FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: January 16
By Matt Rogers
Welcome back to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays. This is the Tuesday, January 16th edition. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
Last night’s lineup suggestions provided some good and some bad. The Bruins offense didn’t shot up for the 1pm ET match up on home ice against a, typically, terrible road-ice Stars team. Dallas was able to pull of a 3-2 victory in a low scoring game. As a result, expensive plays like Patrice Bergeron ($7,800) only provided 6.4 FanDuel NHL points, with just four shots on goal.
Jake DeBrusk ($4,300) initially was awarded one of the Bruins two goals, but the result was later adjusted to be a goal for Spooner. By the end of the game, Jake had a very disappointing zero points, in what should have been a great value play. Finally, Anton Khudobin was our favorite goalie of the day but while he had a solid 29 saves he gave up three goals and took the loss for only 11.2 FanDuel NHL points.
We did have some wins though. Nathan MacKinnon continued to score, adding another goal for the season and gave our lineup 16.8 FanDuel NHL points. Erik Jonson also had 14.9 FanDuel NHL points with three blocked shots and an assist in the Avs game. Max Pacioretty was one of our favorite wingers, and with a power play goal, blocked shot, and five shots on goal, Max totaled a solid 22.1 FanDuel NHL points on a reasonable $6.5K salary.
The Islanders 20-year old winger Anthony Beauvillier ($3,100) was a fantastic value pick, again, yesterday. Beauvillier had three shots on goal, one getting past the crease for a goal and 16.8 FanDuel NHL points on a very cheap salary. But Mathew Barzal ($5,600) was a big win for us with two assists and a goal for 29.6 FanDuel NHL points. We with we stacked John Tavares with Barzal, as John had two goals and over 38 points.
Let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Tuesday, January 16th:
Blues at Maple Leafs (7pm ET)
Devils at Islanders (7pm ET)
Flyers at Rangers (7pm ET NBC SN)
Stars at Red Wings (7:30pm ET)
Golden Knights at Predators (8pm ET)
Sharks at Coyotes (9pm ET)
Tonight’s match ups are packed full of surging teams, and teams loaded with offense. So it won’t be difficult to find top FanDuel NHL plays throughout your lineup, among the six games scheduled tonight. However, it will be difficult narrowing those players down, and affording some of the ‘must have’s’ of the night.
The Blues and Maple Leafs match up well together. At home, Toronto is giving up 2.8 goals per game, while scoring 2.95. Each are among the middle of the NHL teams this season. Meanwhile, the Blues are scoring 2.8 per game, while giving up 2.86. So it’s very likely this will be a close match up, with about five to seven goals scored. But who wins is a toss-up.
The Devils defense has been terrible on road ice, giving up over three goals per game, while the Islanders defense is terrible in Brooklyn, NY. And both teams are top five offenses in this scenario. So expect a high-scoring Devils and Isles game, and targeting their offenses is ideal. But stay away from the goalie match up!
The Flyers offense is hot again, and a Flyers-stack in New York will be considered. Meanwhile, their defense has been tough on the road, and the Rangers may not have a lot of offense tonight. The Stars looked good yesterday, and they have a favorable match up against a Red Wings team giving up nearly three goals per game in Detroit.
The Golden Nights are giving up too many goals on the road, 3.3 per game, but are scoring 3.2 per game in this scenario. The Predators are also scoring 3.47, sixth best in the NHL, when at home. So it’s possible Vegas struggles in Nashville tonight. But the goalie situation could change that outcome.
Finally, while the Sharks offense has sputtered as times, lately, after catching some steam in the last two months, they have a great opportunity in Arizona tonight. The Yotes are only getting 2.29 goals per game, and are giving up 3.48 per game, third worst in the NHL. We may not stack Sharks, but we’ll grab some from the favorable outcome.
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: Jan 16th
Once again, John Tavares ($8,600) has an ideal offensive match up. Over the last five Islander games, Tavares has three goals, a power play goal, and two assists. John is also peppering goalies with several shots each game and is standing in front of pucks as well. Last night, Tavares had two goals, one short-handed, and three blocked shots for 38.8 FanDuel NHL points. We may not see the same production tonight, but expect 15 to 20 points, with a ceiling over 40.
Tyler Seguin ($8,500) was a fade yesterday. Unfortunately, Tyler had a goal, but he still only put up 16.8 FanDuel NHL points on a hefty salary. The Stars have a solid match up tonight, for their offense, but we’re still not intrigued by Seguin. Instead, we prefer Auston Matthews ($7,700) or Sean Couturier ($7,100).
Matthews had four goals in four games at the end of December and into early January. Since then, Auston cooled off with only three shots on goal and no other offense in the Leafs last two games. The Blues defense is generally solid on the road, only giving up 2.86 goals per game. But the Leafs have nearly three per game at home, and Matthews scores on a high percentage of his shots, making him due for a goal today.
But our favorite pick of the night is Couturier. On Saturday against the Devils, in New Jersey, Sean had two goals, one a power play goal, and one assist for a total of 37.3 FanDuel NHL points. Couturier has an amazing two goals in each of his last three straight games.
Over the last four games, Sean has seven goals. And in the last seven games, Couturier has nine goals and four assists. Since December 28th, Couturier had 18 to 37 points in six of his seven starts. The Rangers have a solid defense in New York, but there’s no reason to avoid Sean tonight, other than he needs to cool off at some point.
The Predators are giving up 2.86 goals per game at home, eleventh worst in the NHL. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights of Vegas are scoring 3.2 goals per game on road ice. So it’s likely the Knights will have three-plus games tonight. That makes William Karlsson ($6,500) or Erik Haula ($5,800) top plays tonight.
A few weeks ago, we were consistently high on Haula, as he was very active on the ice and consistently involved in scoring, leading the Knights second line. But lately, it’s been Karlsson who’s providing the consistently dominate performance. If you can pay up for William, do it. But if you need a more affordable option, Erik is one of the top mid-salary picks you’re going to find.
Speaking of mid-salary range centers, Mathew Barzal ($5,600) is playing masterful hockey lately. Over his last three games leading the Islanders second line, Barzal has three goals and seven assists. Mathew has had between 22.9 and 54.4 FanDuel NHL points in those three games, and is presented with another juicy offensive match up on home ice tonight.
For affordability, we’re looking for Chris Tierney ($3,600) to stay hot for the Sharks. While Tierney leads the Shark’s third line, he’s also leading their second power play unit and logging over 17 minutes of ice time per game lately. In his last five games, Chris has three goals and two assists, one goal of the power-play variety. We also love the Sharks match up in Arizona, making this value opportunity enormous!
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Jan 16th
Taylor Hall ($7,700) leads the Devils in ever offensive category this season. With 15 goals and 29 assists, Hall is 19th in the NHL with 44 points, and the best offensive weapon the hot Jersey Devils have this season. Even in the loss to Philly on Saturday, Taylor had two assists, two shots, and a blocked shot for 21.3 FanDuel NHL points.
His 17.22 FanDuel NHL point average is fairly consistent, but he has spurts of 30 to 50 points, at times, followed by quiet games. Tonight, the Devils and Hall have a juicy financial match up, and we should hear Taylor’s name called multiple times, including at least one goal.
We love the Flyers hot offensive streak lately, and if you have Couturier in your line, you could stack either Claude Giroux ($7,800) or Jakub Voracek ($7,300) with Sean. Voracek is playing on a different regular line, but they play with each other on the Flyers top man-advantage line. Also, Jakub is the assist champion of the team, currently leading the NHL with 45. But in second is Giroux with 40 assists, often feeding Courtier lately.
We love the Golden Knights tonight, too, and Jonathan Marchessault ($7,300) is their top offensive weapon this season. Averaging over 16 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, Marchessault has six goals and nine assists in the last eleven games. Only one of those games did Jonathan not have a goal or assist recorded. The Predators are tough in Nashville, but the Preds are giving up nearly three goals per game.
The Dallas Stars looked better than expected yesterday, and Alexander Radulov ($6,700) added another goal, his fifth in seven games. Alexander also has six assists over the last seven games, and while he’s averaging nearly 14 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, he has three games above 35 points in the last seven. With the match up against the Red Wings, even in Detroit, Radulov is still a great play again tonight.
For mid-salary range plays at wing, our two favorite are Wayne Simmonds ($5,800) and Reilly Smith ($5,700). The Flyers are hot and Simmonds is consistently providing a goal or assist over the last six games. In that team, three goals were during power plays, further improving Simmonds eleven-plus FanDuel NHL point-per-game average. And Smith is quietly also providing goals or assists in six of his last seven. In three of those games, Reilly provided two assists.
Digging for value, Travis Konecny ($4,300) is still playing on the hot Flyers top line with Giroux and Couturier, but still has a very cheap salary. The speedy 20-year-old is starting to build up his assists count, but he’s often a great goal scoring option, with his speed and puck-handling skills. We’re also grabbing Anthony Beauvillier ($3,1000) again, after we recommended him for yesterday and he followed up with a goal on three shots. Beauviller now has four goals and one assist over the last three games.
Top FanDuel NHL Defenders: Jan 16th
As happened last season, we’re starting to sound like a broken record every time Brent Burns ($7,400) is on the ice. The Sharks defensive, and offensive, star continues to dominate on the ice. Burnsy only had eight FanDuel NHL points last night against a very good Kings defense, and goaltending, thanks to three shots on goal and two blocked shots. But against the Coyotes last Saturday, Brent had three assists, six shots, and a blocked shot for 35.7 FanDuel NHL points. Tonight, Burns and the Sharks are in Arizona to play the Yotes again!
John Klingberg ($6,300) is a great defender we unfortunately faded yesterday. The Stars had a better game than expected, including Kingberg’s assist, three shots, and blocked shot for 14.4 FanDuel NHL points. With a more favorable match up tonight, and the Stars potentially beginning to surge again play John, if you’re fading Burns, as your top defensive pick.
We haven’t talked about the Predators as offensive picks much tonight, but P.K. Subban ($6,000) continues to elevate to a significant part of the Predators offense, leading their defense on the top lines. Subban quietly provided three assists over the last two games.
If you’re looking to continue a Flyers stack, or want one on defense, Shayne Gostisbehere ($6,200) or Ivan Provorov ($5,400) are great picks from the Flyers top regular line. Provorov also spends time on the Flyers second power play unit. Shayne is a sharp-shooting point who always has potential for around 30 points in a game.
Provorov has historically been less involved in the offense, but that has changed significantly over the last four games, proving three goals and four assists. If you need a dirt-cheap option, consider Andrew MacDonald ($3,600), who now has four assists in the last three games.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Jan 16th
There is an overwhelming list of great goalie options tonight. Henrik Lundqvist ($9,100) is one of the most talented skating tonight, but we don’t like his match up against a red-hot Flyers offense. Instead, we’d rather save money and play someone like Ben Bishop ($8,800) or Carter Hutton ($8,400).
Jake Allen was considered the Blues top starting goalie at the beginning of this season, but Hutton has emerged as a better candidate for that position. Not only had Carter allowed more than two goals over once in his last nine games, but he’s also tended a shutout and is consistently on highlight reels with incredible saves. The Leafs are a tough offensive team, but they have weaker defense than the Blues and Hutton is on fire this year.
At 6-3 in his last nine games, Bishop is typically better in goal at home, but even on road ice Ben has success and often gives up no more than three goals in that scenario. The Stars giving up over three goals per game on the road, but most of those opportunities didn’t involve Bishop. And the Red Wings are struggling to even score up to three goals at home.
The Predators are likely starting Juuse Saros ($7,800) in Nashville tonight. Saros has some solid outcomes lately, including a home shutout of the Wild, with 29 saves. But the Vegas Golden Knights are one of the top two teams in the NHL right now, playing well above a team like the Wild’s level.
So we’re not only fading Saros, but we’re targeting Juuse and the Predators by playing Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,300) in net tonight. Fleury is 9-2-2 in 13 games played this year for the Knights. With an incredible .942 save percentage, Marc-Andre is only giving up 1.85 goals per game while snagging just over 30 saves per game. Along with two shutouts this season, it’s easy to understand how Fleury is averaging 26.22 FanDuel NHL points-per-game. He’s a great play any day against any team.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Tuesday, January 16th:
C Couturier (PHI $7,100)
C Barzal (NYI $5,600)
W Marchessault (VGK $7,300)
W Smith (VGK $5,700)
W Konecny (PHI $4,300)
W Beauvillier (NYI $3,100)
D Burns (SJ $7,400)
D Gostisbehere (PHI $6,200)
G Fleury (VGK $8,300)
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!