Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/19/17

Welcome back daily fantasy hockey fans. After a couple quiet nights on the ice, we get a big 10 game slate on Tuesday that includes eight of the Top 10 offenses as well as eight of the bottom 10 defenses. Let's jump in and take a look at some of the top plays at each position and don't forget to grab a copy of my daily cheatsheet in the comments section.

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

Pekka Rinne FD - $8900 DK - $8000
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 19.86 DK - 4.97

What makes the goalie position tough tonight is that most of the top goalies are playing on the road and vs. some stiff competition. Enter Pekka Rinne who is at home tonight where he and the Preds have been lights out all season. Rinne has also been elite most recently no matter where he plays with an 8-1-1 record with a .941 save % and has also added two shutouts. The Preds are currently -155 favorites tonight and while the Jets have been a Top 10 offense overall, they have not been as powerful on the road averaging just 2.5 goals per game away from "The Peg". All things considered, Rinne is the top option between the pipes tonight and can be considered in all formats.

Carey Price FD - $8600 DK - $8000
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 18.3 DK - 4.58

After a hot start upon returning from injury, Price has faltered a bit losing four of his last five games but still has some impressive numbers. Over those 10 starts since getting back in the lineup he has won six with an excellent .935 save %, one shutout, all while facing over 30 shots per game. The Habs are road favorites tonight leaving him a GPP only play but they get a nice matchup vs. a struggling Canucks team that has dropped five of their last six games while scoring just 10 goals(1.7 per game) and now rank 21st in offense this season. With a big selection of goalies available, Price could also offer a bit of ownership separation.

Also Consider: Marc-Andre Fleury(VEG)

CENTERS

John Tavares FD - $8500 DK - $7400
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 17.32 DK - 4.93

Johnny T is having a huge bounce-back season leading all centers with 19 goals and sits third overall with 40 points after recording just 66 all of last season. He comes into tonight red hot with points in four straight and eight of his last 10 games including four multi-point efforts and he isn't just an upside play as he is averaging three shots on goal per game making him safe in all formats. He and the Islanders also get a plus matchup vs. the Red Wings and their 24th ranked defense.

Stack with: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey

Vincent Trocheck FD - $6700 DK - $7200
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 15.76 DK - 4.49

The price continues to go up but it is completely justified as he has been one of the more consistent PTS/$ plays this entire season. We have discussed his floor all season as he continues to fire the puck as much as anyone as he sits 13th overall with 110 shots(3.3 per game) and has been even better lately with 41 shots over his last 10 games. The upside he has shown is what has helped push his salary up as he has 10 points over his last 10 games and 33 on the season. Fire him up in all formats tonight vs. the Coyotes who rank who rank dead last in defense while allowing over 35 shots against per game.

Stack with: Denis Malgin, Aleksander Barkov(PP), Jonathan Huberdeau(PP)

Kyle Turris FD - $5700 DK - $5800
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 11.37 DK - 3.37

If you are looking to go a little more balanced at the position, don't forget about Kyle Turris. He comes in red hot with points in seven straight and nine of his last 10 games and now has 17 points in his first 17 games with the Predators since joining the team back in early November. He isn't really ever in consideration in cash games as the shot volume is very low but he comes at a value price in the sub $6K range on both sites making him a top GPP play tonight at home vs. the Jets.

Stack With: Craig Smith, Kevin Fiala

 

WINGERS

Alex Ovechkin FD - $8800 DK - $7700
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 19.65 DK - 5.65

It's close at the top tonight between Ovi and Kucherov who sit tied for the scoring lead with 23 goals apiece but I lean the "Great 8" as he is not only a bit cheaper on both sites but also has a much higher floor. He leads the league 156 shots on goal and has been better on the road this season averaging 4.9 shots per game. He comes in red hot with back to back multi-point games and has 15 points over his last 10 games. Fire up Ovi in all formats.

Stack with: Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom

David Pastrnak FD - $7300 DK - $6900
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 14.91 DK - 4.42

The Bruins are playing on a back to back and their third game in four nights leaving Pastrnak as a GPP only play for me and combine that with all the elite options at the position, and I think he could be a bit lower owned tonight. Going into Monday night's game he was red hot with points in 11 straight games with 31 shots on goal and sits second to only Patrice Bergeron on the team with 84 shots on the season. Look for the production to continue tonight as he gets an elite matchup vs. the Sabres who sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and rank 28th in defense

Stack with: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand

Mike Hoffman FD - $6700 DK - $5300
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 11.56 DK - 3.48

This play is a GPP only play on FanDuel but on DraftKings, he is in play in all formats as his salary has dropped from the mid $6K range to the low $5K range over the last week or so. The Senators offense has struggled this season ranking 24th overall but Hoffman has been providing some upside with 22 points sitting second behind Mark Stone. More importantly, he provides us with a high floor as he has tallied 36 shots over his last 10 games and 109 on the season for an average of 3.5 per game.

Stack with: Ryan Dzingel, Derick Brassard

Also Consider: Brendan Gallagher(MON)

DEFENSEMEN

Mikhail Sergachev FD - $4700 DK - $5000
Opponent - VEG
Proj Pts FD - 11.41 DK - 3.52

Like Ryan mentioned not too long ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning have unleashed rookie Mikhail Sergachev who was drafted 9th overall in 2016. He has been red-hot coming into tonight with points in eight of his last 10 games(five on the powerplay) with 22 shots and 10 blocks for an average of 3.7 DraftKings/13.8 FanDuel points per game. He has also been putting up these numbers while skating just over 16 minutes per game and I fully expect him to start seeing more ice-time which is only going to add to the value. At these prices, he is safe in all formats tonight.

Jordie Benn FD - $3800 DK - $3400
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 8.72 DK - 2.53

Whenever the Habs are playing I always seem to turn to Jordie Benn for a punt play, especially on larger slates when we are trying to fit in multiple star players. He isn't going to give us much if any offensive upside but always seem to hit his value from a PTS/$ perspective thanks to a nice balance of shots of blocks. Over his last 10 games, he has 22 block and 20 and shots and I will be using him in all formats tonight.

Also Consider: Josh Morrissey(WPG)

 

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.