Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury plays against the Nashville Predators in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Welcome back hockey fans. After a crazy busy 13-game slate on Saturday, we are back with a much smaller five-game slate. There is one early game with the Flyers visiting the Capitals and for the purpose of this article I will be concentrating on the four-game main slate starting at 6:00 p.m. ET tonight. Let's dig in and take a look at some of the top plays.
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.
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 15.86 DK - 3.97
Even in limited playing time due to an early-season injury, Marc-Andre Fleury has earned a spot on the All-Star and he more than deserves it with a 10-3-2 record and elite .945 save % on the season. I have preached using him when Vegas is playing at home but he has actually been even better on the road with a .959 save % in six starts and is coming off back to back games on the road where he has allowed just one goal. Tonight he faces a Carolina team that is playing the second of a back to back and going into Saturday night had dropped six of their last eight games. Fleury is my top choice in all formats.
Also Consider: Jonathan Quick(LAK)
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 16.28 DK - 4.77
The Jets have the #1 offense on home ice this season and it's not even close as they are averaging 4.1 goals per game. Wheeler has been their best offensive threat this season as he leads the team with 53 points and has been carrying them in a big way since Mark Scheifele went on the IR at the end of December. Over his last 10 games, Wheels has tallied 12 points while also providing a safe floor with 31 shots on goal on 20+ minutes of ice-time per game. Today, he gets a terrific matchup vs. the Canucks who, despite winning two straight, sit second to last in the Western Conference and rank 26th in defense. Fire up Wheeler in all formats on this small slate.
Stack with: Kyle Connor, Patrik Laine
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 9.9 DK - 2.89
You can never trust big Joe Thornton in cash games with his 1.6 shot per game average but he makes a nice GPP play on a small slate. He comes in red hot with goals in four straight and eight points in his last 10 games so it feels a bit like chasing points but on a four-game slate with limited options, he is fully in play here.
Stack with: Joe Pavelski, Timo Meier
Also Consider: Sean Couturier(PHI) if you are playing the two-game early slate
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 14.25 DK - 4.45
Marchessault is earning every penny of his new six-year deal with the Golden Knights as he is well on his way to career highs across the board. He is averaging a point per game with a +19 rating through his first 42 teams in Vegas after posting just 52 points and a terrible -21 rating last year. He has also been very consistent lately with points in 11 of his last 14 games and has also provided a high floor for cash games averaging 3.7 shots per game. The matchup is a good one today as the Hurricanes, going into Saturday night, have dropped six of their last eight games while giving up 29 goals(3.6 per game) and rank 22nd overall on defense. Fire up Marchessault in all formats.
Stack with: Reilly Smith, William Karlsson
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 8.18 DK - 2.37
For value on this small slate, I will be turning to Adrian Kempe. He is having a promising first full season in the show with 23 points in his first 45 games while skating primarily on the second line with Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson. Lately, he has been getting even more opportunities as he joined the top powerplay unit with Kopitar and Brown a few games ago and now gets an elite matchup vs. a Rangers team that struggles on the road ranking 22nd in defense away from Madison Square Garden.
Stack with: Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Anze Kopitar(PP)
Also Consider: Alex Ovechkin(WSH) for the small, two-game slate
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 11.15 DK - 3.34
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 9.81 DK - 3.03
Muzzin returned from injury this week and picked up an assist in both games to extend his point streak to four games overall. He skated 19.7 minutes in his first game back and was extended to 22.5 minutes on Friday night and best of all comes at a value price. He doesn't have the same floor as Alec Martinez with his elite shot blocking but has a higher ceiling and gets a great matchup vs. the Rangers playing on a back to back and have been much worse on the road this season. If it's safety you are after for cash games, fire up Martinez who has recorded 27 blocks and 17 shots over his last 10 games.
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 8.46 DK - 2.48
If you are looking to punt the position in an effort to jam as many talented forwards as possible, consider Josh Morrissey. He isn't going to provide us much offensive upside with just 18 points on the season but is offering some nice PTS/$ value with 22 blocks and 14 blocks over his last 10 games while skating around 20 minutes per game.
Also Consider: Brent Burns(SJ) for GPP formats if you can afford him today
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.
Week 12 DraftKings and FanDuel cash game NFL plays.
DraftKings and FanDuel Week 11 cash game NFL plays
Week 10 NFL cash game picks for DraftKings and FanDuel
Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks & Projections Playing NBA DFS Nightly? Join one…
Week 9 NFL DFS plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Packed slate of NBA action on FanDuel and DraftKings
View Comments
NHL sheet for today:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lKF8H51VCwsL98zvtfCNPtgS_ANqnJujYb1kHTqyGs/edit?usp=sharing