Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/14/17

Hello hockey fans and welcome to another exciting day of NHL action here at DFSR. Today, we have a massive 12-game slate in store for us with a few top offenses to go along with some weak defenses, so let's not waste any more time and get started with some 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 lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.

GOALIE

Brian Elliott FD - $7800 DK - $7700
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 14.36 DK - 3.59

After surviving a very lengthy losing streak that ended a couple of weeks ago, the Flyers have now pulled off four straight wins with this guy allowing only seven goals in those four games. The veteran tender gets an easy matchup tonight against the Sabres and their league-worst offense that scores only 2.16 goals per game. Vegas currently has the Flyers listed as -180 home favorites and Elliot is the 23rd most expensive goalie on FanDuel and 15th on Draftkings, so with all of these things considered, he is my top goalie in all formats.

Andrei Vasilevskiy FD - $9500 DK - $8400
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 13.65 DK - 3.41

This young Russian goalie is having one heck of a year so far and with his recent shutout in St. Louis, he became the first goalie to reach 20 victories and he boasts a sensational .933 save % to go along with four shutouts. Tonight's opponent, the Arizona Coyotes, are also awful offensively as they score only 2.24 goals per game, which is second worst in the league. Because Vasilevskiy is on the road, I prefer him in GPP's this evening, but I wouldn't be surprised if he earned his second shutout in a row against a bad Coyotes squad.

Also Consider: Carey Price (MTL) GPP's only

CENTERS

Brayden Point FD - $5800 DK - $5900
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 13.68 DK - 4.34

The Lightning have a bright future ahead of them and this guy will be a big part of their plans for many years to come. The young sophomore centers the #2 line and the #2 powerplay unit and I always like to target him when Tampa is playing on the road because the home team try their hardest to stop the deadly #1 line, which gives the other lines much better matchups. Point is on an impressive five-game point streak with four goals, three assists, and 11 shots and at these prices, he's a solid play in all formats against Arizona's 31st ranked defense.

Stack with: Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson

Vincent Trocheck FD - $6600 DK - $6700
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 16.21 DK - 4.61

This guy has been a regular here lately and that won't change as long as he stays at reasonable prices to go along with his steady production. Trochek is also on a lengthy point-streak, but his is six games long, as he has three goals and six assists to go along with a whopping 31 shots, and he has seven blocks in his last two games. Those are some awesome statistics and he plays on the #2 line and the #1 powerplay unit for the Panthers. Trochek is second amongst centers with 107 shots and the Avalanche own the fifth-worst defense(3.30 goals allowed per game), so lock him and load him in every single format.

Stack with: Jonathan Huberdeau(PP), Evgenii Dadonov, Andre Barkov(PP)

Erik Haula FD - $5900 DK - $4900
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 10.8 DK - 3.2

There is no need to roster the expensive centers when we have guys like this who are producing at these levels. In his last four games, Haula has three goals, three assists, and 14 shots, and he centers the #2 line and the #1 powerplay unit. The Golden Knights own the third best offense and they are squaring off against the Penguins and their ninth-ranked defense, so Haula is another center that I will be rolling out in all formats this evening.

Stack with: James Neal, David Perron

Also Consider: Sidney Crosby (PIT) GPP formats only.

WINGERS

Alex Ovechkin FD - $8700 DK - $7800
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 18.86 DK - 5.44

There are a few high-end wingers in action today such as Nikita Kucherov and Vladimir Tarasenko, but for various reasons, I will be using them in GPP's only. That's not the case for the "Great 8" as he has eight goals and 13 points to go along with 47 shots in his last 10 games, which is exactly the kind of safety we are looking for in cash games and he leads the league with 148 shots on goal. Boston owns a top 10 defense, so his upside may be limited today, but locking Ovechkin into your cash game lineups feels like a very smart decision.

Stack with: Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson

Wayne Simmonds FD - $5300 DK - $5500
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 11.88 DK - 3.53

Philly's offense is on a roll and this veteran winger has been a big part of it lately as he has three goals, two assists, and 12 shots in his last four games while playing on the #1 line and the #1 powerplay unit. It's always a good idea to pick on weak teams and the Sabres allow 3.32 goals per game which is fourth worst in the league, so at these ridiculously cheap prices, Simmonds is a great play in all formats.

Stack with: Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux

Kevin Fiala FD - $4400 DK - $4900
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 9.01 DK - 2.63

I recommended this young man last night and I will go back to the well today as the Predators travel to Edmonton to take on the Oilers and their eighth-worst defense(3.23 goals allowed per game). Fiala has been on fire recently as he is on a four-game point streak with three goals( two on the powerplay), two assists, and 17 shots(The Predators are playing at the time of this writing), and he was recently promoted to the top line and the #1 powerplay unit. He is another guy that is way too cheap at the moment, so fire him up in all formats and spend up elsewhere my friends.

Stack with: Kyle Turris, Craig Smith

Also Consider: Oliver Bjorkstrand (CLB)

DEFENSEMEN

Mikhail Sergachev FD - $4400 DK - $4700
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 10.14 DK - 3.46

Finally, the Lightning have let this guy loose as he has averaged 20 minutes of ice-time in his last two games, which is a huge uptick from most of the season. The highly touted rookie has a goal, an assist, five shots, and three blocks in his last two games and he already has 21 points through 30 games. Very few people know who this guy is yet, which makes him my favorite defensemen from a PTS/$ perspective for your tournament lineups.

Erik Johnson FD - $4500 DK - $4700
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 11.04 DK - 3.26

When it comes to cash games, this guy is what we are looking for as he logs a ton of ice-time every game and he has two goals, an assist, nine shots, and 13 blocks in his last four games. The Panthers are ranked 30th defensively, so there is upside potential here as well as safety, making him a solid play in all formats.

Also Consider: Aaron Ekblad (FLA)

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.