Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) skates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
After a nice little three-day Christmas break, the NHL returns with a massive 11-game slate on Friday night. Let's dig in and take a look at some of my core plays at each position. Want more? Make sure to jump into chat and as I discuss line combinations and all my favorite cash, GPP, and value plays on this slate.
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Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 19.1 DK - 13.7
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 22.78 DK - 16.93
The Avalanche went into the Christmas break with the second-best record in the Western Conference and while a lot of that rests on their #1 ranked offense, the defense and goaltending have also played a huge part(#9 ranked defense). Grubauer has been the main goalie in Colorado with 21 starts but with his struggles over the last couple of weeks, we could be seeing a changing of the guard, if you will. Rookie, Pavel Francouz, has done everything in his power to win over his coach and teammates winning seven of his last eight games with a .942 save %. As -210 favorites at home vs. the Wild's 28th ranked offense, I will have exposure to whichever goalie is between the pipes but will be overweight if it's Francouz.
Also Consisder: Braden Holtby(WAS), Frederik Anderson(TOR)
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 19.08 DK - 15.45
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 17.32 DK - 14.04
The Devils/Leafs game is currently(mid-afternoon Thursday) the only one on this slate with a 6.5 total and we will be concentrating on the Leafs who have the third-highest implied goal total(3.8) in the system tonight. Considering Matthews/Tavares are the 6th/8th most expensive centers on DraftKings and the 5th/9th most expensive on FanDuel, I will list them both and could even make the case to stack them together. First of all, they both give you elite shot volume averaging over three shots per game on the season and both have been red-hot lately averaging over 15 DK/17 FD points per game in their last 10. In a matchup against the Devils 29th ranked defense, I consider the Leafs centers elite plays in all formats.
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 11.64 DK - 9.36
The Hurricanes got some much-needed offensive depth back as an early Christmas present with Haula returning to the lineup. In two games back, after missing 15 with a knee injury, he already has three points and most of all has seen an uptick in shot volume with eight in those games. He is still very cheap on both sites, is getting time on the powerplay, and gets a plus matchup against a Rangers team that ranks 26th on defense. Haula is my top value center and one of my top overall values on this slate and in play in all formats.
Stack with: Ryan Dzingel, Martin Necas
Also Consider: Nathan MacKinnon(COL) or Patrice Bergeron(BOS) as elite pay-up plays in all formats or Brock Nelson(NYI) as a mid-tier value in all formats
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 18.12 DK - 14.75
If you have the salary to spend up tonight, especially on FanDuel, David Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin are both elite plays but for PTS/$ purposes I absolutely love Pacioretty tonight. First of all, he provides an elite floor like the aforementioned players as he averages four shots per game with the third-highest shot attempts per 60 rate(24.1) in the league. He also comes in red-hot with 11 points in his last 10 games and face a Ducks team that has given up 20 goals in their last five games. Fire up Pacioretty in all formats.
Stack with: Chandler Stephenson, Mark Stone
Opponent - CBJ
Proj Pts FD - 13.54 DK - 10.57
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 10.25 DK - 8.16
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 10.16 DK - 8.39
There are three players in the mid-range that present value tonight and all for different reasons. Let's start with Jakub Vrana who has provided consistent value all season and it starts with his elite floor averaging 11.9 shots and 20.4 shot attempts per 60. On top of that, he is easily on pace for a career season with 31 points in just 38 games after tallying 47 in 82 games a year ago.
On the other bench in this Blue Jackets/Capitals game we have Nyquist whose value comes with opportunity as he has replaced Oliver Bjorkstrand(injury) on the Blue Jackets top line. He has not provided much of a floor on the season(7.7 shots/11.1 shot attempts per 60) but has been solid lately with points in five of his last six games. The price is a little steep on FanDuel so I would reserve him for GPP only but the price and opportunity has me liking him in all formats on Draftkings.
Finally, we have Jake DeBrusk who has been the least consistent of the three on the season but comes in as the cheapest and also has the best matchup. The good news is that recently he has seen an uptick in shot volume with 3+ shots in five of his last eight games with five points. He skates on the second line with Krejci and Heinen and has rotated with Heinen on the top powerplay line with Pastrnak, Marchand, and Bergeron.
Stack Vrana with: Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie
Stack Nyquist with: Boone Jenner, Kevin Stenlund
Stack DeBrusk with: Danton Heinen, David Krejci
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 18.03 DK - 14.74
If paying up on defense, Dougie Hamilton is right at the top of my list tonight. He has not only been extremely consistent lately with seven points and a combined 54 shots/blocks in his last 10 games but he is also one of just four D-men on this slate averaging over five shots/blocks per game on the season. The shot volume is also sustainable as he enters tonight with a 18.5 shot attempts per 60 rate. Topping it all off is the matchup against the Rangers 26th ranked defense. Fire up Hamilton in all formats, especially on FanDuel in the low $6K range.
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 10.01 DK - 8.06
I am not sure what FanDuel has against Matt Dumba but they have yet to raise his price from the mid $3K range. He doesn't give us much upside but has an elite PTS/$ floor as he enters tonight with a combined 25 shots/blocks in his last four games and he also averages a combined 3.8 on the season. He is a perfect #2 defensemen paired with Hamilton on FanDuel.
Also Consider: Ryan Pulock(NYI), Ian Cole(COL)
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