FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: December 28
By Matt Rogers
Welcome back to the FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column. This is the Thursday, December 28th edition. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
With the exception of Kevin Fiala, our lineup options performed well last night. If you played some combination with Jaroslav Halak in goal, John Tavares and Erik Haula at center, and Josh Bailey and Craig Smith at wing, you very likely won all of your cash game plays, and had a shot at GPP.
For a GPP win, you would’ve had to add someone like Sebastian Aho as a winger, and Jared Spurgeon at defense. Between the two, they had three total goals and would add an additional 55.7 FanDuel NHL points. Also, if you were able to afford swamping in Evgeni Malkin ($8,300), he had a goal and two assists for an awesome 35.4 points.
Regardless, we’re happy where most of the picks landed last night, and will take what we learned from the misses and move forward. Here’s a look at the NHL schedule for Thursday, December 28th:
Bruins at Capitals (7:30pm ET NBC SN)
Canadiens at Lightning (7:30pm ET)
Flyers at Panthers (7:30pm ET)
Maple Leafs at Coyotes (9pm ET)
Blackhawks at Canucks (10pm ET)
Golden Knights at Kings (10pm ET NBC SN)
Flames at Sharks (10:30pm ET)
With eleven games last night, tonight’s seven game NHL schedule may seem lighter, but there is a plethora of great picks to consider tonight. Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals were quiet last night in their 0-1 shootout loss to the Rangers. But Ovi and the Caps likely bounce back tonight on home ice against the Bruins backup goalie, Anton Khudobin.
Also, the Lightning, one of the NHL’s leading offensive teams this season, are on home ice likely facing a Canadiens goalie not named Carey Price. The Flyers and Panthers each present top-line talent with high FanDuel NHL point-per-game averages. And the Golden Knights have a great match up on NBC Sports Network, in Los Angeles against the Kings. So we have plenty of great picks to sift through today.
As always, we’ll look to update our picks and final lineups prior to lock on our twitter account @FantasyCPR so make sure to give us a follow for all the late breaking lineup news.
Now let’s start building our NHL DFS optimal lineup by looking at the top centers for this slate…
Top FanDuel NHL Centers: Dec 28th
The top two centers on ice tonight are obvious, as they’re the most expensive. Steven Stamkos ($8,300) benefits from the play of Kucherov and Namestnikov on the Bolts top line. Steven has 13 goals this season, but an additional 32 assists, fourth in the NHL, for a total of 45 points. Stamkos is currently tied with Connor McDavid for the fourth most points in hockey.
With a favorable match up on home ice tonight, potentially not facing Carey Price after his game last night, Stamkos and the Bolts top line should be your top stacking target on Thursday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t scoring at many goals per game as the Lightning’s 3.74. But the Leafs are still piling up 3.24 per game, enough for fifth best in hockey. And while the Leafs aren’t on home ice, they’ll be in Arizona facing a Coyotes team who gives up 3.47 goals per game on home ice, third worst in the NHL.
So the dynamic second-year center Auston Matthews ($7,400) and the Maple Leafs top line should also be on your list of top stacks tonight. Matthews returned from an injury on Saturday, December 23rd, to face the Rangers in New York. With 18 minutes of ice time, Auston had four shots on goal, one goal, and one assist for a total of 32.8 FanDuel NHL points. Matthews very likely stays hot tonight.
With the Flyers Brian Elliott taking a hot streak into Florida tonight, we’re mostly fading the Panthers offense, with one exception. Vincent Trocheck ($6,500) is a bargain tonight. Vinny has a 16+ FanDuel NHL point-per-game average and has a goal or assist in nine of his last eleven games. Trocheck likely stays hot tonight, even with a tough match up.
Another mid-salary range value pick is Erik Haula ($6,100). We realize, at some point, Haula is likely to disappoint us, as we continue to ride his current heater. But it’s foolish to ignore his current hot streak.
We added Haula again to our lineup last night, and he didn’t disappoint, giving us 14.4 FanDuel NHL points with an assist, shot on goal, and three blocked shots from 17 minutes of ice time. Since December 1st, Erik has failed to put up a goose-egg, and only has two games with less than ten FanDuel NHL points.
Digging deep for value, because we’ll likely need it at center tonight, we also like Sam Gagner ($3,800). Over the last two weeks, Gagner has put up three double-digit FanDuel NHL point results in the Canucks last five games. In that time, Gagner provided at least one goal or assist in four of the five games. With 14-16 minutes of ice time on the Canucks second line, Sam is a bargain for under $4K tonight.
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Dec 28th
We’ve already talked about targeting a stack with the Lightning tonight, and Nikita Kucherov ($9,200) is an obvious top option. With 24 goals and 27 assists, Kucherov leads the NHL with 51 total points in just 34 games.
Kucherov is a unique skater who averages over 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game. That’s hard to find each night, and when he’s on the ice you should always try to afford him. If you can’t afford Stamkos and Kucherov, drop Steven for Nikita in your lineup.
Also, if you really want to get a piece of the Bolts top line tonight, and Kucherov and Stamkos or both too pricey for your lineup, Vladislav Namestnikov ($6,700) is the cheapest way to get exposure to their action. Vlad isn’t as offensively dominate as Steven or Nikita, but he’s going to be on the ice with them for around 20 minutes tonight, and averages nearly 14 FanDuel NHL points-per-game.
Alex Ovechkin ($8,800) is a great option for GPP games. While Ovi has been quiet over the last two weeks and no goal since December 16th, Alex is too talented to stay silent on the stat sheet my longer. Anton Khudobin has already been confirmed in goal for the Bruins in D.C. tonight. He’s having a solid season, but we like Alex against Khudobin over Rask.
It’s not the Bolt top line, but for a bargain option from the Lightning against the Canadiens, we’d strongly consider a red-hot Tyler Johnson ($5,700). In nine games over the month of December, Johnson has a goal or assist in each game. In fact, he has five goals and nine assists in those nine games, including a power play goal.
Tyler had a slow start to the season, but his FanDuel NHL point-per-game average quickly climbed over 11 points last week, and will continue to march toward 15 points if he continues this heater.
Not as hot as Johnson, but 19-year-old Clayton Keller ($5,500) continues to be productive for the Coyotes. Frederik Andersen is likely going to be in goal for the Maple Leafs, and he’s having a great season, but the Leafs defense allows a lot of shots on goal and the Leafs are likely to give up a goal or two tonight.
If they do, Clayton will be involved. The young winger is manning the Coytoes second line, but he’s also on their top power play line and sees 16 to 20 minutes of ice time each games. Also, over the last six games, Keller has a goal or assist in each game. Like last night, we’re continuing to ride Keller’s hot hand.
Digging for value, we like Nick Bjugstad ($4,000) from the Panthers tonight. If the Flyers trot out Brian Elliott, there’s risk. Elliott has been hot lately. But even with his hot streak, he’s given up plenty of goals. Over the last seven games, Nick has provide a goal or assist in five games. Bjugstad is averaging just under ten FanDuel NHL points-per-game, but his average has risen throughout the month of December. It’s a sneaky pick for GPP plays too.
Top FanDuel NHL Defenders: Dec 28th
On defense tonight, we have tons of great top picks. The hard part is going to be choosing which to take, and how to afford them throughout the rest of the lineup. We typically like to target value on defense, but that’s difficult tonight.
The Sharks struggled to score goals through October and November, but their offense improved in December. As a result, Brent Burns ($7,200) has finally re-emerged as the top offensive beast on defense we’d seen from him last season. That makes Burnsy an exciting pick, again, each time he’s on the ice.
Brent is the rare defender who can flirt with, and sometimes achieve, a 20 FanDuel NHL average in a season. Over the last eight games, Burns has seven 16+ FanDuel NHL point results, with five of those results all over 20 points. Burnsy stays hot tonight on home ice against the Flames.
Pairing Burns with a top defender from the lightning like Victor Hedman ($6,200) is typically difficult but feasible tonight. Like Burns, Hedman was slow to start the season. But over the last three weeks, Victor has been on fire, often scoring well over 15 FanDuel NHL points. With tonight’s ideal match up for the Bolts, Hedman is another top target on defense, and could complete a Lightning stack.
We haven’t talked much about the Flyers tonight because identifying how their inconsistent offense will perform after the Christmas break is difficult. But Shayne Gostisbehere ($5,800) appears to be settling back into his dominate rookie form. And since the middle part of December, Shayne is consistently providing double-digit points, right around his 14+ FanDuel NHL point-per-game average.
With three slam-dunk picks at defense, it’s hard to find many value picks tonight. And it’s possible to afford any combination involved two of Burns, Hedman, or Gostisbehere.
But if you need value, our favorite picks are Morgan Rielly ($4,800) on the Maple Leafs top line, and Mikhail Sergachev ($4,500) on the Bolts second line. Both are capable of piling up over 20 FanDuel NHL points tonight, and help complete stacks from either team. But they’re also inconsistent, making them risky.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Dec 28th
The best pick at goalie tonight is Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,500). The Ligthning’s top net-minder is only giving up 2.13 goals per game, second best in the NHL, and has 23 wins in 29 starts. So you’re very likely getting 30 to 40 points from a Vasilevskiy pick tonight, in a favorable match up against the Canadiens.
The only problem with Vasilevskiy is the price. We can likely find a cheaper goalie, even if it means ten less points, allowing us to afford expensive defensive picks, and a couple of the top players at center or wing. With that in mind, Frederik Andersen ($8,600) is the better top pick. Andersen leads the NHL in saves and is likely to snag another win tonight.
For the best value, though, we like Jacob Markstrom ($7,300) assuming he’s in goal tonight against the Blackhawks Anton Forsberg ($7,600). The Canucks have struggled this season and Jacob only has nine wins in 26 starts.
But Markstrom is only giving up 2.77 goals per game, and the Blackhawks offense has been stagnate lately, only scoring one goal in their two games on the road so far. The match up is key here. If Crawford were to go tonight, Markstrom becomes a weaker pick. But with Forsberg in net, the odds of a win a high. Anton only has one win in eight games this year, and is giving up 3.13 goals per game.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Thursday, December 28th:
C Haula (VGK $6,100)
C Gagner (VAN $3,800)
W Kucherov (TB $9,200)
W Johnson (TB $5,700)
W Keller (ARI $5,500)
W Bjugstad (FLA $4,000)
D Burns (SJ $7,200)
D Hedman (TB $6,200)
G Markstrom (VAN $7,300)
Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the week. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building FanDuel NHL lineups. We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.
Best of luck in your FanDuel NHL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across NHL, NBA, EPL, and NFL this fall!