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)
Welcome back to another Hockey Night in Canada edition of our daily fantasy hockey picks. There is one afternoon game that features the Sharks facing the Sabres in Buffalo but for the purpose of this article, I will be concentrating on the 11-game main slate tonight. Of the 22 teams on the ice tonight, there are six(NJ, CBJ, STL, NSH, CHI, COL) playing on back to back nights and both the Blue Jackets and Blues are also playing their third game in four nights and will be facing off. Let's jump in and take a look at some of the top plays at each position.
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.
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 18.14 DK - 4.53
Once again my top goalie is the Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy. He has been an absolute workhorse this season as he is tied with Mike Smith of the Flames with 10 starts this season and has posted some tremendous numbers going 9-1 with 2.20 GAA and .936 save percentage with one shutout. Tonight he and the Lightning are big -175 home favorites as the Ducks come to town having won just one of three road games this season and sit in the bottom half of the league in offense to start the year. Vasilevskiy is my top play in all formats tonight.
**Update - It appears Vasilevskiy will be getting the night off so for cash game I may turn to Quick(uncharacteristic on the road but he is elite. I will also be splitting splittig with Jake Allen(STL) due to this tough goalie slate.**
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 15.16 DK - 3.79
If the Kings were at home it would be a lot tougher choice between Quick and Vasilevskiy as my top option. Of all the goalies with five or more starts this season, Jonathan Quick sits right at the top with an elite .944 save % which has helped the Kings to the #1 defense allowing under two goals per game. It's not like they are limiting the shots he faces either as he currently sees 33+ shots per game which for fantasy, only gives him an even higher ceiling for tournaments. Tonight the Kings head to Boston to face the Bruins and Vegas has this game as a pick'em leaving Quick as a GPP only play.
Also Consider: Cory Schneider(NJ) for GPP formats
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 18.16 DK - 5.21
I keep getting asked, "Why no Auston Matthews in the write-ups"? Well, it honestly just comes down to all the elite options at the position this season. Tonight it will be a tough decision between him and Steven Stamkos but I lean Matthews as he faces a Flyers team on the road after a tough loss. The thing about the Leafs that is great for fantasy is the fact they lead the league in offense scoring 4.3 goals per game but also have a weak defense that ranks near the bottom giving up 3.6 goals per game. This leads to a ton of high-scoring games and their offense is lead by the second year star that has already posted14 points in his first 10 games including five multi-point efforts. He is a safe play in all formats.
Stack with: Zach Hyman, William Nylander, Patrick Marleau(PP)
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 7.7 DK - 2.24
On the value end of things, we have second-year player Adrian Kempe of the Kings. He only played 25 games with the team last year before heading back to the AHL where he somewhat under-performed with just 20 points in 46 games. he made his return to the show this season and seems to have found his swagger and has scored a goal in three straight to give him nine points on the season. It has earned him a top six role with the Kings as he is skating on the second line with Pearson and Toffoli. He doesn't give us a ton of shot volume(1.7 per game) nor does he get much powerplay time right now but with a mid $4K price tag, he is an excellent value in all formats.
Stack with: Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson
Also Consider: Sean Couturier(PHI)
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 18.92 DK - 5.55
Ya, these guys are good and driving the train in Tampa Bay as they sit at the top of the league with a 9-1- record(17 points). They became the first teammates since the 1992-93 season to start the year with 11-game point streaks. For Kucherov, eight of those 11 games have been multi-point efforts which give him a huge ceiling for tournaments and he is also averaging four shots on goal per game which give him a very high floor making him an elite play in all formats.
Stack with: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov
Opponent - CBJ
Proj Pts FD - 13.7 DK - 3.86
It's really hard to follow a write-up of any player after the Lightning combo but if you are looking to go a little bit more balanced in your lineup, strongly consider Jaden Schwartz. He is currently working on a six-game point streak and has recorded at least one point in 10 of his 11 games this season for a total of 15 total. The shot volume isn't quite in the elite territory but with 2.8 per game and a mid $6K price tag on both sites, he can also be considered in all formats despite playing on back to back nights as he will be facing the Blue Jackets backup goalie tonight.
Stack with: Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 12.1 DK - 3.52
Heading even further down the value chain we find Clayton Keller of the winless Arizona Coyotes. Just because the team is struggling does mean we can't find value and Keller is a perfect example as he leads all rookie's with seven goals and 11 points this season while skating just under 20 min a game on the Yotes top line and powerplay unit. He is also providing us with a very stable floor as he is averaging 3.8 shots on goal per game. Roll him out with confidence in all formats tonight.
Stack with: Derek Stepan, Max Domi
Also Consider: Anders Bjork(BOS), Brandon Saad(CHI)
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 13.15 DK - 4.05
If you go somewhat balanced at the forward positions, my top defensemen to pay up for tonight is the Predators Roman Josi. He is an excellent play in all formats as he skates over 25 min per game and leads all players with 4:55 of ice time per game on the powerplay. He has tallied five points through seven games this season and gives us the shot volume we need in cash games with 32 shots on goal(4.6 per game).
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 10.65 DK - 3.18
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 11.33 DK - 3.46
The Kings are one of my favorite teams to turn to when looking for defense. Drew Doughty is an elite option but I like to save salary most nights and roll with the value options. It starts with Jake Muzzin who is an excellent play in all formats as not only gives us a high floor with 29 shots and 18 blocks but he also provides us with some offensive upside as he has tallied nine points in 10 games this season. Alec Martinez doesn't give us the same kind of upside but comes at a mid $4K price tag on both sites and has a very high floor due to his elite shot-blocking ability(2.7 per game) that includes 19 in his last four games.
Also Consider: Will Butcher(NJ), Mikhail Sergachev(TB)
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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