Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 2/3/18

Welcome back to another busy Saturday in daily fantasy hockey. The day starts off with a couple afternoon matchups featuring the Ducks visiting the Habs and the Sens visiting the Flyers but for the purpose of this article, I will be concentrating on the 11-game main slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET tonight. There are four teams(CBJ, DET, MIN, PIT) playing on a back to back with three teams(TOR, PHI, DET) playing a third game in four nights. With all that said, let's jump in and take a look at some of the top plays at each position and for all my targets be sure to grab a FREE copy of my cheatsheet.

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 - $8400 DK - $8100
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 20.33 DK - 5.08

Hellebuyck and the Jets are in a great spot tonight at home where they have been dominant all season. The team has the second-best home record in the entire league at 18-3-2 and Hellebuyck has been a huge factor in that as he has only lost one game in regulation and sits with a 17-1-2 record to go along with an elite .930 save % and three shutouts in the Peg. Tonight's matchup isn't elite as the Avs still rank 11th in offense on the road but will be a bit short-handed for a while as their best player, Nathan MacKinnon, will be out for the next two to four weeks. All things considered, Hellebuyck is my top goalie tonight and safe in all formats.

Pekka Rinne FD - $8800 DK - $8200
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 15.28 DK - 3.82

If you are making just one lineup tonight, you will have a tough decision to make as we have two excellent options at the goalie position. Rinne only faced 19 shots vs. the Kings on Thursday but he stopped them all for his second straight shutout and has pushed his win streak up to six games while holding an elite .944 save %. That puts him firmly inside the Top 5 in wins(25), save %(.928), and shutouts(5) for the season and tonight he gets another plus matchup. The Preds are at home as big -185 favorites to the Rangers who are coming off a shutout and have dropped seven of their last 10 games. I will be constructing multiple lineups tonight and will liekly split Hellebuyck and Rinne down the middle in all formats.

Also Consider: Kari Lehtonen(DAL) in GPP formats 

CENTERS

Tyler Seguin FD - $8000 DK - $7400
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 15.45 DK - 4.58

This recommendation and matchup is all about the splits and it starts with Seguin. He has been near elite when on home ice with 28 points in 26 games while averaging 4.5 shot on goal per game and is tied for third with 16 goals. Then comes the matchup vs. the Wild who have one of the worst road records in the league(10-14-1) and drop from a #1 defense on home ice to #30 on the road. All things considered, Seguin is my top center tonight and he is safe in all formats.

Stack with: Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov

Anze Kopitar FD - $7000 DK - $6600
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 13.7 DK - 3.95

Kopitar doesn't have nearly the same floor as Seguin averaging just 2.3 shots per game which makes it tough to roster him in cash games but he has more than enough upside to be considered a top GPP play tonight. He has tallied at least one point in 10 of his last 12 games and now sits inside the Top 15 with 53 points on the season. He has a great opportunity to stay hot and add to those totals tonight as the Kings will be at home to face the Coyotes and their 29th ranked defense that has given up 16 goals in their last four road games.

Stack with: Tyler Toffoli, Alex Iafallo

Ryan O'Reilly FD - $5800 DK - $5100
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 12.38 DK - 3.62

I wrote up O'Reilly as a top PTS/$ value in all formats on Thursday but tonight he loses a ton of safety playing a Top 10 road defense in the Blues. He is still cheap however at a tough position to find value and does provide a high floor and ceiling to make an excellent GPP play tonight. He scored the opening goal vs. the Panthers the other night and now has points in four of his last five games and 10 points(5 on PP) over his last 10 games to go along with 34 shots on goal. He works as a value on his own or as a part of a high-upside Buffalo powerplay stack.

PP Stack with: Sam Reinhart, Kyle Okposo, Jack Eichel

WINGERS

Patrick Kane FD - $8400 DK - $6900
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 14.3 DK - 4.13

Patty Kane isn't having the MVP season he had a couple years ago but it's hard to argue with the production as he has 50 points through his first 51 games. The only thing he is really lacking is consistency but that can be closely correlated to the overall team success as well as the Hawks sit in the basement of the Central division. Kane can still be considered for cash games as he averages 3.5 shots per game and the upside is most definitely there as he has already tallied 13 multi-point games(four of 3+ points). The Hawks are on the road but get a plus matchup vs. the struggling Flames who have dropped six straight and have given up 15 goals in their last three. Roll out Kane in all formats.

Stack with: Nick Schmaltz, Brandon Saad

Filip Forsberg FD - $7400 DK - $6500
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 14.46 DK - 4.26

Forsberg returned to the ice on Thursday night after missing just over a month and picked up right where he left off recording two points(one of the powerplay) with three shots on goal. While he won't get a full load of games this season, he is on pace for his best season as a pro, on a per-game basis, as he now has 36 points(18 on the powerplay) in 38 games. He should be able to add to those totals tonight as the not only are the Preds one of the best home teams in the league but they get an elite matchup vs. the Rangers who are one of the worst road teams in the league with an 8-12-2 record and rank 28th defensively.

Stack with: Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen

Mathieu Perreault FD - $4400 DK - $5200
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 10.39 DK - 3.05

The Jets are big home favorites(-185) tonight in a game that is favored to hit the over so getting a piece of their offense is a good idea. I honestly like both of their top lines and powerplay unit(ranked #3) and for value I will turn to Mathieu Perreault who skates on the second line and powerplay unit. He has shown upside lately with nine points in his last 10 games with 29 shots on goal and has also been much better on home ice where he is averaging a point per game on the season. He is safe in all formats but carries his best PTS/$ value on FanDuel in the mid $4K range.

Stack with: Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers

DEFENSEMEN

John Klingberg FD - $6700 DK - $6300
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 13.18 DK - 3.97

If you are paying up for D-man on this slate there has been no one more consistent than John Klingberg lately. He has tallied at least one point in 14 of his last 18 games(22 points total) dating back to mid-December while averaging 2.7 shots and just over a block per game. While he only has one point in his last three games, he is averaging over 24 minutes of ice-time and has tallied 13 shots and six blocks and tonight gets a plus matchup vs. the Wild who really struggle on the road and rank 30th in defense allowing 3.6 goals per game. Klingberg is more than worth a roster spot in all formats tonight.

Jake Muzzin FD - $4600 DK - $5200
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 11.4 DK - 3.4

Muzzin's eight-game point streak came to an end as the Preds shut them out on Thursday night but he should be able to get back on the horse tonight in an elite matchup vs. the Coyotes 29th ranked road defense. He doesn't provide an elite floor by any means with just 21 shots and 13 blocks over his last 10 games(averaging right around 2.0 of each on the season) but he does get plenty of opportunity skating on the second unit and top powerplay. Tonight, he could also see some extra run if Alec Martinez(lower body) were to sit out after sitting out Friday's practice. Muzzin is nice value on both sites and safe in all formats.

Also Consider: Josh Morrissey(WPG) as a punt play

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.