Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) skates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Happy Saturday DFSR crew! Welcome back fo some more daily fantasy hockey. Today brings us a 12 game split slate with two afternoon games (PHI vs. BOS & NAS vs. COL) followed by 10 games on the main slate. There are a ton of teams playing either back to back or a third game in four nights or both. Let's take a look before getting into the picks:
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 - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 19.44 DK - 4.86
At the time of writing this Gibson hasn't yet been confirmed but is likely to start tonight as the Ducks face the Coyotes. He has bee a huge part of his team winning two straight and five of their last six games, pushing them to the Pacific division lead. Gibson has started 10 straight games and been very impressive with a 6-1-3 record, .944 save % and two shutouts. He has also faced 30 or more shots in three straight games giving him a very high floor and gets a great matchup vs. the Coyotes who rank 29th in offense. He is safe in all formats.
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 18.12 DK - 4.53
If you are playing tournaments tonight and looking for some salary relief between the pipes, take a shot with Peter Budaj and the LA Kings. The are home tonight and currently the biggest favorites(-185) on the main slate facing the Jets playing a back to back game on the road and a third game in four nights. The only thing that keeps him out of cash game consideration for me is the fact he has faced 27 or less shots in five straight games and the Jets average 28.6 for the season.
Also Consider: Devan Dubnyk(MIN)
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 14.44 DK - 4.86
If you are looking at the projections you ma be wondering what you are missing if you are sorting the PTS/$ column. Well, McDavid is not near the top anymore as his price has reached elite levels since the start of the season. Speaking of te start of the season, that is when the Oilers and McJesus last played their Alberta rivals. They opened the season with back to back games against the Flames in which McDavid recorded three point in each of those games. He has been heating up coming into this matchup with 10 points in his last 10 games and show terrific shot volume with 37 shots. The high price has me reserving him for GPP only tonight.
Stack With: Patrick Maroon, Leon Draisaitl
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 17.15 DK - 5.35
How awesome is the NHL this year? So many young players coming in and looking like they have been here for years. One of those players is Auston Matthews who sits in a tie for third in goals(21) and inside the Top 25 in overall points. He has also been red hot coming into this game with seven goals and 13 points over his last 10 games with 34 shots. And who doesn't remember his NHL debut in Ottawa where he scored four goals? The discount he provides off the other elite options at the position make him a very safe option in all formats.
Stack with: Connor Brown, Zach Hyman
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 11.8 DK - 3.6
Value is tough to find at the center position but Koivu fits the bill. He is skating on one of the league's most productive lines with Zucker and Granlund where are three players have 26 or more points so far this season. Koivu has recorded 12 points over his 10 games but shouldn't be considered in cash games as the shot volume just isn't there. The Wild, however, make an elite GPP stack vs. the Stars who rank 26th in defense.
Stack with: Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 14.55 DK - 4.4
My buddy, Ryan wrote him up last night and I sure hope you took his advice as he most likely won many people some GPP's with his three points in the 5-2 over the Sabres. We have been high on Skinner's upside all year at DFSR and I am going to jump on Ryan's coattail tonight. Yes the Canes are playing back to back but for the second straight night will be facing an opponent playing their third game in four nights. With six points in his last two games, he has pushed his season total to 35 and when he is on these kind of hot streaks, he is safe in all formats under $7K on both sites.
Stack with: Victor Rask, Derek Ryan
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 11.73 DK - 3.47
The winger position is definitely the place for value tonight and Pearson is another one close to the top of the PTS/$ rankings. After recording just five points in November and seven in December, Pearson has already tallied five in four games in January and looks to have turned up the heat. He gets a value boost playing alongside Jeff Carter who sits second in league scoring behind only Sidney Crosby. The Kings are big favorites(-175) tonight with a projection near 2.9 goals vs. the Jets playing back to back games on the road and a third game in four nights.
Stack with: Jeff Carter
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 9.51 DK - 2.83
Let's get this straight right out of the gate. Bailey is not safe in cash games! His shot volume and overall production has been very inconsistent this season much like his team who sit in the basement of the Eastern Conference. He plays alongside Tavares and is always an option when he is red hot. Well, Tavares is coming off a hat trick last night and Bailey has tallied nine points in his last 10 games and comes with a sub $5K price tag if you need the relief.
Stack with: John Tavares
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 11.47 DK - 3.51
With so many elite players in play tonight I will be going heavy on value D men. Jared Spurgeon plays alongside Ryan Suter on the top unit and is playing just under 24 minutes a game with close to 2.5 of that coming on the powerplay. He has ben red hot lately as well with eight points(2 onPP) in his last 10 games with a nice balance of 19 blocks and 15 shots for an average of 3.3 DK/13.54 D points. He is safe in all formats.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 9.6 DK - 2.95
Scrolling down even farther into the bottom tier we find Sekera who has been providing close to elite value from a PTS/$ perspective. He scored last game in a win against the Devils and now has points in three of his last four games and seven in his last 10 games. The biggest value comes with his safe floor(for the price) as he has also tallied 17 blocks and 18 shots in those 10 games. Ride the value and pay up at Center tonight!
Also Consider: Alec Martinez(LAK)
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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