FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: January 23
By Matt Rogers
Welcome to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays, for Tuesday, January 23rd 2018. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
We didn’t provide an overview of the FanDuel NHL top picks for Monday night. But we did play some cash and GPP lines. Our favorite goalie of the night was Mike Smith ($8,300), who fell short against Buffalo on home ice. That was a surprising result, but mostly because the Flames offense failed to produce at home, after doing so well on the road. Still, Smith had 31 saves an a decent 16.8 FanDuel NHL points.
One of our other consistent favorite picks of the night, Jonathan Bernier ($8,000) ended up being a better value at goalie. The Avs hot net-minder won another game, and added 29 saves while only giving up two goals for a total of 27.2 FanDuel NHL points. Bernier was a cheaper way to get double-digit points, compared to Smith.
While the Avalanche were the only team to score more than three goals last night, four against the Maple Leafs, Anthony Beauvillier ($3,600) was our favorite value pick at winger and the top performer of the night. With a blocked shot and give shots on goal, Beauvillier has the Islanders only two goals against the Coyotes, in Phoenix, in a 2-3 loss for the Isles.
With three goals from the Red Wings and Wild, some other great picks last night were Dylan Larkin ($6,800) at center who had a goal and assist for 23.2 FanDuel NHL points, Andreas Athanasiou ($4,900) had two assists for 20.8 FanDuel NHL points, and 25-year-old Finnish Wild winger Mikael Granlund ($7,100) had a goal and assist for 26.9 points.
With so many games slated for tonight, a few teams are playing back-to-back games and it’s important to keep last night’s results in mind. So, let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Tuesday, January 23rd:
Devils at Bruins (7pm ET)
Hurricanes at Penguins (7pm ET)
Avalanche at Canadiens (7:30pm ET)
Flyers at Red Wings (7:30pm NBC SN)
Senators at Blues (8pm ET)
Lightening at Predators (8pm ET)
Panthers at Stars (8:30pm ET)
Sabres at Oilers (9pm ET)
Kings at Canucks (10pm ET)
Blue Jackets at Golden Knights (10pm ET)
Rangers at Ducks (10pm ET)
Jets at Sharks (10:30pm ET)
With twelve games on the NHL schedule tonight, 24 teams on the ice, picking one lineup is frankly overwhelming. We’d advise you to make multiple lineups, if possible, for both cash and GPP plays. The problem with having so many games, is that there are a higher population of combinations which can beat you in each tournament, or cash game.
We’ll try to identify the top players at every position, but with so many on the ice we’ll likely miss a few. Still, there’s plenty here to build a decent lineup for a high scoring result. Also, we’ll demonstrate an example lineup toward the end of this article to help you identify how to pull together the long list of options.
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 23rd
Sidney Crosby ($9,100) and Evgeni Malkin ($8,500) are expensive ways to pay up for the hot Penguins offense on home ice. Between the two, while Malkin is cheaper, Crosby has been more active on the offensive side of the ice lately, and is the better pick. But before you grab Sidney, consider cheaper options, because his price-tag will limit your options throughout the lineup. However, it’s still fairly easy to play Crosby with so many value options on the board.
Connor McDavid ($8,900) was a hot FanDuel NHL commodity at center last season, and he’s averaging over 16 FanDuel NHL points-per-game this season. Over his last four games, McDavid is heating up a bit, scoring a goal and five assists. On home ice against a struggling Sabres defense, Connor should be involved in some offense.
But with the Sabres playing fairly well on the road last night against the Flames and Nathan MacKinnon ($8,300) as a cheaper option tonight, we’d prefer to fade McDavid in favor of MacKinnon. The Colorado Avalanche are on a ten-game winning streak right now, and most of that has to do with MacKinnon.
While Nathan was quiet against the Maple Leafs last night, a blocked shot and four shots on goal for only eight FanDuel NHL points, he’s been absolutely on fire since December 29th. During the Avs ten-game winning streak, MacKinnon has 16+ FanDuel NHL points in nine of the ten games. During that time, Nathan has an amazing eight goals and eleven assists.
The Canadiens used to have a dominate defense on home ice, but this season they’re giving up 2.84 goals per game in this scenario, eleventh worst in the NHL. Most of MacKinnon’s success over the last month has been in Colorado, so there’s risk with this play, but against a struggling Habs team in Montreal, Nathan should be one of the best picks of the night.
The New Jersey Devils were a hot commodity in November and December, but things have cooled off for the Devils lately. Playing against a hot Bruins team in Boston likely won’t put them in a better situation. Patrice Bergeron ($8,200) has three goals and three assists in the last three games for the B’s.
Bergeon has been consistently hot since early December, including a ludicrous four gals and one assist against the Hurricanes on January 6th for 69.7 FanDuel NHL points. We don’t expect that high of an outcome tonight, but it’s a good example of his ceiling potential.
The Oilers are giving up a horrible 3.48 goals per game in Edmonton, the third worst result in hockey for a home team this season. Jack Eichel ($7,600) happens to be on the ice in Edmonton tonight, and he’s red-hot for the Sabers right now. Eichel has a goal or assist in each of his last six games, scoring four goals and providing six assists during that time.
Eichel is in a better spot, but Sean Couturier ($7,600) mirrors Jack in many ways tonight. They’re both scoring around 16 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, Couturier is also hot right now, and the Red Wings are giving up three goals per game in Detroit, eight worst in the NHL. Playing Eichel with Couturier is a nice option tonight, or one of the two, finding a cheaper winger on their line to still take advantage of the combo.
The Dallas Stars have been one of the stingiest defenses on home ice this season. The Stars are only giving up 2.3 goals per game in Dallas, fourth best in the NHL and in the top five with teams like the Capitals, Wild, Golden Knights, and Sharks. So it’s a risky play to pick Panthers tonight. The Panthers offense has also been terrible on the road.
But in Nashville on Saturday, Vincent Trocheck ($6,800) continued his four-game points streak with a power play goal on six shots and a blocked shot for 23.7 FanDuel NHL points. Given the match up, Vinnie could be low-owned, but he’s hot right now and even in this situation Trocheck should continue his points streak. Especially for GPP’s, this is a great play at center.
William Karlsson ($6,700) was supposed to be shutdown by the Panthers Aleksander Barkov ($7,300) on Friday night. But in 19 minutes of ice time, the Golden Knights top line center slapped two shots on goal, one making past the crease for a goal.
We were high on Karlsson for that game, and he provided 15.2 FanDuel NHL points with low ownership that night. Tonight, the Knights host a Blue Jackets team whose giving up more than three goals per game on the road. William is a nice play again tonight, with a higher ceiling.
Paul Stastny ($5,700) was quiet against the Coyotes on Saturday, but prior to that match up Stastny had three goals and five assists in seven games. For the most part, the Blues offense has struggled since early December, but Stastny and the Blues top line continue to hum, creating a mid-salary range value opportunity tonight.
Opposite Stastny tonight, but on the Senators second line, is Matt Duchene ($5,300). Quiet for most for most of the season, Duchene is suddenly heating up while the rest of the Senators are struggling. Matt had the Sens only goal in Minnesota last night, his fourth in seven games along with four assists. Even with a poor Senators offense on the road, and against a tough Carter Hutton likely in net, we like Duchene again tonight.
For value, we like Kings rookie Adrian Kempe ($4,500) against the Canucks forth-worst defense in the NHL on home ice. Kempe is scoring at a nearly 20% of shots rate, very high for a rookie. Over the last six games, Kempe has two goals and one assist, but with about 15 minutes of ice time tonight, with an offensive advantage, Adrian is likely to add that the points over the last two weeks.
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Jan 23rd
If you’re fading the Penguins’ Crosby or Malkin, or found great value picks to pair with the top center options, you should either pick Phil Kessel ($8,200) to get exposure to the Penguins top scoring line or to stack with Crosby and Malkin. The 30-year-old veteran cooled off over the last two road game in Los Angeles and San Jose, but in the three home games before the Penguins west coast road trip, Phil had three goals and four assists. Tonight, the Pengs are back home, and Kessel has a solid offensive mach up against the Canes with around 20 minutes of ice time.
While we really like Kessel tonight, Brad Marchand ($7,900) is our favorite pick at wing. This is an ideal time to stack Bruins players, with Boston red-hot on offense lately, and the Devils tanking after a tremendous start to the season. Marchand is now averaging just under 18 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, improved by scoring over 20 FanDuel NHL points in six of his last eight games.
When under 20, Brad still had eight points against the Stars and 17.3 against the Canadiens. Marchand has five goals and eleven assists in his last eight games. With this match up and around 20 minutes of ice time in Boston, Marchand is likely to have another two-point night with over 20 FanDuel NHL points.
The Bruins 21-year old Czech first-line winger David Pastrnak ($7,500) isn’t as consistent as Marchand, but you’re saving $400 with Pastrnak, or he’s a great stack with Brad, while taking another shot at 20 to 40 FanDuel NHL points. Pastrnak also sees 15+ minutes of ice team, and has three goals and two assists over the last three games. David crushed the Habs on Saturday, with two goals and one assist, scoring over 46 FanDuel NHL points. Yeah, he’s hot!
Claude Giroux ($7,500) made the All-Star team for the Metropolitan Division of the NHL, Jakub Voracek ($6,800) did not. Between the two, that likely creates the $700 price variance. Voracek is also on the Flyers second line, but he leads the NHL in assists with 45 assists in 47 games. Giroux has more goals, playing alongside another potential All-Star Sean Couturier, totaling 55 points, tied for fourth in the NHL. Against a Red Wings defense giving up three goals per game at home, eight worst in the NHL, either or both are a great play at wing.
Mikko Rantanen ($7,200) provided another helper in the Avalanche’s win last night, but Rantanen continues to quietly fly under man Fantasy Hockey radars this season. In the Avs last three games, Rantanen has two goals and four assists. With the Avalanche offense playing so well, and Mikko elevating his performance this season, the Avs should continue to roll again in Montreal tonight, regardless of who’s in goal.
While still in Montreal, we have to mention Max Pacioretty ($7,200) one more time. Yes the Avalanche is hot right now, but Max has seven goals and two assists in the Canadiens last eight games. Pacioretty is a bright light in an otherwise dismal offense. Pacioretty is a great play in cash games, but with his ownership likely still low, he’s ideal for GPP as well.
When mentioned earlier how the Panthers are a likely fade for most FanDuel NHL players, with the Stars incredible home-ice defense hosting the Panthers tonight. But Jonathan Huberdeau ($6,900) is another reason to buck the fade-Panthers trend tonight. In the last eleven Panthers games, Jonathan has at least one goal or assist in nine games. That’s incredible consistency. Even better, it’s against tough defenses like the Wild, Predators, and Golden Knights. So Huberdeau and the Panthers have been bucking defensive trends since mid-December.
Also on the ice tonight is Stars top winger Alexander Radulov ($6,800). Like Huberdeau, The former Habs wing-man has consistently provided double-digit FanDuel NHL points over the last month, now with over eleven in seven straight games. With four goals and eight assists in the last seven games, Radulov is set up well to score again tonight, against a Panthers team giving up 3.08 goals-per-game on road ice, 12th worst in the NHL.
Wayne Simmonds ($5,900) had a point (goal or assist) in seven of eight games, before cooling off over the last two Flyers games. But as we alluded to with the Giroux and Voracek picks, the Flyers have an offensive advantage on road ice, in Detroit tonight. For a mid-salary range pick, Simmonds is one of your better options, as he should get on the scoring sheet again tonight.
Kyle Okposo ($5,800) and Evander Kane ($6,600) have been cold over the last two games, but each should bounce back tonight. We love Eichel for the same reason, and he would be a great stack with these two Sabres wingers. The Oilers are giving up a terrible 3.48 goals-per-game on home ice, third worst in the NHL. This play reminds us of a general rule this season. Whenever a team is traveling to Brooklyn, Ottawa, Vancouver, or Edmonton, stack as many players, as you can, from the the traveling team.
Looking for value at wing, we start off with Tanner Pearson ($5,000) or Evgenii Dadonov ($5,000). Pearson is plucked from the Kings second line, where he’s scored three goals and provided two assists in the last seven games. That includes a power play goal against the Rangers on Sunday. As we’ve mentioned, the Kings are set up well, offensively, in Vancouver.
Dadonov is another contrarian type of play, stacking a hot Panthers offense against a very good Stars defense in Dallas. Over the last six games, Evgenii has three goals and five assists, getting a goal or assist in each game. Against the Flames on January 12th, Evgenii made some headalines scoring two goals, a power play goal, piling up eight shots, and adding two blocked shots for an awesome 40.5 FanDuel NHL points.
For cheaper value, consider Conor Sheary ($4,600) from the Penguins top line, Kevin Fiala ($4,000) from the Predators third line, and Travis Konecny ($4,400) from the Flyers top line. Fiala is a sharp-shooter who can be streaking, but he’s heating up against with three goals in the last three games. Sheary is a cheap way to benefit from the Penguins top offensive line, as is Konecny. If you playing Penguins, Flyers, or Predators in your line tonight, this is a great way to complete the stack with affordability.
Finally, digging deeper for two very good value picks, we love Michael Raffl ($3,500) from the Flyers second ling playing with Voracek, and Trevor Lewis ($3,500) on the Kings second line. Lewis has three goals and one assist with nearly 20 minutes of ice time for the Kings over the last six games.
Meanwhile, since Raffl was moved to the second line for the Flyers, he’s increased his offensive productivity, especially lately with two goals and two assists over the last six games. Both also have offensive advantages tonight.
Top FanDuel NHL Defenders: Jan 23rd
With Brent Burns ($7,500) on the ice again tonight, and emerging back into his top defensive and offensive form, we’re going to plug Burnsy in at least one lineup tonight. With a consistent, nearly, 17 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, Brent is a dominating force in Fantasy NHL. The problem with playing Burns tonight, is affordability. There are so many great options across the board, you’re going to have to give up great options at wing or center to afford Brent tonight.
For better value as a top defensive pick, consider John Klingberg ($6,700). Expecting a lot of shots on goal from the Panthers, we think Klingberg can garner at least 4.8 FanDuel NHL points from blocked shots. Along with several shot on goal taken, and a likely assist or goal, John has the potential to pile up over 20 FanDuel NHL points tonight, for a price $800 cheaper than Brunsy.
After Klingberg, we’re fading many of the more expensive options on defense tonight, as the match ups don’t bode well for those picks. So we dropped down to Shayne Gostisbehere ($5,800) and Aaron Ekblad ($5,600) for our next two defensive picks.
We’ve harped on the fact that the Flyers have a great offensive advantage tonight, and Ghost is a sharp-shooting defensive player who sees a lot of time on the Flyers power play man advantage. Ekblad has provided outstanding defense lately, piling up seven blocked shots in the last three games, and is getting three to four shots on goal along with two goals and one assist in the last four games.
Sticking with the Flyers top line, Ivan Provorov ($5,500) has provided tremendous defense for the Flyers since his rookie season last year, but over the last two months, Provorov is firing more shots on goal and is becoming a strong offensive presence for the team. Now averaging nearly 13 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, Ivan’s salary has climbed $1K over the last month. He was a better value before, but Provorov is still a top five or ten pick at defense tonight.
Until the Avs cool off, or Tyson Barrie comes off the IR, we love Erik Johnson ($5,000) again tonight. We’ve talked about Johnson often lately, because his additional ice time is leading to great offensive productivity and his FanDuel NHL point-per-game average has climbed over five points in the last month to just under 12.5 per game. Johnson has his second assist in two games last night, along with a goal on Saturday against the Rangers.
Another great value is Alexander Edler ($5,000). We know the Kings will be an active offense tonight, so Edler will be attempting to block multiple shots. We also know Edler has five assists in the last six Canucks games. On January 12th, Alexander also had a goal in Columbus against the Kings. With another helper tonight against a struggling Kings defense, Edler should have double-digits for the tenth time in his last eleven games.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Jan 23rd
If you have plenty of salary left over, Tuukka Rask ($9,200) should be a great play tonight. In his last 120 minutes on the ice, all against the Canadiens, Rask has only given up two goals and has 45 saves. Minus a terrible six goal loss to the Penguins in early January, Tuukka has been spectacular over the last two months, rarely giving up more than two goals in a game. The Bruins are hosting a Devils team reeling right now.
Connor Hellebuyck ($8,600) is a little risky against the Sharks in San Jose, but the Jets are humming at a high level this season, and Connor has only given up more than three goals once in the last eleven starts. The problem with the Sharks is the 12-point FanDuel NHL win potential, as they’re playing fantastic defense this season. But to Hellebuyck’s advantage, the Sharks offense, while doing better lately, is struggling this season.
Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,500) has a tough goalie match up tonight, facing a strong Sergei Bobrovsky ($8,700) net-minder. But the Blue Jackets, and Bobrovsky, are struggling this season, and the Golden Knights have been nearly impossible to beat in Vegas this season, especially with Fleury in goal. Marc-Andre suffered a loss to the Sabres and Canucks lately, but we don’t expect Fleury to continue to lose in Vegas against a team struggling to provide much offense.
If you need a cheap option at goalie, Brian Elliott ($7,900) is bounced back from a five goal loss tot he Rangers in a huge way on Sunday. The Capitals had looked terrible after a five day rest, but they were skating well in D.C. against the Flyers. Elliott just happened to also play one of his better games, making 27 saves on 28 shots. He may not see enough shots to get over 30 saves tonight, but a win is likely in Detroit.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Tuesday, January 23rd:
C MacKinnon (COL $8,300)
C Trocheck (FLA $6,800)
W Marchand (BOS ($7,900)
W Dadonov (FLA $5,000)
W Fiala (NSH $4,400)
W Lewis (LA $3,500)
D Ekblad (FLA $5,600)
D Edler (VAN $5,000)
G Fleury (VGK $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!