Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 10/9/17

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians. Welcome to another awesome day of NHL action at DFSR. Today we have a split slate on tap, with three games during the day and three in the evening. Let's get started with some picks shall we?

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 lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.

GOALIE

EARLY

Tuukka Rask FD - $8300 DK - $8300
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 18.43 DK - 4.61

We start off the early slate with the Bruins #1 goalie who won his first and only game this season, while stopping 26 of 29 shots at home vs. the Nashville Predators. Today, Boston welcomes the Colorado Avalanche to town. The Av's were ranked 21st in the league last season in goals score per game (2.50.) They beat the Rangers 4-2 in their first game, but they got back to their usual losing ways on Saturday as they lost 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils. The Bruins were ranked 9th in goals allowed per game (2.55) last season and they should have their way with the Avalanche this afternoon as Vegas currently has them listed as massive -210 favorites. Rask is an elite play in all formats.

Also Consider: Jake Allen (Stl)

LATE

Cam Talbot FD - $8300 DK - $8400
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 18.67 DK - 4.67

The Oilers' workhorse tender had a rare blowup in his last outing as he allowed three goals on seven shots before he was taken out of the game. His third goal allowed was a bad one as he didn't have the corner of the net covered and the puck slid under his pad. He very rarely has two bad outings in a row and he should be very motivated to bounce back this evening against the visiting Jets. Like most goalies, he plays better in his home barn and last year he was tied for first in overall wins with 42. The Jets can score goals, but they are a complete mess right now and their confidence cannot be good. Talbot earned a shutout vs. the Flames in his first start and the Oilers are currently -180 favorites. He is a solid play in all formats this evening.

Also Consider: John Gibson (Ana)

CENTERS

EARLY

John Tavares FD - $7800 DK - $6900
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 11.73 DK - 3.44

Johnny T is the engine that runs the entire Islanders offense. The team brought Jordan Eberle over from Edmonton in the off-season and it helped last game as Tavares scored two goals and added an assist. He has also fired eight shots on goal in his first two games and has averaged 18.5 minutes per game. He is the boss on the #1 line and the #1 PP unit. St Louis has allowed six goals in their first two games and Tavares is my centre in the three game early slate today.

Stack with: Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee

Also Consider: David Krejci (Bos)

LATE

Connor McDavid FD - $9200 DK - $8400
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 17.86 DK - 5.1

In case you have been living is a deep hole, you already know that this guy is pretty darned good at hockey. "McJesus" is a dangerous fade on any given night and this is an extremely juicy matchup today. The Jets have given up 13 goals in two games. Yikes! That is ugly to say the least. The superstar center only fired two shots on goal last game in Vancouver and he scored a hat-trick on 8 shots in his first game against the Flames. The Jets are awful at the moment, so fading McDavid in any format  is a dangerous idea especially today.

PP Stack with: Leon Draisaitl, Milan Lucic

Also Consider: David Krejic (Bos)

WINGERS

EARLY

Evander Kane FD - $5400 DK - $6200
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 13.18 DK - 3.84

Holy mackerel, this guy is shooting the puck from anywhere and everywhere so far this season. He already has a whopping 19 shots in two games with two goals and two assists while averaging 19 minutes of ice time per game. He has been playing with budding superstar Jack Eichel on the #1 line and #1 PP in Buffalo and he obviously kills penalties as both of his goals so far have been shorthanded tallies. The Devils have a solid goaltender in Corey Schneider, but with his extremely high shot volume and these cheap prices, Kane is an elite play in every single format.

Also Consider: Vladimir Sobotka

Stack with: Jack Eichel

LATE

Jakub Vrana FD - $4300 DK - $4700
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 5.6 DK - 1.7

This young man's superstar teammate, the great Alex Ovechkin is an elite play if you can afford him this evening, but that is obviously a no-brainer, so I'm giving you a good value pick today. The rookie Czech has the honor of playing alongside Ovechkin and so far it is paying off. In two games, Vrana has three assists to go along with six shots on goal and he has averaged 16 minutes of ice-time per game. The Lightning have already allowed eight goals in two games. I love the value that this guy offers in cash games and stacking him with his stud line-mates is one of my favorite stacks of the day.

Also Consider: Vladimir Namestnikov (TB)

Stack with: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov

DEFENSEMEN

EARLY

Alex Pietrangelo FD - $5600 DK - $5800
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 11.27 DK - 3.41

I could not overlook this young man today on such a short slate. He is playing lights out hockey so far this year. In only two games, he has two goals, two assists, 11 shots and 5 blocks while averaging 26 minutes of ice time in those two games. Wow! He is simply too cheap for this kind of production and the Isles have given up eight goals in their first two games. Lock and load in all formats today folks.

Also Consider: Brandon Carlo (Bos)

LATE

Nikita Zaitsev FD - $4000 DK - $4300
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 8.7 DK - 2.59

The Maple Leafs are on a tear to start the year as they've scored 15 goals in their first two games. The young Russian already has a goal, an assist, four shots and eight blocks and he sees ample time on the powerplay and penalty kill units in Toronto. Zaitsev is a great salary cap filler in all formats this evening.

Also Consider: Oscar Klefbom (Edm)

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.