With Christmas right around the corner(5 more sleeps!), the NHL schedule has been condensed this week. Three of the next four days give us 10 or more games on the main slate. If that doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit I guess you should just go watch ELF four more times! Ok, back to hockey for a minute. Tonight we have 12 games on the schedule with five teams(NAS, ANA, DET, STL, CAL) playing on back to back nights. I won't keep you waiting any longer. Let's take a look at some of the top value plays from the projection system.
Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 19.57 DK - 4.89
After a much needed rest following seven straight starts, Dubnyk will be back between the pipes tonight. He leads the league in GAA(1.62) and save %(.947) and is working on a six-game winning streak. He will be in a great spot to continue that streak tonight as the Avalanche come to town with their 28th ranked defense. The Wild open as the biggest favorites on the board(-230) while te Avs are the only team projected under two goals tonight. Roll out Dubnyk in all formats.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 15 DK - 3.75
If you are a risky, contrarian type tournament player you are going to want to consider Schneider at home tonight. The Devils are ice cold right now losing six straight games which is going to have most people scroll over his name. Don't do it! Schneider has the most extreme home/road splits of any goalie in the league this year. His 1-9-4 road record and awful .898 save % have really hurt his overall numbers but let's concentrate on those home splits tonight. He has made nine starts in the Prudential Centre this season and has yet to lose in regulation with a very impressive 8-0-1 record and .920 save percentage. Tonight the Predators come to town playing the second of back to back games on the road where they have struggled to a 4-9-2 record. He will be tough to trust in cash games but is a lock for almost all my tournament lineups.
Also Consider: Carey Price(MTL)
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 16.76 DK - 5.52
The center position is a bit tricky once again tonight with some of the top players in tough matchups. Myself I like going value at the position but if youa re going to pay up I suggest taking the discount from Crosby and rolling with Malkin. He comes with a higher PTS/$ value today on both sites and has been red hot lately. Over his last 10 games he has tallied 13 points including five on the powerplay. What gives him the slight edge over Crosby tonight is the not just the discount but also the shot volume. He is averaging over four shots per game which is a direct results of his elite shot attempts/60 rate(17.44). Looking at the line combinations from yesterday's practice, Malking was skating with Kunitz and Rust which makes a very affordable line stack. If you want to get a piece of the powerplay for upside add Crosby, Hornqvist, or Kessel.
Stack With: Chris Kunitz, Bryan Rust, Sidney Crosby(PP), Phil Kessel(PP)
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 13.31 DK - 4.09
The Wild are going to be a popular team to target tonight and it makes perfect sense. They are not only red hot winning seven straight games, but have scored three or more goals in all but one of those games. Looking at the matchup chart they also get the biggest mis-match of the night as their 6th ranked offense goes up against the Avs and their league worst defense. Staal has been consistent all year averaging just under a point per game and has added safety for cash games with his shot volume(15 shot attempts/60).
Stack with: Zach Parise, Jason Pominville
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 8.17 DK - 2.77
I don't often mention the Canucks in my write ups as they rank 24th in offense but tonight they make a nice low owned GPP play with upside. They will be home to the Jets who are coming off a short two game homestand and now go back on the road where they have struggled to a 5-10-2 record. When jumping on the Canucks offense it is always a good idea to start with the Sedin twins as they lead the team in points. The powerplay is what I will be targeting tonight as the Canucks have scored in back to back games and the Jets rank in the Top 10 in penalty minutes per game so their may be a few extra opportunities.
Stack with: Daniel Sedin, Jannik Hansen, Brandon Sutter(PP)
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 18.02 DK - 5.62
If you are paying up for one player today make it Tarasenko. While he is second in salary on FanDuel behind Crosby, he is fourth in salary on DraftKings which gives him an elite PTS/$ value tonight. With a scorching last 10 games(15 points), he has pulled into second in the overall points race with 38 through his first 33 games. He also offers a very high floor with shot volume as only Ovechkin rates higher in shot attempts per 60 minutes this season. He is practically matchup proof but gets an elite one tonight as the Stars rank 27th in defense, allowing 3.06 goals per game.
Stack with: Robby Fabbri, Jori Lehtera
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 15.72 DK - 5.23
When paying up for any player that you plan to play in any kind of cash game make sure he has a high floor. Enter Joe Pavelski who, at his salary, offers one of the highest floors in fantasy hockey. He is averaging 3.5 shots per game for the season and has seen an uptick lately averaging over four. He has also provided upside on a struggling offensive teams(21st) with eight points over his last 10 games and now has 28 in 32 games this season. Under $8K on both sites, he should be a staple in a large majority of your lineups tonight.
Stack with: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 11.37 DK - 3.64
One of the top value plays in the mid tier is second year player Jonathan Drouin. Like he did late last season when Stamkos was out, he is providing excellent offensive upside. Over his last 10 games he has tallied eight points(four on PP) including at least one in six of his last seven games. He also adds a safe floor for the salary averaging just under three shots on goal per game. The matchup against Detroit looks pretty juicy as they have given up four or more goals in three straight games and three or more goals in seven of their last eight games. Drouin is safe in all formats.
Stack with: Tyler Johnson, Brian Boyle
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 16.66 DK - 5.46
With most of the high end D men either in tough matchups or struggling it makes it easy to turn to the #1 fantasy stud. Burns leads all skaters in fantasy points per game(5.3) on DraftKings and trails only Crosby for the lead(18.9) on FanDuel. He provides value in pretty much every category possible with 30 points(9 on PP) in 32 games, averages over four shots on goal per game, averages just under two blocks per game and most of all intimidates his opponents with a sick beard!
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 11 DK - 3.42
I always seem to find a couple D men and follow them through a streak or terrific buy low levels. Lately it has been Aaron Ekblad who has been providing elite cash game value at a price that is slowly making it way up. He has yet to provide the offensive upside you would expect from a player who takes over 16 shot attempts per 60 minutes and averages over three shots on goal per game. Despite the lack of offense he should be a staple in cash games averaging 3.4 DK/11.7 FD points per game over his last 10 played.
Also Consider: Jonas Brodin(MIN)
Hockey is back and with it comes our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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