FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: January 30
By Matt Rogers
Welcome to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays, for Tuesday, January 30th 2018. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
The NHL completed another exciting three-on-three All-Star tournament on Sunday. Several of the NHL DFS optimal lineup greats showcased their talents, playing with and facing each other in a three game tournament. In the first game, Connor McDavid had an amazing four assists, and Brent Burns (1), James Neal (2), Brock Boeser (1), and Drew Doughty (1) scored give goals to lead the Pacific division over the Center division 5-2.
In the second game, Nikita Kucherov had a hat-trick, and teammate Brayden Point added a goal along with Auston Matthews, Brad Marchand, and Jack Eichel. So with a 7-4 victor, where Braden Holtby gave up five goals on only ten shots, the Atlantic steamrolled the Metropolitan division. Capping off the tournament, Mike Smith and Marc-Andre Fleury only gave up a total of two goals.
Rickard Rakell had two goals and one assist for the Pacific, and along with Brock Boeser‘s MVP performance the division won the tournament over the Atlantic. Boeser had a total of two goals and one assist in the tournament, and his MVP award allowed him to return home with an additional $337,500. What a storied season Brock is having this year!
So with another All-Star game in the books, and twelve teams back on the ice tonight, we turn our attention back to NHL DFS optimal lineups. Let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Tuesday, January 30th:
Ducks at Bruins (7pm ET)
Devils at Sabres (7pm ET)
Panthers at Islanders (7pm ET)
Sharks at Penguins (7pm ET)
Senators at Hurricanes (7pm ET)
Wild at Blue Jackets (7pm ET)
Canadiens at Blues (8pm ET)
Blackhawks at Predators (8pm ET NBC SN)
Lightning at Jets (8pm ET)
Kings at Stars (8:30pm ET)
Golden Knights at Flames (9pm ET)
Avalanche at Canucks (10pm)
Two games for this slate which immediately jump out at us are the Devils visiting the Sabres and Panthers traveling to Brooklyn to play the Islanders. After a strong start to the season, the Devils have only won two of their last ten games, including a four-game losing streak heading into All-Star weekend. Meanwhile, the Sabres have won their last three straight.
The Sabres could be a great value play on home ice against a reeling Devils defensive squad. But Taylor Hall‘s return to the ice could be a risk for Sabres stacks, and quietly a great opportunity to play the Devils in a potential bounce-back game.
The Islanders have been scoring well on home ice, averaging 3.61 per game tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But the Isles are also giving up 3.52 goals per game at home, tied with the Oilers for the second most in hockey. While the Panthers are only scoring 2.32 goals per game on the road, their offense has been hot over the last month, and they have an opportunity to score on the higher end of their average against a terrible Isles defense this season.
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 30th
With Harri Sateri in net for the Panthers and Jaroslav Halak in goal for the Islanders, we’re very interested in stacking either the Panthers or Isles in our lineups tonight, or both. Between the two, Halak has played better lately, beating the Golden Knights in Vegas last Thursday. But the Islanders have been giving up nearly four goals per game, on home ice, even when Halak is tending the net.
Sateria spent most of this season in the AHL, recently getting the call up when the Panthers learned James Reimer would be on the shelf for at least two weeks. In only two NHL starts this season, and four appearances, Harri has an 0-3-0 record and horrendous 4.59 goals per attempt. The Islanders have been terrible on defense at home, but they’re scoring nearly four goals per game on offense, keeping them involved in each outcome.
With these two clear opportunities for scoring in the same game, we love John Tavares ($8,400) and rookie Mathew Barzal ($6,300) at center from the Islanders. Tavares has been quiet over the last two games, but he’s the clear top player on the ice in Brooklyn tonight, facing a struggling goaltender. Tavares also has four goals in his last six games, along with two assists.
Barzal is rumored to be the current top candidate for the Frank Calder award, given to the NHL’s top rookie each season. The 20-year-old Canadian is now leading the Islanders second line, while also playing with Tavares on their best man-advantage line. Mathew has an assist in each of the last four Islanders games, and three goals and eleven assists in the Isles last eight games. Barzal is the cheaper option, and could even have the better outcome tonight.
If you’ve been playing FanDuel NHL most of this season, you know the top two Panthers centers tonight are Aleksander Barkov ($7,300) and Vincent Trocheck ($6,700). Barkov has a history of piling up 30-40+ points in one night, but can be hit-or-miss. Even though Trocheck leads the Panthers top like, the two play with each other on the same power play line, each have over 20 minutes of ice time per game, and Vinnie has more consistent offensive production. If you have to pick one, go with Trocheck.
The Canucks are giving up 3.38 goals per game on home ice, fifth worst in the NHL. Tonight, Vancouver has to welcome Nathan MacKinnon ($8,300) and the Avalanche red-hot offense. MacKinnon has a goal or assist in ten of his last twelve games, and often has multiple points in each game. If you can afford him, grab Nathan as another top center pick tonight.
Finally, sticking with the expensive theme, but continuing to focus on match ups, we love Jack Eichel ($7,800) yet again tonight. As we mentioned earlier, the Sabres offense was heating up heading into the All-Star weekend, while the Devils appear to be imploding. The Devils have Kinkaid on the ice tonight, and the speedy 21-year-old Boston native should be able to exploit the Devils struggling defense, and Kinkaid’s weaknesses.
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Jan 30th
While there’s plenty of expensive top talent on the ice tonight, skip over most of the top options and scroll down to Mikko Rantanen ($7,100). Playing alongside MacKinnon and the Avs top line, Mikko quietly but consistently has provided around 14 FanDuel NHL points per game this season. Rantanen has four assists and two goals in the last five games, and with this juicy match up in Vancouver tonight, Mikko is a great affordable stop with MacKinnon.
Jonathan Quick skipped the All-Star game and was suspended one game by the league. That means the Kings will trot out Darcy Kuemper to mind the net tonight. For a solid Stars team on home ice, that presents a great offensive situation, especially given the Kings defense has struggled lately. So we love Alexander Radulov ($7,000) again tonight. Over the last nine straight games, Radulov has at least 11+ points, and his points-per-game average is climbing toward 14.5. With this match up, his streak continues.
If you’re fading Rantanen and Radulov for some reason, or you can afford a second $6.5K+ winger, there are several great options. As we already mentioned, we love the panthers offense tonight and Jonathan Huberdeau ($6,800) is the leading point man for the Panthers offense this season. Huberdeau is a great stack with either Panthers center, but also a great way to add exposure to the Panthers offense tonight, in the case you’re fading the rest of the lineup.
Meanwhile, we also like the Islanders offense and All-Star Josh Bailey ($7,000) continues to dish helpers and flirt with the top ten NHL point leaders this season. We haven’t mentioned the Ducks offense tonight against Khudobin, but Rickard Rakell ($6,700) is a top winger pick with this match up. Rakell has three goals and two assists in the last seven games, and the Ducks top line is heating up this calendar year.
Digging for value at wing tonight, there’s some obvious, and not-so-obvious, picks. Anthony Beauvillier ($4,100) somehow remains a cheap FanDuel NHL point option playing with Barzal and Jordan Eberle. While he’s only averaging 7.81 FanDuel NHL points-per-game this season, Beauvillier’s average has climbed significantly over the last month. In the last seven Isles games, Anthony has seven goals and two assists, and reached more than 33 FanDuel NHL points in three of those games.
Finally, digging deep into the bargain barrel, we think we may have found a gem for tonight. The Jets host the Bolts tonight, who have Louis Domingue in goal, giving Vasilevskiy the night off after All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, the Jets have shifted their lines around for tonight’s game, and Jack Roslovic ($3,000) is now playing on their top line. Last week, Jack scored his first NHL goal against the Ducks, and could be a sneaky double-digit play on a dirt cheap salary tonight.
Top FanDuel NHL Defenders: Jan 30th
It’ll be interesting to see how Matt Murray’s return to the ice, in Pittsburgh, goes tonight against the Sharks. Regardless, Brent Burns ($7,400) is another clear top tier defensive pick tonight. After a slow start, Burnsy has been on fire, now averaging just under 17 FanDuel NHL points-per-game. Prior to the All-Star break, Brent had at least one assist in six straight games, or eight over a six game period. He’s a lock.
Before we go into other top plays at defense tonight, an interesting value pick at defense, to stack with Burns, in Sharks second line defender Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($4,400). Especially for GPP plays tonight, this under-the-radar defender has three goals and five assists in this last seven games. During that time, Vlasic had over 14+ FanDuel NHL points in four of the seven games.
For a cheaper top pick at defense, John Klingberg ($6,800) is an obvious choice. Now averaging over 14 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, Klingberg is having a tremendous January and played in the All-Star game this weekend. In his last 16 games, John has at least one assist or goal in 13 games. That’s tremendous offensive consistency from a defender. Klingberg adds additional value with this consistent shot-blocking ability as well.
While the Chicago Blackhawks continue to figure out how to fix their defense and make up for Corey Crawford‘s extended time on the injury list, the Predators welcome the Hawks into Nashville. Roman Josi ($6,200) and P.K. Subban ($5,800) have been consistently dominate all season, and are once again great picks on defense tonight.
While he’s not cheap, Erik Johnson ($5,200) continues to be a great value with Tyson Barrie off the ice due to an extended injury. The 33-year-old ice beast is spending just under 30 minutes of his time on he ice each game, and has a goal and four assists in the last six games. Johnson also has two to five blocked shots in his last six games, and is a great stacking pickup with Rantanen and MacKinnon in your lineup. Erik is also a great way to get exposed to this offense if you’re fading Rantanen or MacKinnon.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Jan 30th
With Tuukka Rask, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Jonathan Quick all taking the night off, the top goalie options narrow quickly. Devan Dubnyk ($8,700) has a clear advantage over a struggling Blue Jackets offense, but the Jackets defense is just as good as their offense is bad in Columbus, so there’s potential you could miss out on the 12-point win. Still, with a low scoring game, and 25+ saves, Dubnyk is a solid play, especially for cash games.
Of all the options though, our favorite is Carter Hutton ($8,600). While the Canadians are only scoring 2.36 goals per game on the road, third worst in the NHL, they’re still peppering goalies with over 33 shots per game. The Blues have a nearly 0.50+ goal differential at home, likely leading to a win for the Blues. So with a 12-point win, a decent shot at a shutout, and just over 30 saves, Hutton could be a 30-40+ FanDuel NHL point play tonight.
While Mike Smith ($8,600) and Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,400) face off against each other in Calgary tonight, it’s possible both could have over 20 FanDuel NHL points, regardless of who wins. If you pick the winning goalie of the two, most likely Fleury, you should land between 30-40 points.
Finally, for value picks, we love either Cam Ward ($7,400) against a terrible Senators offense on the road, or Robin Lehner ($7,400) welcoming the reeling Devils offense in Buffalo. Between the two, Ward is a safer pick, but Lehner was red-hot before the All-Star break. It’s possible, with the way the Devils are struggling lately, Lehner could snag one more shutout tonight.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Tuesday, January 30th:
C Eichel (BUF $7,800)
C Barzal (NYI $6,300)
W Radulov (DAL $7,000)
W Okoposo (BUF $6,100)
W Beauvillier (NYI $4,100)
W Roslovic (BUF $3,000)
D Klingberg (DAL $6,800)
D Johnson (COL $5,200)
G Hutton (STL $8,600)
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!