NHL Rookie - Lesson 01 - Stats to Start - Goaltenders

Scoring

• Win = +6 PTS
• Save = +0.7 PTS
• Goal Against = -3.5 PTS
• Shutout Bonus = +4 PTS
• Overtime loss = +2 PTS
• 35+ Saves Bonus = +3 PTS
• Goalies WILL receive points for all stats they accrue, including goals and assists.
• The Goalie Shutout Bonus is credited to goalies if they complete the entire game with 0 goals allowed in regulation + overtime. Shootout goals will not prevent a shutout. Goalie must complete the entire game to get credit for a shutout.

For up-to-the-minute news, analysis and lineups, download the DK Live app, as news, injury reports and betting lines can change throughout the day. Value also unexpectedly can open up due to late lineup changes and late injury news, making it important to stay up to the minute with the DK Live app or DK Live desktop until lineups lock.

Selection

The recent scoring changes for NHL Contests on DraftKings has drastically shifted how we select goaltenders in DFS. As you can see above, goalies now accrue more points for saves with the 35+ save bonus becoming a real kicker, creating tons of value on a nightly basis. This isn’t to suggest that chasing wins and potential shutouts isn’t the way to go, but we can now get a solid floor on cheap goalies who see a high volume of shots, thus increasing their odds of making 35+ saves.

For example, let’s say a goaltender has a sub-par performance by real standards, allowing four goals in a loss. Normally that would lead to a pretty poor fantasy hockey outing. But not so fast, let’s say that same goaltender sees 45 shots and makes 41 saves. That would equate to 17.7 DraftKings fantasy points. If said goaltender’s salary is around $6,800-$7,200, that’s a return of over 2x value. Sure, there’s something to be said for a goaltender who will get the win and a shutout, but if their save volume isn’t there, the scoring won’t be nearly as fruitful.

As for the OT loss bonus of 2+ points, I wouldn’t factor that into your goalie selection much since predicting the losing goaltender in an overtime match isn’t exactly easy.

A high-level goalie is going to be priced in the top tier – $7,800 and above. There will be nights when there might only be a limited numbers of goalies that exceed that price, but just because a goalie is lesser than that price threshold does not mean they are not a high-quality option. Matchup analysis is key in identifying value goalies who are good selections.

Also make sure to pay attention to what goalie is starting. It is not uncommon for teams to rest their starting goaltender, so you want to make sure above all else that you have have selected the starter for that evening’s game. If a backup goalie is starting, it can be a major opportunity to find value. The majority of backup goalies, unless a team is utilizing a true time-share in which the goalies play almost an equal amount, will be a much lower cost. Those goalies can often be good targets if they play on a solid team and have a good enough matchup. Conversely, if a backup goalie is thrown into the fire against a high-powered offense, he may be someone to not only avoid, but to target, by selecting skaters from the opposite team.

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is HardingJ2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.