We have a typical slow Friday in the NHL with only 5 games in action. Despite the lack of games though, there are definitely some interesting matchups with several home favorites that are capable of big scoring games. There are a few teams that stand out as strong targets for building cash game (50/50, head-to-head) lineups, while nearly every team is a potential target for building your tournament lineups with the shorter schedule.

In the article today, we’ll break things down and highlight information, stats and recommended players to build winning FanDuel lineups. Included also are sample lineups for cash game and tournament play.

Top Teams to Target Tonight for Daily Fantasy Hockey

Washington Capitals – the Capitals’ top line (Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson) is always a great target, especially at home and facing a weak defensive team (Dallas ranks 3rd last in goals against since all-star break).

Calgary Flames – Calgary has scored 19 goals in their last four games, and get another great matchup, facing Toronto who have lost 15 of their past 16 road games. All five members of the Flames’ top powerplay unit (Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler, Dennis Wideman, and Kris Russell) have been hot and they are priced in the medium salary range. They all make great plays tonight in either cash games or stacked together in tournaments.

Recommended Players for FanDuel

TOP DEFENSEMEN PLAYS

Dennis Wideman ($5,600) and Kris Russell ($4,500) – These two Calgary defensemen have been absolutely on fire lately, while playing together as the Flames’ top pairing and anchoring their powerplay. Wideman has three multi-point games in his last four and 24.3 FanDuel points, while Russell has tallied eight points in that same period and 27.4 FanDuel points. You’ll want to get at least one of them in your cash game lineup, and they could be stacked together in a tournament.

TOP CENTER PLAYS

Ryan Johansen ($7,000) – The Blue Jackets players might be under-owned tonight since they haven’t been a good team overall this year, and they lately haven’t been a good team for fantasy hockey either. However, we just care about what they might do tonight, and it’s hard to look past the Oilers’ 18 goals against in the last three games. Edmonton is an absolute mess defensively right now, and Johansen and the Blue Jackets should take advantage of that. Although Johansen’s point production has been inconsistent in the second half of the season, he does continue to have a high shot total and there is a good chance he breaks out with a goal or a multi-point game on Friday.

Evgeny Kuznetsov ($3,900) – Kuznetsov was a popular rookie-of-the-year candidate pick at the start of the season, and he showed flashes early in the season before going into prolonged slumps. He does have points in two of his past three games though, while playing on the Capitals’ second line and second powerplay unit. Considering his price and the matchup tonight, Kuznetsov makes a great VALUE play.