point streak, his 58 points on the season (2nd amongst defensemen) and the fact that he has points in each of the three games already this season against Arizona.

Cam Fowler ($3,900) – Fowler has not been that consistent this season with only 34 points, however he has been a good player in daily fantasy when the matchup is good. Fowler does get a lot of playing time during both regular strength and on the power play, giving him a lot of opportunities to get involved offensively. Considering the defensive struggles for the Avalanche lately (12 goals against in past three games), Fowler is a nice VALUE play this evening.

TOP LEFT WINGER PLAYS

Jamie Benn ($8,500) – Both Benn and Tyler Seguin have been outstanding for the Stars this season, and they’ve also been very popular for daily fantasy hockey players given how consistent they are and how they can also go off for big games. Benn has 12 points in his past 10 games, and he’s had big games against St. Louis already this season (three goals, four points, 16 shots). The Stars have been home and rested for this game, while the Blues played last night in St. Louis and then flew to Big D. The Stars are probably the fourth best team to target tonight and their players are perhaps better suited for tournament play, but it’s never a bad idea to consider Benn for cash games.

TOP CENTER PLAYS

Chris Tierney ($3,000) – If you’re needing a Center at a low price to complete a tournament lineup, Tierney is definitely the best choice as a VALUE play. The rookie has made the most of his limited ice time lately with five points in his past five games, including three goals. While the Sharks’ top lines will be dealing with the Coyote’s top defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tierney should get a few shifts against weaker defensemen and could have a chance to score again.