FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: January 18
By Matt Rogers
Welcome back to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays. This is the Thursday, January 18th 2018 edition. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
Overall, yesterday’s plays performed well, but we could’ve done better. Evgeni Malkin had one goal, a blocked shot, and two shots on goal for 16.8 FanDuel NHL points. But on a $8,600 salary, we expected more than 20 points. Sidney Crosby did hit the 20 (20.2) mark last night, with two assists and two shots on goal. One of those assists was during a power play. But again, we were hoping for more.
The Ducks had a better offensive game on their home ice, scoring a total of five goals. Ryan Getzlaf had an assist and two shots on goal for 11.2 FanDuel NHL points. That’s not the great result we were hoping for, but when paying $7,300 we at least want a double-digit FanDuel NHL point result.
While Ryan Kesler had a blocked shot, he did little ice when on the ice for over 18 minutes and wasn’t worth the $5.6K salary. But, Bruins mid-salary range second line center David Krejci ($5,900) was worth the pick, with a goal and assist for 23.2 FanDuel NHL points.
At wing, if you paid up for Phil Kessel ($8,300) he was worth it. Phil had a goal and assist. Kessel was involved in two of the three goals the Penguins scored and provided 27.4 FanDuel NHL points. Max Pacioretty and the Canadiens didn’t do much with a 1-4 loss on home ice to the Bruins. But if you playing Patrice Bergeron (16.5 points), Brad Marchand (26.9), and David Pastrnak (18.4), you had a great night.
Cam Fowler was one of our top defensive picks and he worked out well, adding 18 FanDuel NHL points with an assist, blocked shot, and four shots on goal. His assist was short-handed, adding an additional two points to his total.
But our big value pick of the night, Hampus Lindholm, worked out even better. With four shots on goal and three blocked shots, we were happy with Lindholm’s production. But at the end of the game, Hampus provided and empty netter, building his total to 23.2 FanDuel NHL points on a cheap $4,500 salary. In fact, most winning GPP’s had Lindholm in their lineup.
In total, we had mostly positive outcomes from our suggested plays yesterday, but we learned some things too. So we’ll take what we learned and move forward to Thursday. Let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Thursday, January 18th:
Capitals at Devils (7pm ET)
Bruins at Islanders (7pm ET)
Maple Leafs at Flyers (7pm ET)
Stars at Blue Jackets (7pm ET)
Sabres at Rangers (7:30pm ET NBC SN)
Blues at Senators (7:30pm ET)
Golden Knights at Lightning (7:30pm ET)
Coyotes at Predators (8pm ET)
Sharks at Avalanche (9pm ET)
Penguins at Kings (10pm ET NBC SN)
Nashville is giving up 2.75 goals per game on home ice, 16th best in the NHL. So at times the very good Predators are struggled to prevent pucks from getting out of their zone. But they’re hosting a Coyotes team who scores only 2.33 per game on road-ice, tied with the Sabres for second worst in the NHL. Also, the Yotes are giving up 3.54 goals per game on the road, third worst in the NHL. That sets up the Predators well for scoring, and especially for a win from whomever is in net.
The Devils have some hot scoring hands, and we’ll look at whether we think they can continue their offensive streak against a tough Capitals defense on home ice. And while the Islanders have scored often all season, they’re also struggling significantly on defense and in goal. The Isles host a Bruins team who just beat the Canadiens 4-1 in Montreal last night.
The Blue Jackets should have a favorable match up on home ice against a Stars team who struggles on the road this season. But the Jackets have also struggled significantly, at times, to provide much offense in Columbus. The Rangers have an ideal situation hosting the Sabres in Manhattan, much like the Predators today. And the Senators are building offense in Ottawa, but struggle to provide any sense of defense, opening the door for scoring from the Blues tonight.
The Golden Knights face off with the Bolts in Tampa, Florida in what could be a preview of the Stanley Cup finals. While both teams have tremendous defense and goaltending, it’s likely to end in a low-scoring result, keeping us away from the game for NHL DFS optimal lineup purposes.
The Avalanche are fourth in the NHL in scoring at home in Colorado, 3.63 goals per game. So we’ll take a look at their offense, with hot names like Nathan MacKinnon for FanDuel NHL lineups. But the Sharks offense is also finally developing, and we may need to play some skaters from San Jose, as the Avs have given up over 2.5 goals per game on home ice.
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 18th
While there is a plethora of top talent at center tonight, like Sidney Crosby ($9,000) and Evgeni Malkin ($8,600) who we liked last night, or Steven Stamkos ($8,600) and John Tavares ($8,500) who have been offensive juggernauts all season, their match ups are terrible. Crosby and Malkin are facing a tough Jonathan Quick in goal for L.A. today, Stamkos will see great defense and goaltending from the Knights, and Tuukka Rask and the B’s have been hot, muting Tavares’ potential tonight.
We would even typically love playing Jack Eichel ($7,700) whenever he’s hot. Eichel has three goals and three assists in the Sabres last three games. But, Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers have had some tough defense in New York, lately, and Jack may be a waste of salary tonight. Instead, we’re targeting more favorable match ups for players like Nathan MacKinnon ($8,100).
The Avalanche are a hot team this year, and there’s a reason. MacKinnon and the Avs are scoring 3.63 goals-per-game on home ice, fourth best in the NHL, and 2.84 per game on the road, 13th best in the NHL. In total, Colorado is a top-five scoring offense this season. For fantasy hockey, that makes them a great offensive target.
While the Sharks have been fairly stingy on defense at home, they’re giving up 2.77 goals per game on the road. That’s still solid figure, but enough of an open door to know the Avs are likely to get at least three to four goals tonight, as a floor. MacKinnon has five goals over the last seven Avs games. Even better, Nathan has nine assists. In fact, MacKinnon’s worst outcome since Decmeber 29th, was only 16.8 FanDuel NHL points against the Ducks on Monday. Nathan is a solid top pick at center tonight.
Auston Matthews ($7,700) has been quiet lately. And the Flyers likely start Michal Neuvirth in net tonight. On Tuesday, Brian Elliott and the Flyers ended a hot streak, looking terrible on defense and Elliott looking horrendous in net. With Neuvirth in goal, who’s played sparingly lately but well, the Flyers could bounce-back defensively. However, defenders like Brandon Manning really struggled on Tuesday, allowing two break-away goals. That opens the door for Matthews to score his first goal since January 6th.
Patrice Bergeron ($7,700) and Sean Couturier ($7,100) face different talent in net tonight, but each should have a similar outcome. The Islanders defense and goaltending has been terrible over the last six weeks, likely leading Bergeron to continue scoring tonight. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have a great goaltender in Andersen, but terrible defense allowing too many shots and a night likelihood Sean gets back on the scoring sheet again tonight.
The last time the Capitals played the Devils was in Washington, D.C. on December 30th. Tonight, the Caps are in New Jersey facing the Devils. The last time Nicklas Backstrom ($6,800) and the Caps faced the Devils, Backstrom had one goal and two assists, for a total of 34.9 FanDuel NHL points. We may not see a duplicate result, but we know the offense is there, and the Devils gave up a ton of scoring to the Flyers last Saturday.
We’ve mostly faded the Blues offense over the last month, as they’ve struggled to score. But we’ve also targeted offenses playing the Senators, especially in Ottawa where they’re giving up 3.64 goals-per-game, the most in the NHL. Tonight, the Blue visit the Sens in Ottawa, and Paul Stastny ($5,500) is on fire lately. In the last six Blues games, Stastny has three goals and five assists. Against Toronto on Tuesday, Paul had two assists and three shots on goal for 20.8 FanDuel NHL points. Another 20+ point effort is likely tonight, on a very reasonable salary.
You may need to dig deeper for a value pick tonight, with so many expensive top options. Jason Spezza ($4,800) has probably been off the radar for most FanDuel NHL players, including us. He’s struggling lately, leading to a surprising healthy scratch for someone who used to be one of the top players for the Stars. Well, on Tuesday, Speeza responded with two power play goals and 31.4 FanDuel NHL points. If Jason continues to play like that, he could be a cheap value pick for the next couple of weeks, only $4.8K tonight.
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Jan 18th
With Backstrom and the Caps in play, we have to consider Alex Ovechkin ($8,800). Not only is Ovi averaging nearly 19 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, making him a general lock for double-digit points and a floor of 20+ points with the right match up, but the Devils are vulnerable lately.
The Flyers ripped the Devils defense apart on Saturday, and that shouldn’t be surprising after Alex provided three helpers against New Jersey on December 30th, giving FanDuel NHL players 34.1 FanDuel NHL points. We should see another multi-scoring involvement effort from Ovi tonight, with 30 points in play again.
With the Senators giving up the most goals per game at home, in Ottawa, and the Blues visiting tonight, Vladimir Tarasenko ($8,300) has value much like Ovechkin’s. Vlad has two goals and three assists in the last four games, and with the Senators giving up around four goals per game on home-ice, Tarasenko is likely to be involved in two scoring results tonight.
Artemi Panarin ($7,300) is heating up, and it’s great timing for the Blue Jackets. With two goals and two assists, Panarin provided at least one point in each of the last four Jackets games. Two of those points occurred in Columbus, where the Blue Jackets have struggled to score since early December. The Stars defense has struggled on the road, opening the door, tonight, for some top Blue Jackets plays like Panarin.
While the Capitals have won six of their last seven games, their defense has been hard to figure out lately. A few of those wins were the result of their offense providing enough goals to overcome the poor defense and goaltending from the Caps. In the last two road games for the Capitals, both in Carolina, they’ve given up seven goals, or almost four goals per game.
Taylor Hall ($7,800) is having a tremendous season for the Devils, and has four goals and five assists in the last five games for the Devils. Also, Kyle Palmieri ($5,400) has provided three goals and one assist over the last four games, all three goals occurring during a power play.
With Palmieri, we’re getting someone who’s averaging over 13 FanDuel NHL points-per-game in 24 games this season. Kyle is gradually moving onto everyone’s radar because of his value, including a great opportunity to play him tonight.
Kevin Fiala ($4,500) was a blip on our radar screen Tuesday after he scored a home-ice goal against a very good Golden Knights team. As a result, the Predators won in a tight 1-0 final. Fiala had been a FanDuel NHL lineup darling from mid-November through mid-December, but in the last couple of weeks, Kevin has been quiet. In fact, that was Fiala’s first goal or assist since December 21st. Tonight, playing on the Preds top line against a terrible Coyotes defense, Kevin is worth another shot for potential big value.
We mentioned Sean Couturier at center earlier, and Travis Konecny ($4,300) is a speedy 20-year-old second year player on the Flyers top line with Couturier. Like most of the Flyers on Tuesday, Travis was quiet against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers. But prior to that game, Konecny had two goals and three assists over the last seven games.
With more time on the ice, around 14 minutes per game, with one of the top play-makers this season, Travis is a potential bargain at this price. And on home ice against the Maple Leafs, Konceny’s odds of being involved in scoring increase tonight.
Finally, there are four more bottom-of-the-barrel bargains to consider. Anthony Beauvillier ($3,600) has been a focus of ours this week, and he’s a hot item again tonight against Boston at home. Beauvillier’s salary has jumped a bit, but that’s due to his consistent productivity lately. And Trevor Lewis ($3,500), Vinni Lettieri ($3,300), and veteran Scott Hartnell ($3,300) are each getting greater ice time opportunity playing with top player-makers on their respective teams. Plugging in any one, or combination of two, of these picks should significantly increase the value of your lineup.
Top FanDuel NHL Defenders: Jan 18th
As we’ve said on Tuesday, Brent Burns ($7,400) has been gradually elevating to his incredible form last season, and each time he’s on the ice we’re going to grab him for our lineups. We used Burns on Tuesday, when he had an assist against the Coyotes in Arizona. Brent also had two shots and three blocked shots for 16 FanDuel NHL points. Honestly, that was a disappointment as we were hoping for over 20 points. Hopefully we get at least that tonight, but now we know our floor.
Instead of paying up for Erik Karlsson ($7,000), we suggest you save $500 and grab John Klingberg ($6,500) instead. John has an eight-game point streak, and a goal or assist in eleven of the last twelve Stars games. Not only is that incredible consistency, but Klingberg is on the ice for 24-28 minutes per game and can add shots on goal, a goal, and blocked shots to pile up well over 20 FanDuel NHL points.
Shayne Gostisbehere ($6,200) or Ivan Provorov ($5,300) are in play tonight. Both incredible young talents were quiet on Tuesday, but have been dominate over the last three to four weeks. We’re throwing Tuesday’s game out as an anomaly and expect offensive fireworks against a Maple Leafs team who allows too many shots on their own goal, when on the road.
Another pair of defensive man we like is Seth Jones ($5,800) and Zach Werenski ($5,300). Werenski had a pair of assists in the last three games, peppers two-plus shots on goal each game, and had as much as five blocked shots against Vancouver last Friday. Jones is the more dominate offensive player, with a goal and five assists in the last four games. Seth also provided over 21 FanDuel NHL points-per-game in the last four games.
With the Capitals in play against the Devils, in New Jersey, John Carlson ($5,900) is part of the top defensive plays conversation. John is even part of the team MVP discussion, as he provided several shots on goal each game, blocked shots, and has two goals and six assists in the last seven Caps games.
While the Sharks defense and goaltending has been a tough nut to crack this season, Erik Johnson ($4,600) has been filling in nicely when the offensive void developed due to Tyson Barrie‘s injury. With a focus on MacKinnon at center, Johnson would be a nice Avs mini-stack option on defense.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Jan 18th
At goalie tonight, playing Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,400) or Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,200) against each other is risky. But, for all formats, if you happen to pick the right goalie, it should pay off. Both goalies are having incredible seasons, and have offenses who will pepper shots on the opposing net. So it’s likely this ends as a low-scoring result with lots of saves for either goalie.
Henrik Lundqvist ($9,200) gave up four goals to the Penguins on Sunday, but he also had to make 42 saves and had a very good .913 save percentage. Lundy followed that great performance up with a one goal-against win over the Flyers on Tuesday.
While it appeared the Flyers were dominated, their offense performed well in the first half of the game, and Henrik was constantly being attacked. But Lundqvist didn’t break, and poor Flyers defense allowed the Rangers to score several goals and Lundy to get the win. On home ice agianst a terrible Sabres team, Henrik is a strong play again tonight.
Pekka Rinne ($8,500) and the Predators have struggled on defense in Nashville this season. Tonight, though, they’re hosting the Arizona Coyotes, a team who only one ten of their 46 games. That bodes very well for Rinne’s potential for a 12 FanDuel NHL Point win result. Also, Pekka is averaging around 30 saves per game, and should have 25-35 points tonight.
Finally, while not cheap, if you need to save some money at the goalie position, we love Jonathan Bernier ($8,000). While Semyon Varlamov has struggled at times this season and hit the IR, Jonathan has emerged as a potential full-time start for the Avalanche. In his last six starts, Bernier only allowed seven goals and has won six straight. Along with a .963 save percentage and roughly 33 saves per game lately, Jonathan is a great play against a low-scoring Sharks offense.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Thursday, January 18th:
C MacKinnon (COL $8,100)
C Stastny (STL $5,500)
W Tall (NJ $7,800)
W Palmieri (NJ $5,400)
W Lewis (LA $3,500)
W Hartnell (NSH $3,300)
D Burns (SJ $7,400)
D Werenski (CLS $5,300)
G Pinne ($8,500)
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!