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FanDuel NHL: January 11

By Matt Rogers

Dec 13, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) during their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Sharks beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) during their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Sharks beat the Maple Leafs 3-2 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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FanDuel NHL
Jan 3, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Winnipeg Jets right wing, and FanDuel NHL stud, Nikolaj Ehlers (27) reacts to the fans after he scores a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at Amalie Arena. Winnipeg Jets defeats the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

FanDuel NHL: January 11 is a daily fantasy sports column focusing on the best FanDuel NHL player and value options for your daily lineups.  The salary options are based on the daily salaries set by FanDuel.  We’ll check the best options in each position, and help you afford an ideal lineup for your big FanDuel NHL paydays.

Before we review the top options for each FanDuel NHL lineup position, let’s review the FanDuel NHL scoring rules:

Forwards/Defense

  • Goals = 12pts
  • Assists = 8pts
  • Shots on Goal = 1.6pts
  • Short Handed points = 2pts
  • Power Play Points = 0.5pts
  • Blocked Shots = 1.6pts

Goalies

  • Win = 12pts
  • Goals Against = -4pts
  • Saves = 0.8pts
  • Shutouts = 8pts

Given the FanDuel NHL scoring options, we know the top options for offense and defense are players who tend to score a goal or record an assist in most games.  Also, if one of those players is often playing on the penalty kill, there’s an added benefit if they could score the unique short-handed goal.  The Ottawa Senators led the NHL in the 2015-2016 season with 17 short-handed goals.

As for Goalies, you’ll want to pick a goalie on a team who has the highest winning percentage of the day.  Losing the 12 point win can easily be the difference between losing money and a big pay-day.  A FanDuel comparison would be picking a MLB pitcher who will most likely win.

Now that we’ve established the rules and goals for playing FanDuel NHL, let’s take a look at tonight’s best options:

Next: Top Centers

FanDuel NHL
Jan 9, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) reacts after scoring a goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) as defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (28) defends during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Centers

The Washington Capitals are hot right now, winning their sixth-straight game in Montreal on Monday against the Canadiens.  Evgeny Kuznetsov ($6,600), the center for the Caps 2nd regular and power play lines, had a goal and assist in the game against the Habs.  The young 24-year-old Russian piled up 26.4 FanDuel NHL points for the game.

Tonight, the Caps are favored in what is expected to be a high-scoring match-up with division rival Pittsburgh Penguins.  Evgeny is inconsistent, and has some low-scoring games, but he often scores double-digit FanDuel NHL point games back-to-back.  Tonight, look for that to happen again in Washington.

Ryan Strome ($5,000) is also a streaky player.  But over the last five games, Strome has three double-digit FanDuel NHL point games, two of which were around 20 points.  Ryan leads the Islanders’ 2nd regular and 1st power play lines and is rolling into a juicy match-up with the Florida Panthers.  Strome is our value pick at Center tonight.

Next: Top Wings

FanDuel NHL
Dec 31, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Alexander Radulov (47) and left wing Paul Byron (41) react after a goal by Radulov against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Wings

Nikolaj Ehlers ($6,700) has been a bright spot on a struggling Winnipeg Jets team this season. Ehlers is playing on the 2nd regular line and 1st power play line in tonight’s match-up with the Canadiens.

The Jets may struggle to score against Montreal tonight, but they are coming off a solid 2-0 win against the Flames.  And when the Jets do score, Ehlers is averaging around 15 FanDuel NHL points-per-game over the last five games.

The Montreal Canadiens offense was quiet against the hot Washington Capitals on Monday. The Habs should bounce back tonight in Winnipeg.  With a 20 FanDuel NHL point average over the last two weeks, expect Alexander Radulov ($6,500) to be involved in one or more of the scoring results.

Carl Hagelin ($4,900) and Michael Frolik ($5,100) are the value picks at wing for tonight.  Hagelin has double-digit FanDuel NHL points in three of the Penguins last five games.  The Penguins are locked into a high-scoring game against the Caps and Carl will be involved in one or more scoring opportunities.

Frolik is a tough choice as you’ll see when we visit our top goalie option.  I don’t typically like picking offensive players matching up against my goalie, however, I don’t expect the Sharks to shut out the Flames tonight.  It would be the 2nd straight shutout of the Flames, which is unlikely. Frolik has been the most active offensive player on the Flames in the last two weeks.

Next: Top Defense

FanDuel NHL
Dec 20, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (28) passes the puck during the second period of the game against the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Defense

Whenever Brent Burns ($8,200) is on the ice, he’s the top defensive option for FanDuel NHL lineups.  We’ve saved salary in a few of our lineup spots, and we’re going to grab a value option at goalie.  So we can afford Burns tonight.  Brent is averaging well over 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game over the last two weeks.  He’s taking his hot play into Calgary to play a struggling Flames hockey team.  Burns is in for another big night.

Nathan Beaulieu ($4,100) continues to be an underrated value option.  The Canadiens struggled in their game on Monday night against the Capitals, but Beaulieu still managed to pile up over 11 FanDuel NHL points in the game.  Tonight, Nathan is rolling his 18 point-per-game average into Winnipeg in another juicy match-up for the Habs.  The Burns/Beaulieu combo is a dynamic one tonight for our lineups.

Next: Top Goalie

FanDuel NHL
Nov 25, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks goalie Aaron Dell (30) watches the puck in the first period of the game against New York Islanders at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Goalie

With the San Jose Sharks Martin Jones getting the night off in Calgary tonight, against the Flames, Aaron Dell ($7,900) will start for the Sharks.  When filling in for Jones, Dell has performed admirably, at 4-1-0 on the season giving up under goals per game, and with a fantastic .936 save percentage.  Dell also has a shutout in only five starts.

It’s been a while since Aaron started in net for San Jose, but when he does he’s averaging a consistent 20+ FanDuel NHL points-per-game.  This is a good match-up for Dell.  The Flames have faced three terrible teams lately, the Canucks, Avalanche, and Jets, going 2-2 in those games.  On Monday, the Flames were shutout by the Flames, 2-0.  Dell is a high-value goalie option tonight.

Next: FanDuel NFL Divisional Playoffs

Always check NHL lineups throughout the day when playing FanDuel NHL.  As a fan, you likely know the league isn’t overly forthcoming with injury news, and players are often scratched at the last-minute with little information.  Also, goaltenders are never a sure-thing.  Good Luck today FanDuelers!