This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
A new NHL season and a new fantasy season are upon us. We've got four games to kick off the festivities. Here are some players worth targeting to get your 2016-17 DraftKings hockey action off to a good start.
GOALIE
Jonathan Quick, LOS at SAN ($7,700): Quick will cost you less than Jake Allen ($7,800) and Martin Jones ($8,000), and he's just as good an option as either. The 30-year-old is a good goalie with a good defense in front of him; San Jose may be defending the Western Conference champion, but this game isn't likely to be a barnburner. There aren't any truly obvious matchups to earn an easy win, so Quick is a good as option as anybody, and at a good price.
CENTER
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM vs. CGY ($4,900): The 2011 first overall pick feels sort of forgotten, what with Connor McDavid's presence and the additions of Milan Lucic and Adam Larsson. However, Nugent-Hopkins is really talented and is a top-six forward who sees power-play time. The Flames may have a new goalie, but that doesn't guarantee their goal-prevention problems are solved. The Nuge's problem has always been staying healthy, and that's not an issue for him now.
Sam Bennett, CGY at EDM ($3,700): As a 19-year-old rookie, Bennett showed promise by scoring 18 goals in 77 games, and he saw almost two minutes of power-play time per game. Now he's 20 and perhaps ready for a bigger role, and this is a nice matchup in terms of scoring potential. As one of the cheapest players available, Bennett is a nice choice if you want to spend big elsewhere.
WING
Bobby Ryan, OTT vs. TOR ($5,000): It's been a while since Ryan's 30-goal days, but he's still a goal scorer who takes a lot of shots and gets plenty of opportunity to put up offensive numbers. That's good when it comes to a matchup with the Maple Leafs, who are still young and inexperienced, which probably means they also won't be very good. It helps that Ryan's cheaper than teammates like Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman.
Leo Komarov, TOR at OTT ($4,300): Here's a sneaky option if you're looking to save some cash and take advantage of what might be a high-scoring game. Komarov played well before his injury last year and is likely to see top-six minutes for the Leafs, maybe even top-line minutes at right wing. For the low price of $4,300, he's a nice choice given his potential.
Artemi Panarin, CHI vs. STL ($6,300): What will the reigning rookie of the year do for an encore? We don't know, but there's no reason to believe in a sophomore slump. We're talking about a guy in his prime who scored 30 goals, 77 points and 24 power-play points last season. He's pretty pricey, but still a good value with his skills and point potential. You don't need to scrape the bottom of the barrel for every lineup slot, after all.
DEFENSE
Jake Muzzin, LOS at SAN ($5,400): It's probably not fair to call Muzzin a poor man's Drew Doughty. He is at the very least a slightly less rich man's Doughty. Muzzin is a very good player who racks up plenty of points, but will cost you $400 less than Doughty on Wednesday. That's enough of a discount to make him a good pick.
Oscar Klefbom, EDM vs. CGY ($3,900): Klefbom was snakebit last year, but now he's healthy and somebody has to play minutes among the Oilers' not particularly impressive defensemen. The Swede was thought to be a player who could step into a big role, and he should get a chance. Since plus-minus doesn't matter here, there's no reason not to pick up Klefbom at his price.
