Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 1/5/17

Welcome back hockey fans. After a busy Thursday night, we have a much smaller five-game slate tonight with some possible fatigue in play as six teams(PIT, SJ, FLA, BUF, VEG, NYI) are playing the second of a back to back and five of those teams playing a third game in four nights. 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.

GOALIE

Connor Hellebuyck FD - $7800 DK - $8400
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 18.09 DK - 4.52

There are no odds released for this game at the time of writing this but I fully expect the Jets to be close to -200 favorites tonight. First of all, they get a matchup vs. the Eastern Conference's worst team in the Sabres who own the 31st ranked offense and will be playing the second of a back to back on the road. To make things worse, they will have to face Connor Hellebuyck who has been nearly flawless on home ice with a 14-1-1 record to go with a .927 save % and two shutouts. He is by far the top goalie tonight in all formats, especially on FanDuel where he is the seventh most expensive option.

Also Consider: Aaron Dell or Martin Jones(SJ)

CENTERS

Blake Wheeler FD - $7500 DK - $7500
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 15.97 DK - 4.68

The loss of his linemate, Mark Scheifele, has not affected him whatsoever as he has slid over into the center position and scored four goals in his first three games with 15 shots on goal. That puts him just outside the Top 5 in overall points with 47 on the season and on top of the upside he also provides a consistent floor averaging 3.1 shots per game. Tonight he gets an elite matchup vs. a Sabres team that is not only ranked 28th in defense but is also playing the second of a back to back on the road. Fire up Wheeler in all formats.

Stack with: Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor

Evgeni Malkin FD - $8500 DK - $6700
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 15.22 DK - 4.51

This game could definitely be one of the highest scoring of the night considering both teams are playing the second of a back to back, a third game in four nights and to cap it off, both have bottom tier defenses. I will side with the defending champions here(tough for me as a Flyer fan after last game) and roll with Evgeni Malkin who continues to come at a discount on DraftKings from his teammate Sidney Crosby. He has also outperformed Crosby lately with 11 points in his last 10 games with three multi-point efforts and 35 shots on goal and now faces an Isles defense that ranks dead last allowing 3.6 goals per game.

Stack with: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist

Also Consider: Vincent Trocheck & Aleksander Barkov(FLA)

WINGERS 

Josh Bailey FD - $7200 DK - $6500
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 14.36 DK - 4.22

Seeing as have loaded up on the center position tonight I am going to give you some value wingers. Bailey isn't exactly cheap but has seen his salary start to trend in the right direction, at least on DraftKings. With 17 points in his last 10 games, he is now second in the league with 50 on the season and is on pace to obliterate his career-high 56 points from last season. He skates on the top line with John Tavares and while he doesn't provide elite shot volume can be considered in all formats vs. the Penguins 23rd ranked defense that is playing on back to back nights.

Stack with: John Tavares, Anders Lee

Reilly Smith FD - $5600 DK - $4800
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 11.32 DK - 3.3

Next up, we have another supporting player on one of the top lines in the NHL. After coming over to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft, Smith is now on his fourth team in his sixth full season in the league and like Bailey, is also on pace to put up career-highs. He skates on the Knights top line with Marchessault and Karlsson and with 10 points in his last 10 games now has 31 on the season. He also doesn't provide much shot volume for safety but at these cheap prices, especially on DraftKigns under $5K, he can be considered in all formats against a struggling Hawks team that has allowed 22 goals over its last six games.

Stack with: Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson

Timo Meier FD - $3900 DK - $3700
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 8.84 DK - 2.56

Last but not least, we have Timo Meier who sits near the top of the PTS/$ value plays tonight as his price remains in the sub $4K range on both sites and is now skating on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. He went into Thursday night's action with goals in two of his last three games with 11 shots and currently has an assist and two shots vs. the Maple Leafs. Tonight Meier and the Sharks get an elite matchup despite playing in a back to back as they face off with the struggling Senators and their 29th ranked defense.

Stack with: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski

Also Consider: Nikolaj Ehlers(WPG)

DEFENSEMEN

Brent Burns FD - $7100 DK - $7000
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 16.77 DK - 5.08

On a small five-game slate it would be very risky to fade Burns right now as he has been red hot. He has tallied 12 points over his last 10 games with 44 shots on goal for an average of 5.4 DraftKings/19.9 FanDuel points per game. He not only leads all defensemen in shot volume but sits tied for third overall with an average of 4.1 per game giving him an elite floor and ceiling. Even on a small slate, there is more than enough value to fit him in your lineups in all formats.

Jordan Oesterle FD - $4100 DK - $3600
Opponent - VEG
Proj Pts FD - 8.79 DK - 2.53

Oesterle was in and out of the Hawks lineup over the first three months of the season but is now making an impact and has seen his ice-time skyrocket recently. He has skated over 20 minutes in each of his last six games and over 23 minutes in each of his last three and also comes in with a three-game point streak and has 17 shots on goal in his last four games. He is not only skating on the top unit with Duncan Keith but is also getting time on the second powerplay unit. He provides excellent salary relief on both sites and is in play in all formats.

Also Consider: Cody Ceci(OTT)

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.