Now that the NFL post-season is winding down to its final DFS weekend, and there are still more than two months until MLB opening day, many DFS players will be looking to other sports to fill the void. This mid-winter slot is the perfect time to get involved in hockey, one of the more entertaining fantasy sports out there. DFS hockey shares similarities in roster construction theory with other sports, so we will look at some basic strategy to keep in mind when playing an NHL GPP.

Of primary importance is understanding and respecting the high-variance nature of an NHL GPP. First off, the Las Vegas over/under total on an NHL contest will pretty much be either 5 or 5.5 goals. In addition, based on how strong a favorite a given side is, the projected goals per team varies from a low range of 2.2 to a strong favorite being projected to get 3.

Given the low scoring expectations in the current era of NHL hockey, a player who scores 40 goals in a season is considered a top-level sniper. Average out that impressive total over the 82-game schedule and you see that even he is projected to put home only 0.5 goals in a given game. It is far from unusual to see the top scorers in the NHL go 4 or 5 games without lighting the lamp. Therefore, it is clear that you can put together an optimal lineup on a given night and get zero goals.

Due to the low scoring nature of hockey, it would be safe to say the first commandment of NHL roster construction is that stacking is mandatory in GPPs. Think about it: when your top-level sniper, the one who is still only expected to score an average of every other game, puts one home, the assists are coming from teammates on the ice.

If you, for example, spend up to roster Alex Ovechkin and he scores a goal, it is not going to do you much good when his center and a defenseman get assists and you didn’t roster either one in a GPP. You can be sure a large percentage of your competition who rostered Ovechkin got points for assists. You would be better off not rostering Ovechkin and hoping for a bagel that night as opposed to having him alone on your roster most of the time.

People who have played DFS baseball will be familiar with the theories surrounding NHL roster construction: when one guy in the lineup goes off, others around him in the order will reap secondary benefits. Simply put, there are not enough expected goals in a game for you to not get multiple members of your roster involved when one goes in for you.

The construction of an NHL roster for a H2H/cash game is a slightly different animal, but when facing 1,000+ opponents, you aren’t hitting a top cash without accumulating multiple points on goals. The Gretzky Oilers era is a thing of the past; speaking of which, could you imagine how much Gretzky would cost in DFS?

The scoring format on the two major sites is drastically different. For example, FanDuel gives points for things such as penalty minutes and adds or subtracts points for plus/minus. You would be a bit hesitant to roster players facing each other in a given game on FanDuel, as if your lines are both on the ice for an even strength goal, you are giving back partial points for the minus your guys took while his virtual teammate scored.

On DraftKings, there is no plus/minus factor (nor penalty minutes for that matter). Rostering a goon in a revenge game is useless, as his 5 for fighting plus a 10-minute misconduct penalty do nothing but take him off the ice and eliminate any scoring chance, small as it might have been.

On the other hand, if you are projecting a shootout, you can roll with competing players in a given game and, in fact, gain a nice edge, as your GPP competition may be hesitant to do the same.

Another difference to keep in mind between the two major DFS sites is that FanDuel specifies Center, Left Wing, and Right Wing on a roster, while DraftKings only segregates Centers and Forwards. In addition, on DraftKings, you roster a Utility position in addition to your 2 Centers, 3 Forwards, 2 Defensemen, and 1 Goalie, and that utility spot can be used for any position other than goalie.

In summary, NHL DFS is a very entertaining game, but keep in mind the high variance as well as the very significant scoring differences among the major sites. Roster teammates who figure to be on the ice together during both the power play and the regular line assignments and hope that today is the day that goal earmarked for the top shelf doesn’t clank off the crossbar.

Now, take what you’ve learned and sign up for FanDuel or sign up for DraftKings.