Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 11/18/16

Hello and welcome to a nice and cozy five game Friday slate in the NHL. We have an interesting group of games happening today and I am very confident in the picks we have found will help us build our bankrolls. There are no teams playing in back to back games, so each and every team should have plenty of rest and be ready for battle. Shall we begin?

 

Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.

If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.

GOALIES

Braden Holtby FD - $9700 DK - $8200
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 19.35 DK - 4.84

Let's start with a nice safe play today. The Capitals recently opened as a -202 favorite according to Vegas, and I can't see that changing much tonight. Holtby and the Caps dismantled the Penguins 7-1  on Wednesday, and now we have the Red Wings travelling to Washington, and it's bad timing for them. The caps are finding their offensive groove and that's great news for the star net-minder. Detroit is 21st in the league in scoring with an average of only 2.47 goals per game, and 28th in the league in shots on goal with 28.2, and they lack serious firepower since Datsyuk retired. They signed Frans Nielsen to replace him. Seriously? No offense my Danish friend, but you're no Datsyuk. Holtby has won 6 of his last 7 starts and although he lacks upside, he has a very high floor this evening and makes a terrific cash game play. If for some reason Grubrauer gets the start then play him with confidence as well and enjoy the savings.

 

Al Montoya FD - $7900 DK - $8200
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 15.28 DK - 3.82

Oh brother, this is not easy for me because the  last time I recommended him in my article, he gave up 10 goals against Columbus, and I think I cried a lot of sad tears. This is the complete opposite of safe, and I may be out at the warning track in center field without a glove, but just hear me out. The Habs are a good hockey team, and they travel to Carolina who is not a good hockey team. They're simply kind of bad. Montreal is currently 4th worst in the league in shots allowed with 32.6, but even after their 10 goal meltdown a few games ago, they still allow only 2.18 goals per game which is 3rd best in the entire league. The Hurricanes fire 30.1 shots on goal per game which is 13th in the league, and they're offense isn't terrible, but the Canadiens should handle them rather easily this evening. In his last game in Chicago, Montoya played well as he stopped 32 of 35 shots in an OT loss. I believe that he will be very lowly owned tonight because of that certain past event that I don't want to mention anymore, and he has major upside today which could help us take down a large tournament. It's a brave pick and not for the feint of heart, but safety doesn't win tournaments.

 

 

CENTERS

Sidney Crosby FD - $8800 DK - $8500
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 15.22 DK - 4.8

Oh Sid the Kid. You and your boys sure took a beating the other night in Washington. But I know how you roll Sidney. You show up the next game and you take your anger out on your opposition. History proves me correct, and we need to take advantage of that tonight as the Penguins travel to Brooklyn to play the Islanders who struggle a great deal defensively. The Isles are currently 7th worst in the league in both shots allowed per game  (31.7), and goals allowed per game (3.06). That is not going to be good enough against an angry Penguins team. It doesn't matter who Crosby skates beside. He simply makes things happen every time he hits the ice. In the 10 games he's played this season he has 10 goals, 3 assists, and 37 shots on goal. As soon as the puck drops tonight he will be firing on all cylinders and that makes him a must play for me in all formats. Do not hesitate and lock him and load him folks

PP Stack With: Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin 

 

Alex Galchenyuk FD - $6600 DK - $7000
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 10.66 DK - 3.24

I love watching this guy play. He is finally (possibly) turning into the star player that the Habs had hoped for a few years ago when they drafted him  in the 1st round. Coach Julien loves to spread the minutes and juggle the lines around in Montreal, but this guy always gets his consistent ice time and with good reason. Galchenyuk is on a six game point streak, and he already has 6 goals and 12 assists this year. He always plays on the 1st line and the #1 power-play unit, and for all of these reasons, he will be in every single one of my cash game lineups today, as well as a few tourney lineups stacked with the gentlemen below.

Stack with: Brendan Gallagher, Paul Byron

 

 

 

 

WINGERS

Patrick Kane FD - $8400 DK - $8400
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 17.59 DK - 5.71

The system loves this guy today and I'm not one to argue. How can I? He is a terrific hockey player and he plays on one of the best teams in league. You may wonder why I didn't mention Ovechkin here, and Alexander the Great not a bad play today at all. The system agrees on that as well, but I like Kane slightly better. The Hawks travel to Calgary after they got shutout 4-0 in Winnipeg on Tuesday night. I will bet the farm that they are not going to get shutout this evening as the Flames are not a good hockey team. Yes I'm aware that Calgary shutout Minnesota and then beat Arizona 2-1 but Chicago is different beast altogether. Kane has 6 goals, 12 assists, and a whopping 57 shots on goal already this season, and he averages around 22 minutes of ice time per game which is roughly 4 minutes more per game then Ovechkin. The Flames have allowed 3.28 goals per game this year which is 5th worst in the league. Even though the Hawks got shutout last game, Kane still fired 6 shots on goal and I look for him to find the twine a time or two this evening. Play him with confidence in all formats.

PP Stack with: Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin 

 

T.J. Oshie FD - $6700 DK - $6000
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 10.84 DK - 3.45

I will say right now and I hope you believe me. I'm not one to chase points. It's all about opportunity and the current matchup. Oshie got put back on a line with Backstrom and Johanssen and went crazy last game against Pittsburgh with 2 goals and 2 assists. Ovechkin is kind of cold by his standards but this line is picking up the slack in a huge way. Believe it or not Oshie does have 8 goals on 37 shots to go along with 4 assists this year so far, and he's been considered as having a bad year by some so called experts. The Red Wings are 12 worst in the league with 2.76 goals allowed per game, and 6th worst with 32.1 shots allowed per game. Things could get ugly again in Washington tonight and I believe that Oshie and his line-mates are going to keep on rolling. Don't overlook him today.

PP Stack with: Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johanssen

 

Matthew Tkachuk FD - $3900 DK - $4200
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 8.57 DK - 2.68

Here we have a pure value play. We need a cheap skater to fit the other studs into our lineups. Johnny Gaudreau is out for a while with a broken hand or finger or something important because the refs decided to let him be slashed a hundred times without calling a penalty. I am a referee so I can't hate them but enough is enough fellas. So anyways, now someone needs to step up. The Flames kept Tkachuk in the big leagues for a reason and last game without Johnny Hockey in the lineup, Keith's son scored a goal. It actually went off of the goalie's head but a goal is a goal. He played 17 minutes in that game and he's currently on the 2nd line and #2 power-play but I believe that he could be bumped up to the 1st line this game as Sam Bennett is struggling. Tkachuk's line actually scored both goals last game. At this price he doesn't need to do much to reach value and the Hawks haven't been the same team defensively so far this year. I like him to complete our cash game lineups today.

 

DEFENSEMEN

 

Shea Weber FD - $6400 DK - $6700
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 13.65 DK - 4.27

Here is another guy that the system loves, and of course I do because I'm a Habs fan but an unbiased one. I swear. From a raw points perspective Weber is the top Defenseman today according to the system. Like I stated earlier, the Hurricanes aren't very good, and Weber has been a beast for Montreal this year and the trade that sent Subban to Music City ain't looking all that bad. Weber is on the ice for almost half of every game, and he contributes in all of the relevant categories. So far this season he has 7 goals, 6 of them were on the power play, as well as 7 assists, 42 shots on goal, and 36 blocked shots. He's about as safe as it comes on defense and always has massive upside due to his insanely high usage per game. He is almost impossible to fade today and makes a great play in all formats.

 

Also Consider: A bunch of cheap guys which make good plays to fill your lineups comfortably. Here are my top 3 favorites for tonight all with salaries at $4,000 or below on both sites in no particular order. Calvin de Haan, Brady Skjeic, Niklas Kronwall 

 

 

Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.

If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.