We have some great options for the daily fantasy hockey slate this evening.

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Be sure to check out the DraftKings $3 Sniper contest for tonight’s slate! The link the contest is right here, and the details are below:

– $25,000 prize pool

– First place wins $2,000

– FREE for new users or $3 to join

– Top 1,920 scores win money guaranteed

– Starts on Saturday, December 5th at 7:00pm EST

– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 9 spots – 8 players and 1 goalie

– Roster Format: 2 C, 3 W, 2 D, 1 G and 1 Util

Click here to enter.

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Top Budget Plays

Centers

Peter Holland $2,900 – We are counting on a lot here but Holland at least is a true value play that hovers around $3000. The vital thing is he can block a few shots here and there and fire some pucks on net. That is all anyone can ask for as Toronto does draw a tough match-up against St. Louis. Maybe the Blues get caught napping and the third line long shot play actually works here.

Wingers

Brett Connolly $3,300 – Yes it will be fun to see where Connolly winds up on the depth chart on Saturday but he did see some even-strength time with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Any top-six time is good time for the winger with a dangerous wrist shot. He has not risen up too high as far as cost yet and actually is a good salary cap relief for players who need a cheap, late slate option even.

Defensemen

Shayne Gostisbehere $3,400 – Please note that this is no fluke. Gostisbehere has six points in nine games which includes three power-play goals. That shot is going to be talked about for some time. There are few defensemen that can change speeds and angles like “The Ghost” can. It just seems like every time he takes the ice, the defenseman does something that leaves you going “that is no rookie out there”. Yes, Philadelphia is on a back-to-back but youthful exuberance wins out here.

Goalie

Cam Ward $6,300 – So at this point, we are just taking a huge swing and hopefully it is not a big whiff. Either way, Ward is priced very low and has not played even up to that value. At least, Montreal comes to town a little bruised and battered which may be a good thing for a Carolina team that should allow a good number of shots. If Ward can make the saves then this is a halfway decent GPP play that is pretty high risk.

Since we saved some money on the budget plays let’s look at the few of the pricey options that are worth paying up for today.

Centers

Matt Duchene $6,000 – With the center’s recent hot streak (21 points in 15 games), maybe Patrick Roy’s message finally sunk in. Whatever was said, it clearly worked. Whatever his value winds up being on Saturday, you just simply have to find a way to spend to fit him in. Anytime Colorado and Minnesota do play each other, it tends to be quite the crazy, high paced affair. That should fit right in with Colorado’s top line. Vegas really wants to push the over/under to 6.0 but it should be 5.5. Either way, Duchene is a must play and lock for Saturday.

Wingers

Zach Parise $7,500 – There is a slight possibility that Parise may get that jolt that he did not really have on Thursday night. After all Minnesota playing Colorado just has that effect. While the Wild have been a very good team, they have shown flashes of very ugly play. They narrowly defeated Toronto 1-0 and will need Parise’s speed and offensive punch to survive a Colorado team that can score goals in bunches against Minnesota. This is not going to be an easy game for goaltending. Their mission will be made harder if Parise starts fast early.

Defenseman

Erik Karlsson $7,400 – Karlsson is seriously staple gunned to this perch here. When you watch him against higher paced teams, it is just good to sit back and enjoy. Against Chicago, he was just buzzing around and creating chances galore. Just ask Mike Hoffman who benefitted a few times and ultimately Patrick Kane is still looking for his jock after that Karlsson move in overtime. You pay whatever it takes to get Karlsson on your team this Saturday.

Goalie

Martin Jones $7,100 – This may not be so easy but Jones is kind of the best of the not so best on Saturday. His value is more on DraftKings and that is always a good thing. It will allow you get salary relief while spending good money. Now do watch the goalie situation to see if Jones plays the back end of the back to back here. Worse comes to worse, you then ride Ben Bishop potentially from Tampa Bay.

Chris Wassel has been playing DFS for the last year and has played Fantasy Hockey for over two decades. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. Please note that this is a large Saturday slate. We are targeting only the eight game evening schedule and will have all the breakdowns on Twitter.