Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/31/17

Hello hockey fans and welcome to another day of NHL action here at DFSR. Today, on New Year's Eve, we have a split-slate on both sites with three games for the early slate starting at 3:30 p.m. ET and five for the late slate at 7 p.m. ET. It looks like we have a very exciting day ahead of us, so let's get started and I hope everyone has a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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

EARLY

John Gibson FD - $8000 DK - $8400
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 13.96 DK - 3.49

Let's start off the last article of 2017 by picking on the Arizona Coyotes who are ranked 30th offensively while scoring a lousy 2.28 goals per game. Gibson will be licking his chops this evening and he has been playing well lately as he is 2-1 in his last three games while allowing only four goals, and he shut out a dangerous Penguins squad three games ago. The Ducks are listed as -220 favorites to win this game and I don't expect the Coyotes to have much of a chance here, so fire Gibson up in all formats for the three-game early slate.

LATE

Ben Bishop FD - $8300 DK - $7400
Opponent - SJ
Proj Pts FD - 14.98 DK - 3.74

Oh man, I really wish that Gibson was playing in the late slate. This is a fairly tough slate for goalies, but I decided on the former Stanley Cup Champion as my top pick this evening as he has been stellar recently with a 3-1 record to go along with a 1.97 GAA and a stifling .935 save % during that span. The Sharks beat the Flames 3-2 in their first game back from the break and are having a good season so far, but they aren't good offensively as they rank 22nd in that respective category. The Stars should be able to squeak out a victory here and Bishop is my top goalie in all formats for the five-game late slate.

Also Consider: Pittsburgh's Goalie(Murray or Jerry) on the road against a weak Detroit team.

CENTERS

EARLY

Ryan Getzlaf FD - $7400 DK - $6700
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 10.73 DK - 3.17

It's amazing how one player can change an entire team's morale when he is back and healthy again. Well, this guy happens to be the heart and soul of the Ducks and he has points in seven of his last eight games with a goal and ten assists. Getzlaf has averaged under two shots per game this season, but with a matchup against the Coyotes who are dead last in the league defensively(3.50 goals allowed per game) and with this being a tiny slate, he is a great play in all formats today.

Stack with: Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg(PP)

Also Consider: Eric Haula(VEG) and Steven Stamkos(TB) 

LATE

John Tavares FD - $8800 DK - $7900
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.91 DK - 4.56

I told you that this stud center will keep showing up here until he starts struggling. Well, that may never happen as he is now on a nine-game point streak with an insane four goals and 14 assists, and he's averaged just under four shots on goal this season, which adds a ton of safety to his gigantic upside. The Avalanche are almost as leaky as my last boat(which eventually sank as I swam to shore) as they rank 26th defensively while allowing 3.19 goals per game, so do not hesitate and lock and load Tavares in all formats this evening.

Stack with: Josh Bailey, Anders Lee

Leon Draisaitl FD - $6500 DK - $5300
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 15.69 DK - 4.38

While the Jets are an impressive 14-3-1 at home this season, they are 8-8-5 on the road and they will be without their best player, Mark Scheifele for 6-8 weeks. That is quite the difference in statistics and I like the Oilers to get revenge tonight after they lost 4-3 in Winnipeg two games ago. The young German plays on the #2 line and on the #1 powerplay alongside the dangerous Connor McDavid and is currently on a six-game point streak with two goals, eight assists, and 18 shots on goal. Drasaitl is an elite play on Draftkings at those ridiculously cheap prices and he is also playable over at Fanduel, both in all formats.

Stack with: Ryan Strome, Jujhar Khaira

 

Also Consider: Evgeni Malkin(PIT)

 

WINGERS

EARLY

Jonathan Marchessault FD - $6700 DK - $6200
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 11.12 DK - 3.31

I think Florida may regret letting this guy go in the expansion draft, but you can't keep everyone and the young winger has enjoyed Vegas so far. In his last five games, Marchessault has three goals, five assists, and nineteen shots and he has 34 points in 33 games this season. The Leafs are only average defensively and the Golden Knights are much better on home-ice, so fire this guy up in all formats for the early slate.

Stack with: William Karlsson, Reilly Smith

Also Consider: Nikita Kucherov(TB) and James van Riemsdyk(TOR) 

LATE

Mikko Rantanen FD - $5900 DK - $5200
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 12.6 DK - 3.75

Wow, the winger position is loaded in the mid-level price range this evening and the young Finnish star has been the Av's best player lately as he is on a lengthy eight-game point streak with three goals and six assists. He plays on the #1 line and the #1 powerplay unit and while his shot output is too low for me for cash games(under two per game), he is an awesome GPP play tonight against the Islanders and their awful 30th ranked defense(3.47 goals allowed per game).

Stack with: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog

Kyle Connor FD - $4200 DK - $5400
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 10.78 DK - 3

I like watching the Jets play as they're always up and down the ice passing the puck back-and-forth and just simply playing hard. This sophomore winger is going to be expected more out of him going forward since superstar Mark Scheifele will be out 6-8 weeks and he answered the bell last game with a goal and an assist and he has two goals, two assists, and 11 shots in his last three while skating on the top line and the #1 powerplay unit. There were seven goals scored last game between these two teams and expect more of the same this evening. Connor is an elite play in all formats on FanDuel at only $4200 which is crazy and a solid play in all formats on Draftkings.

Stack with: Blake Wheeler, Patrick Laine

Nick Schmaltz FD - $4900 DK - $4300
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 7.32 DK - 2.05

While normally we only give you a maximum of three wingers per article, I couldn't resist giving you another guy today as this guy is now centering the #2 line and the #2 powerplay unit since Artem Anisimov went down with an injury before last game. It also just happens that while Schmaltz is listed as a winger on FanDuel, he is listed as a center on Draftkings. Talk about utility city and he has a powerplay goal and three assists in his last two games, so rostering him and Connor both in your lineups allows you to fit a couple of superstars into your lineups this evening in all formats.

Stack with: Patrick Kane, Ryan Hartman

DEFENSE

EARLY

Seth Jones FD - $5400 DK - $5400
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 11.92 DK - 3.47

Honestly, I like the late slate better today, but I will still be playing the early slate and I will be locking this guy into all of my lineups as he is on a six-game point streak with three goals and four assists to go along with 17 shots and eight blocks during that span. Tampa Bay owns a top-5 defense, but they are worse on the road, so don't be worried too much there and there are very few decent options for the three-game slate.

Also Consider: Cam Fowler(ANA)

LATE

Ryan Pulock FD - $3600 DK - $3300
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 6.3 DK - 2.03

After injuries to Calvin De Haan and Johnny Boychuk, the former Brandon Wheat King logged 20 minutes of ice-time last game while tallying an assist and five shots on goal. Those two guys won't be coming back anytime soon, so look for this guy and his blistering shot to keep producing solid numbers on a regular basis. Lock him into your lineups in all formats at these near minimum prices as he plays on the top defensive pairing and the #2 powerplay unit for the Islanders.

Also Consider: Duncan Keith(CHI)

 

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.