Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/30/17

Welcome back hockey fans. It's a bit slower Saturday than we are used to with just six games tonight but definitely not short of excitement. There are six teams(OTT, NJ, CAR, STL, NSH, MIN) playing the second of a back to back and all but Florida and Los Angeles are playing a third game in four nights. Let's jump in and take a look at some of the top plays at each position for this small slate.

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

Tuukka Rask FD - $8400 DK - $8400
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 14.36 DK - 3.59

It's an unusually small slate for a Saturday but we have some decent goalie options to sift through. It starts with Tuukka Rask who has been red hot lately winning four straight games allowing just five total goals and has completely turned his season around after a slow start and now sits with 23 wins and a .920 save %. He also gets an elite matchup vs. a struggling Sens team that ranks 28th in offense so fire up Rask with confidence in all formats.  

Also Consider: Carter Hutton(STL)

 

CENTERS

Patrice Bergeron FD - $7300 DK - $7200
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 14.8 DK - 4.48
Riley Nash FD - $3900 DK - $3400
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 8.03 DK - 2.37

Center is a tough position tonight with no elite options so I will turn to Patrice Bergeron who has bordered that tier lately. Over his last 10 games, he has provided an elite floor with 44 shots and also flashed upside with seven points including three multi-point efforts. Considering he gets a matchup vs. a struggling senators team that ranks 28th defensively, Bergeron is safe In All formats. 

If you are looking for some value, stick in the same game on the same team and roll with Riley Nash. He is skating on the second line and has been rolling lately with points in 3 of his last four games and has also blocked five shots in his last two. The salary relief is enough to consider him in all formats to help fit the elite players in your lineup on a small slate. 

Stack Bergeron with: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak

Stack Nash with: David Backes, Danton Heinen

 

Also Consider: Anze Kopitar(LAK) in GPP and Aleksander Barkov(FLA) in all formats

WINGERS

Alex Ovechkin FD - $8600 DK - $8100
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 16.75 DK - 4.87

To Ovi or not to Ovi. That is the question. Tonight on a small slate with tons of value at all positions, I think it would be crazy to fade the "Great 8" here considering his high floor and ceiling. He leads the league with 173 shots(4.4 per game) and sits tied with Nikita Kucherov with 24 goals on the season. The matchup isn't the greatest facing the devils mid-level defense but Ovi is practically matchup-proof and can score at will. He is the most talented player on the slate and should be considered in all formats.

Stack with: Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson

Filip Forsberg FD - $7500 DK - $6400
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 12.33 DK - 3.67

**Update - Forsberg has been placed on IR, sorry for the confusion.**

Ovi will definitely be chalk tonight on a small slate and if you are looking to pivot off consider Filip Forsberg of the Predators. He is currently on pace for a career year with 34 points in 36 games this season. The shot volume isn't anywhere near an elite level at 2.6 per game but the upside, discount, and possible ownership gap is more than enough to roster him against a Wild defense that ranks in the bottom half of the league. 
Craig Smith FD - $4500 DK - $5000
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 9.28 DK - 2.72

Sticking with the Preds, Craig Smith presents some very nice value tonight. He has been very consistent lately with nine points over his last 10 games to go along with a whopping 42 shots on goal. He will most likely see an uptick in his ice-time with Filip Forsberg being placed on the IR today. Smith is safe in all formats.

Stack with: Kevin Fiala, Kyle Turris

Alex Galchenyuk FD - $4900 DK - $5000
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 10.34 DK - 3.07

For value at the position, I will turn to Alex Galchenyuk who sits tied for the team lead in points(21) this season and has been shooting the puck a bit more recently with 15 shots over his last five games. Not only does he come cheap on both sites tonight to help fit some top priced players, he also gets a nice matchup vs. the Panthers who rank 27th defensively this season.

PP Stack with: Brendan Gallagher, Daniel Carr

Also Consider: Kevin Fiala(NSH)

 

DEFENSEMEN

Roman Josi FD - $5900 DK - $6400
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 13.94 DK - 4.19

If you are paying up at the defense position tonight, you can't go wrong with Roman Josi. First of all, he sits near the top of the league in time on ice(25.2 min per game) which helps him provide fantasy value in almost every category. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied 33 shots on goal, 16 blocks, and with five points, now has 23 on the season. There is enough value to afford Josi in all formats tonight.

Jeff Petry FD - $4100 DK - $4500
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 8.03 DK - 2.41

On the value end of things, we here at DFSR will continue to ride with Jeff Petry until Shea Weber is back in the lineup or the price reaches a level where we have to consider our options. With Weber on IR, he has seen an uptick in ice-time on the top unit and reached a season-high 28 minutes last game vs. the Lightning. In the five games since the increase in his role, Petry has averaged 4.3 DK/14.9 FD points per game, more than enough to pay off these prices.

Also Consider: Alec Martinez(LAK)

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.