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)
Hello everyone, and welcome to an exciting eight-game slate today in the NHL. This evening we have some good offenses playing some bad defenses, but we also have a few goaltenders in extremely favorable matchups. It's going to be a good day in the hockey world. Let's get started.
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.
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 20.69 DK - 5.17
Wow, is Arizona a bad hockey team or what? Pair that with a goalie who has been unreal this season and what do we have? It is very simple. We have a guy who is very tough to fade this evening from a safety perspective. The Coyotes come to Minnesota tonight after losing 6-3 to the Winnipeg Jets last evening. Arizona owns the league's worst offense and the 26th ranked power-play unit. Ouch!! I like Dubnyk even more than normal this evening, based on the fact that he allowed four goals to New Jersey on his home turf (which is actually ice,) in his last game. Why do I like this you ask? It is because that he has been one of the very best goalies in the league this year, as evident by his .938 save % and his 5 shutouts and the fact that he may be lower owned and it is because he is coming off of a loss to the not so good New Jersey Devils. He will be extremely focused tonight and he is the best bet for a win and possibly even a shutout. Lock Dubnyk into your cash game lineups and focus your attention elsewhere folks.
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 17.05 DK - 4.26
Hi goalie Bob, how art thou? You're my favorite goalie that doesn't wear a Montreal Canadiens' uniform by the way. Goalie Bob recently missed three games due to an undisclosed injury, but he came back and only allowed one goal versus the Carolina Hurricanes and their surprisingly recently potent offense in the Jackets' last game. This season is going to be a very exciting race to see who wins the Vezina trophy award, which is the award given to the best goaltender every season. Since we have our cash game goalie situation covered, we need a guy who will not be very highly owned but should be. John Gibson and the Ducks of Anaheim are massive favorites according to Las Vegas, but Colorado has been scoring a few goals lately, so I'm nervous about rostering whoever the Ducks' net-minder will be this evening. Bobrovsky is by far my favorite tournament play. Ottawa has shown potential this year at times, but they still own the league's 21st ranked offense. Why not play goalie Bob this evening and see what happens?
Also Consider: John Gibson (ANH)
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 15.22 DK - 4.76
I knew that eventually, Tavares would heat up. He just had to find some chemistry with his new line-mates and he has been on fire lately. As I'm writing this, I'm looking at his Draftkings price and realizing that he is a must play over there and still a very good play on Fanduel as well. Johnny T has 5 goals in his last 3 games, as well as 10 shots on goal. Dallas is a mess on defense and in goal right now and they own the 28th ranked defense in the league. This will most likely turn into a scoring fest right off the bat today in Brooklyn and look for Tavares to get in on the action. He plays on the top line of course, as well as the #1 PP unit. He is safe in all formats because of his large shot output and has gigantic upside as always.
Stack With: Josh Bailey, Anders Lee
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 14.23 DK - 4.38
Okay, so here's the deal. This 19-year-old rookie sensation was over 60% owned in one of my 100 person cash game lineups a few days ago and it was a fairly large slate. That is crazy. So what we need to do is play him in every one of our cash game lineups today. The reason is that if we don't and he has a huge game, then we are pretty much toast for the night. I am totally fine with having this kid in all of my lineups and it won't take me long to convince you as well. He has a goal, two assists and eight shots on goal in his last two games. On the season the young star has 22 goals, 16 assists, a whopping 148 shots on goal and 37 blocked shots. The Rangers have been awful on defense lately and they've slid all the way down to 17th overall. The total for this game according to Vegas is set at 6.5 goals. Are you convinced yet? You should be. Do not fade this guy in cash games today and stack him with his line-mates in your tournament lineups.
Stack with: Connor Brown, Zach Hyman
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 9.6 DK - 2.8
Our system loves this guy from a PTS/$ perspective and the Blues are starting to give him more ice time lately. This guy has been playing well and he played 17 minutes last time out. Berglund has three goals and six shots on goal in his last two games. Washington has the league's best defense but they allowed eight goals to Pittsburgh in their last game and St. Louis can score goals in bunches. Berglund doesn't need to do much to exceed value today and he makes a nice cheap play to fill your roster today.
Stack with: David Perron, Robby Fabbri
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 17.63 DK - 5.36
I can't believe how cheap Benn and John Tavares are on Draftkings and they're both not super expensive on FanDuel. Our system has a man crush on this guy tonight and I think I do also. I like Benn's line-mate Tyler Seguin tonight as well, but I already mentioned two awesome centers today. Benn started the season off ice-cold, but now he's heating up and that's bad news for the rest of the league. Tonight the Stars play the Islanders and their 24th ranked defense. We have two good offenses today going up against two awful defenses with serious goal-tending issues. This is going to be exciting! Benn scored a goal and added two assists versus the Rangers in his last game. He also has 11 shots on goal in his last three games. Enough said. Play him in all formats today my friends.
Stack with: Patrick Eaves, Tyler Seguin
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 12.48 DK - 4.23
The Blue Jackets own the league's third-best offense and the league's best power-play unit. Here we have a young man who is arguably his team's best player. I know the Senators aren't bad on defense as evident by their 12th ranked squad. But Columbus scores a lot of goals and Atkinson plays on the #1 or #2 line and the #1 PP unit. He has a goal, two assists and six shots on goal in his last two games. Because Ottawa isn't a bad defensive team, he may make a better tournament play stacked with his line-mates, but I wouldn't rule him out of cash games either.
Stack with: Nick Foligno (PP,) Boone Jenner
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 13.88 DK - 3.99
This guy plays on Minnesota's second line which has been one of the best lines in the entire league recently. Our system absolutely loves him and with great reason. He is way too cheap based on his production. He has two goals, an assist and 10 shots on goal in his last three games. Tonight him and the Wild face-off against the awful Coyotes and their second worst defense. This will be Arizona's third game in four nights and they lost 6-3 to the Winnipeg Jets last night. We need exposure to Minnesota today and it starts with Zucker in all formats.
Stack with: Mikko Koivu, Michael Granlund
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 12.32 DK - 4.09
This guy isn't flashy but he gets the job done and he is on the ice for almost half of the game for the Wild every night, so that means he plays on the #1 PP unit, as well as both penalty kills units. Suter has two assists, nine shots on goal and four blocked shots in his last three games. Like I said above, Arizona is awful in every way possible. Look for Suter to be a part of the action this evening in Minnesota. You can use his fellow D-Man Jared Spurgeon at Draftkings for much cheaper, but on FanDuel, Suter is the way to go in all formats.
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 7.74 DK - 2.26
My good buddy Chris Durell told me that this guy would make a good play today, so it's his fault if he doesn't do good. Yep, I just threw him under the bus. He will forgive me. Anyways, this is a pure punt play to complete your rosters and spend up elsewhere. Oh my goodness, I didn't know that this guy has been performing this well lately. He is a shot blocking machine. Johns has an assist, 12 shots on goal and 13 blocked shots in his last four games. He has safety written all over him so lock him into your cash game lineups and relax folks.
Also Consider: Seth Jones (CBJ)
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 accessto 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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