Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 1/16/17

Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 1/16/17

Welcome back hockey fans. Tonight we have six games on the schedule with five of the Top 10 offenses in action and three teams(NYI, DAL, SJ) playing the second of a back of back. 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

Aaron Dell FD - $8200 DK - $8300
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 17.75 DK - 4.56

Goalie is an extremely tough position tonight as at the moment there is no favorite over -145 and that is the Sharks who are not playing on a back to back but also on the road. Martin Jones got the win yesterday against the Kings so I am going to go ahead and presume it will be Aaron Dell between the pipes. He has been one of the better backups in the league this season and has been terrific lately with a 7-0-2 record over his last 10 games(seven starts) with a .925 save % and a shutout. Considering the limited options that qualify as safe for cash games, I will be rolling with Dell(or Jones if he starts) in all formats.

Marc-Andre Fleury FD - $8300 DK - $8000
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 16.97 DK - 4.24

Another road goalie but this time for GPP formats only as the Golden Knights are currently slight underdogs going into Nashville to face a Predators offense that ranks inside the Top 10 this season. Fleury has not only been terrific lately with a 6-2-2 record, .935 save % and two shutouts, but he has also been good on the road in a limited sample with a 3-1 record and .957 save %. Seeing as both teams rank inside the Top 10 in defense, I can see a low scoring game and personally would give the edge to Vegas who currently sits atop the Western Conference standings.

CENTERS

John Tavares FD - $8600 DK - $7700
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 14.66 DK - 4.22

The Islanders are sitting on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture but it is definitely not because of their offense which ranks second overall this season. That powerful offense is led by John Tavares who currently(playing right now) sits seventh in league scoring with 52 points and has been even better on home ice with 33 of those points in 21 games. Tonight he gets a matchup vs. a struggling Devils team that has dropped six straight games while giving up 26 goals(4.3 per game). Fire up Johnny T in all formats.

Stack with: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey

Brayden Schenn FD - $6800 DK - $6000
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 12.12 DK - 3.54

Schenn hasn't been near as good as he has been all season lately with just five points over his last 10 games but the good news is that his salary has trended back down bringing him into play for GPP formats, especially on DraftKings. Three of those points have come in the last four games in some tough matchups so it's a good time to jump back on board before that price starts trending back up into the $7K range. More good news as Schenn has also been better on the road this season averaging over a point per game and faces a Leafs team that has dropped five of their last seven games while giving up 23 goals(3.3 per game).

Stack with: Alex Steen, Dmitrij Jaskin, Vladimir Tarasenko(PP)

 

Also Consider: Joe Thornton(SJ) in GPP formats in a plus matchup vs. the Coyotes 30th ranked defense, Sean Couturier(PHI) in all formats

 

WINGERS

Taylor Hall FD - $7700 DK - $7500
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 15.59 DK - 4.54

If you are paying up for one winger tonight, make it Taylor Hall who is on an absolute tear lately. He comes in with three straight multi-point games and 13 points over his last 10 games as he is single-handedly carrying the Devils offense this season with 44 points in 40 games. On top of that, he gets an elite matchup vs. the Islanders who sit right at the bottom of the league in defense and are playing the second of a back to back on the road. Fire up Hall in all formats.

Stack with: Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt

Craig Smith FD - $4700 DK - $5400
Opponent - VEG
Proj Pts FD - 11.88 DK - 3.45

Smith is no stranger to my articles lately and there is a reason for that as he ranks right up there from a PTS/$ perspective. The upside is very inconsistent with just 25 points on the season but where he stands out is in the shot volume department as he has seen a huge uptick over the last 10 games as he has recorded a whopping 43 shots on goal(3.0 on the season). He also comes in with goals in two of his last three games and very well could be lower owned tonight in a tough matchup vs. the Golden Knights who are a Top 10 defensive team. The shot volume and mid-range salary make him a safe play in cash games and in GPP formats you can stack him with his linemates.

Stack with: Kevin Fiala, Kyle Turris

Timo Meier FD - $3900 DK - $4400
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 8.88 DK - 2.57

To play a few of these top priced players in great matchups we are going to need some low-end value plays and Timo Meier continues to show up when looking at PTS/$. The upside is somewhat limited as he has just 13 points on the season but five of those have come in the last 10 games and he is getting the opportunity skating on the top line and also getting plenty of powerplay. More good news as the Sharks get an elite matchup tonight as they travel to Arizona to take on the Coyotes who rank 30th overall on defense and own the leagues worst record.

Stack with: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski

 

Also Consider: Jonathan Marchessault(VEG) in GPP formats at projected lower ownership

DEFENSEMEN

Brent Burns FD - $7400 DK - $7200
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 16.86 DK - 5.1

There is likely no way Burns is not the most popular option on defense tonight but fading him would be a huge mistake. He not only has points in five straight and 13 of his last 15 games but he also has seven multi-point games in that time and has also tallied six or more shots seven times. There is no one with kind of floor or ceiling, forward or defense, and to top things off he gets an elite matchup vs. the Coyotes who rank 30th overall on defense allowing 3.5 goals per game.

Sami Vatanen FD - $4800 DK - $4000
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 10.21 DK - 3.01

When looking for a top PTS/$ value play we are looking for some sort of combination of shots, blocks, ice-time, powerplay opportunities, offensive upside, and matchup. Enter Sami Vatanen who checks off every single category tonight. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied six points(two on the powerplay) to go along with 27 shots and 16 blocks. He skates on the Devils top unit at even strength and the top powerplay unit while averaging over 21 minutes per game and gets a plus matchup vs. the leagues worst defense who is playing the second of back to back games on the road. He is an elite play in all formats, especially on DraftKings at just $4K.

 

Also Consider: Colton Parayko(STL)

 

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.

Chris Durell