NHL Playoff Pool Strategies
Drafting an NHL fantasy hockey playoff pool team varies a bit from making fantasy picks for a season long NHL hockey pool.
Whether you are making picks for a Daily Fantasy NHL Hockey Site or for an NHL playoff pool with some of your buddies, we have the playoff pool strategies that will help you improve your picks for your NHL playoff pool.
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Top Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool Strategies
Pick Fantasy Players From The Teams You Think Will Make The Stanley Cup Finals
Time to get out the crystal ball and guess the final four of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Our playoff pool strategy is to choose 4 teams, because it is next to impossible to pick the finals perfectly. Most of your fellow pool mates will just pick the top NHL scorers regardless of what their chances are of making it multiple playoff rounds. But, if these players are knocked out of the playoffs in the 1st round, they can’t get very many points. Look for good players on the best 4 teams and get a bunch of them.
Study The Scoring System of Your NHL Playoff Pool
If you are playing daily fantasy hockey at one of the top fantasy hockey sites, then you need to know what the scoring rules are. Some have goalies favored more, some give you points for penalty minutes, some deduct for +/-, etc.... Picking a top point guy may be a great on one site, but if goals are the only way to get points, those assists could be useless. If you are playing a typical NHL Playoff office pool, know how goalie points work and how player points are calculated - for example, are there bonuses for power play or shorthanded goals. These rules will help you determine which NHL players have more value than another and keep you 1 step ahead of your opponents.
Play the hot hand Going Into The Playoffs
One of our favorite NHL fantasy hockey playoff pool strategies is to choose players that are playing well heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs - as they usually continue their hot streak. Look at the player's last 10 games of the season and make a chart. Daily fantasy sites may neglect to adjust their salary cap prices as the playoffs begin, so there may be some fantasy hockey sleepers waiting for you to pick up on the cheap.
Know The Team Injuries
Every game counts in the NHL playoffs and there are players that will play hurt, but some will take off a game to heal. Make sure you know who is playing and who is not. Also, occasionally, players that miss the end of the NHL regular season to injury make their return in the playoffs – be wary of these fantasy picks. Players that have missed the last 5-10 NHL games (or more) will return out of sync and rusty. They will need a few games to get back into a rhythm and this will cost you your NHL fantasy playoff pool if you’ve picked them.
Know your hockey history
The Stanley Cup playoffs are filled with playoff heroes that were mediocre during the regular season and became fantasy beasts during the NHL playoffs. This seems to repeat every time these players are in the playoffs. Look to see if any of the current NHL players heading into the playoffs have such a history - they will make great NHL playoff sleeper picks.
Make an NHL Sleeper Picks list
Whether you are playing in NHL fantasy playoff pools with your friends or fantasy hockey playoff leagues, sleepers are worth finding. For your daily fantasy hockey team, you can’t fill your salary cap roster with just stars - you need to find the lower priced players that will score valuable fantasy points. In regular NHL playoff pools, you need sleeper picks to fill out your roster of players that will play several rounds and hopefully play in the finals.
Things to keep in mind for your NHL Playoff Fantasy Pool
NHL Playoffs are a sprint
Usually the best players are the best fantasy picks. However, how many games they play is a huge factor for fantasy hockey playoff pools. You need to find the teams that will last the longest, then focus on their top scorers.
The NHL is all about parity
Unlike the NBA playoffs where the top seeds usually advance and meet in the finals, in the NHL playoffs it is fairly common for the 8th seed to knock off the 1st seed. Don’t be afraid to load up on players in the lower seeds as they may actually last the longest in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Try different Daily Fantasy Games
Most top fantasy hockey sites have different games - Salary Cap, Snake Draft or Pick’em. Every fantasy player has different strengths and weaknesses. Look over all 3 game types. Are there NHL sleeper picks to exploit that night in a salary cap game? In the pick’em game, are there favorable matchups to take advantage of? In a snake draft game, is there an opponent you’ve played that you know you can beat? Different NHL playoff scenarios offer you different opportunities to win.
