Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays for January 23rd

Welcome BACK to the NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays column. This is a fantasy hockey column focused on top lineup plays each day. This edition is focused on the Main slate for Wednesday, January 23rd

The first half of the NHL season is winding down, as we approach the All-Star break this weekend. That means we have a limited number of shots at building fantasy hockey lineups this week. In fact, Wednesday night is the last chance we have before all NHL teams take Thursday and Friday off.

Fortunately, there are six really good games slated for Wednesday night, and given the near break, it appears several of these teams will roll out some value opportunities, while also giving us a shot at paying up for some high-level offensive FanDuel NHL points.

Before we get there, a reminder to never take a NHL DFS optimal lineup as ‘bible’ for your personal lineup each day. Use the suggestions as guidance. Also, make sure you follow final lineup thoughts throughout the day on our twitter account @FantasyCPR or me @MattyMcMatt17 look for late breaking lineup news.

Here’s a look at the NHL schedule for the Main slate on Wednesday, January 23rd:

Capitals at Maple Leafs 7:30pm ET NBC Sports Network

Coyotes at Canadiens 7:30pm ET

Wild at Avalanche 9:30pm ET

Predators at Golden Knights 10pm ET NBC Sports Network

Blues at Ducks 10pm ET

Hurricanes at Canucks 10:30pm ET ESPN+

The Capitals and Maple Leafs are an obvious choice for NBC Sports Network viewing. Both teams have dynamic offenses, and lucky for NBC Sports, they’re both playing terrible defense right now. But that gives us an opportunity to pay up for some high-point totals, if we can find value elsewhere.

Fortunately, teams like the Coyotes, Canadiens, Golden Knights, Blues, and Canucks offer a long list of value plays. We’ll try to grab a handful of those guys, while also spending big FanDuel NHL salary on top picks.

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So, let’s start building our NHL DFS optimal lineup by looking at the top centers for this slate…

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Centers

We’ll get to it later, but we’re going to save a lot of FanDuel NHL salary on the goalie pick for Wednesday night. At least $1K or so for this slate. We also identified some value and mid-salary range picks for at least two winger spots and one defense spot.

So, we can either grab an expensive pick and value play at the center position, or we can search for two mid-salary range options.

If we’re going the more expensive route, I honestly don’t think we need to pay up too much on Wednesday night. Ryan O’Reilly ($6,900) is a bright star among a muted offense in St. Louis, and he is looking to stay hot against a struggling Ducks hockey team in Anaheim.

O’Reilly may not seem that expensive, but you’re spending nearly $7K on a good pick, so you still need some value with Ryan in your lineup. Frankly, deep value is tough on Wednesday, but I like the potential Carl Soderberg ($5,100) and Nick Bonino ($4,800) have with favorable match ups. Either is a good play with O’Reilly, and if you really want to get creative, you can play both and really load up in the four-man winger spot.

However, another approach I really like is a safer Canucks stack against the Hurricanes on home ice. I know, I know…the Canes are hot right now. I get that. But they’re still giving up goals and both Elias Pettersson ($6,200) and Bo Horvat ($5,700) are hot right now too. Playing on home ice makes this stack more enticing, and they don’t eat up too much FanDuel NHL salary.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Wingers

Oh, boy…where do we even start? Well, while he’s cooled off, a little lately, I am definitely continuing to play top-line, and dirt-cheap, Golden Knights winger Brandon Pirri ($4,100).

Pirri continues to play around 18 minutes per game, has three to seven shots per game, and has two goals and two assist in the last six games. You’re going to get points from this play, with the potential to get 20 to 30 points as a ceiling, on a very cheap salary. He’s finally over a $4K FanDuel NHL salary, but still too cheap to avoid.

From there, I’m going with an expensive mid-salary pick, T.J. Oshie ($5,900). Oshie appears to be heating up and is playing a beatable Maple Leafs team in Toronto. T.J. is playing the Leafs at the right time, after scoring two goals and four assists in the last four games.

After focusing on value with the first two winger picks, your next move depends on what you’ve done at the center position. Also, there are several options I like above $6K with the last two winger picks.

Mikko Rantanen ($7,700) may fly under the radar tonight, overshadowed by Mitch Marner ($8,400) and Alex Ovechkin ($8,200). I like all three, Marner the most, but Rantanen could be a sneaky top play for Wednesday.

Carl Landeskog ($7,500) is also a solid Avs pick likely playing on their top line tonight. But Viktor Arvidsson ($7,800) may be worth spending more FanDuel NHL salary. Arvidsson has six goals in the last six games, including a hat-trick against the Caps on the 15th.

The Predators offense is heating up, and Arvidsson is firing around five shots on goal per game lately. That’s a good sign the goals likely continue.

Finally, If you’re going with a Horvat and Pettersson stack at the center position, you can continue your Canucks stack with Brock Boeser ($6,300), playing mostly with Pettersson on Wednesday night, from the Canucks top line. Boeser has two goals and three assists over the last four games.

Alright, let’s look at a few top picks on defense…

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Defenders

The goalie position I struggled with a bit for Wednesday night’s slate. For starters, there’s only a $100 difference in FanDuel NHL salary and both John Carlson ($6,700) and Roman Josi ($6,600) seem like fantastic plays.

It’s possible to stack the two at this position, but you’re going to need to at least go with Horvat and Pettersson at the center position, and you’ll likely need to dump Oshie and Boeser for cheaper winger plays. Personally, I feel like that’s too risky, so I’m just going to pick Carlson and get pissed off later with Josi has a great game.

Tyson Barrie ($6,200) is a cheaper top pick of the three best defensive options. But, while Barrie has been a smoking hot fantasy hockey play at defense lately, he dropped a goose-egg against the Predators on Monday, and has a tough match up against the Wild on Wednesday.

I also looked at Morgan Rielly ($5,900) against Carlson, but between the two I prefer John over Morgan. I also considered grabbing Mattias Ekholm ($5,600), but I’m worried he’s going to continue to regress over the next couple of weeks.

Fortunately, Shea Weber ($5,000) and the Habs have have a great match up on home ice against the Coyotes on Wednesday night. The Yotes had been a fun fantasy hockey team earlier in the season, but their defense is back to struggling as the season wears on. That’s great news for Weber owners tonight.

Fantasy Hockey: NHL DFS FanDuel Power Plays Top Goalies

Ultimately, after looking at all of the starting goalie options for Wednesday night, I ended up going with a riskier, but more affordable, FanDuel NHL goalie for the slate.

Why? Well, for starters, look a the list of top goalies, which is essential in order of salary. Yes, maybe you can make an argument to go with Pekka Rinne ($8,200) in a situation the Predators likely win But, I’m not in love with picking the Preds in Vegas against a Golden Knights team beginning to re-emerge through the NHL standings in the West.

Marc-Andre Fleury ($9,100) is an additional reason not to pick Rinne, although Rinne and a good Predators team is a good reason not to pick Fleury.

Also, while I like Jacob Markstrom ($8,300), as I mentioned earlier, the Hurricanes are a very hot team right now beating very good teams on a consistent basis. Pass!

Devan Dubnyk ($8,800) has a tough outing against the Avalanche on home ice, where they’ve been very tough to beat this season. And both Frederik Andersen ($8,800) and Pheonix Copley ($7,500) could struggle against two very good offensive teams.

So, where does that lead us? While John Gibson ($7,600) has FINALLY won two straight starts, his team is still struggling to fight back that losing streak. After snapping a very long 12-game losing streak, John and the Ducks won two in a row. But, that was quickly ended with a 0-3 loss to the Islanders, in New York.

Meanwhile, Jordan Binnington ($7,200) has, at least temporarily, taken over for Jake Allen as the starting Blues goalie heading into the All-Star break. Binnington did struggle against the Kings in L.A. during his last starting, giving up four goals in a loss. But, that game aside, Jordan has been outstanding against good teams.

It’s a risky play, but Binnington going 4-1-1 in five starts against the Flyers, Canadiens, Stars, Islanders, Senators, and Kings…along with his general consistency, makes me feel comfortable with the tremendous value Binnington offers at the goalie position on Wednesday night.

Fantasy Hockey: FanDuel Power Plays January 23rd 2019 Summary

At the center position for Wednesday night, you could go expensive/value with a duo like O’Reilly and Soderberg, or Bonino as a value play. But I also love the Canucks 1-2 stack of Pettersson and Horvat.

At the winger position, there’s a plethora of great top picks, but I like Arvidsson and Boeser the most. I’m likely going with a top of the mid-salary range pick like Oshie for my third winger, and Pirri will be my value play for the position in all lineups.

On defense, I love a long list of great plays, but I can just barely afford Carlson and like him the most. Fortunately, Weber is also cheap and has a great match up. And most of this is affordable because I’m going with the risky value play, the Blues Binnington, as my top goalie pick tonight.

With that summary in mind, here’s a look at a sample lineup for the NHL DFS FanDuel Main slate on Wednesday, January 23rd 2019:

C       Elias Pettersson ($6,200)

C       Bo Horvat ($5,700)

W     Viktor Arvidsson ($7,800)

W     Brock Boeser ($6,300)

W     T.J. Oshie ($5,900)

W     Brandon Pirri ($4,100)

D      John Carlson ($6,700)

D      Shea Weber ($5,000)

G      Jordan Binnington ($7,200)

Remaining Salary: $100

Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the slate. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building NHL DFS FanDuel lineups.  We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.

Best of luck in your NHL DFS FanDuel contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across College Football, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, EPL, PGA, and NASCAR this fall!