Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/1/16

Welcome back to another big night of Daily Fantasy Hockey. There are 12 games on Thursday night with just three teams(PIT, NYI, LAK) playing on back to back nights. Let's take a look at some of our top value plays from the projection system.

 

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 - $9600 DK - $8500
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 19.64 DK - 4.91

Even though he has struggled giving up three or more goals in three straight starts he is an elite play tonight with huge winning upside. The Capitals currently sit as a -260 home favorite on Thursday night. The Islanders come to town playing on back to back nights and own the worst road record(1-6-1) in the league. Holtby, for the most part, is a cash game play only due to the fact he is facing under 28 shots per 60 minutes while the Islanders rank near the bottom in shots taken. This really limits the upside.

 
Tuukka Rask FD - $9100 DK - $8100
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 18.9 DK - 4.73

When looking at tournament construction tonight I will be starting with Rask who should come in a bit lower owned than Holtby and has close to the same winning upside. The Bruins are -160 home favorites to the Hurricanes who have had a tough time on the road(3-6-4) this season and struggled offensively ranking 21st overall(2.41 goals per game). The Bruins have also struggled offensively this season ranking 25th(2.35 goals per game) but have road Rask's elite play to a sixth overall ranking on defense. He hasn't been getting the wins as consistently as we would like but he does have a .944 save % over the last 10 games making him an elite GPP play on Thursday night. 

 

 

Also Consider: John Gibson(ANH)

 

CENTERS

Connor McDavid FD - $8500 DK - $8600
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 16.69 DK - 5.59

That's right, the Oilers are playing and we are talking about McDavid. I mean he did this not me. If he wasn't so good I wouldn't have to find new stats twice a week to make it easier to write about him. The thing I like most tonight is that he comes at a discount from Crosby on both sites and arguably has more upside in tonight's matchup. The Oilers and their 9th ranked offense go on the road to Winnipeg to face the Jets and their 21st ranked defense. The Jets have definitely bounced back after a five game losing streak on the road but now face one of the best players in the league. He is safe in all formats and can be paired with with his first line teammate Puljujarvi for salary relief to pay up for Holtby or Rask.

PP Stack With: Milan Lucic, Jesse Puljujarvi

 
Artem Anisimov FD - $6000 DK - $6400
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 9.77 DK - 2.97

He has definitely cooled off since the start of the season when he was leading the league in points. After seeing his price eclipse the value threshold he became almost unplayable. The price has come back down and should continue to drop making it a great time to jump back on board. He gets a ton of  value playing on the Hawks top line with Kane and the bread man. Due to the inconsistency lately(zero shots last two games) he should only be considered in GPP's.

PP Stack with: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin

 
Alexander Wennberg FD - $5700 DK - $5500
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 12.59 DK - 3.5

It has been a fun ride watching Wennberg grow in this Columbus Blue Jackets system. He started to thrive last season when coach John Tortorella took over and placed Wennberg in the top six to see what he had in the youngster. Turns out he has an up and coming star. He is now playing top minutes on the top line and powerplay and hasn't disappointed. Through 21 games this season he has 20 points, 15 of which are assists. He doesn't take a ton of shots so the floor is pretty low so playing him in cash game can be a risky play but the price under $6K on both sites is hard to pass up in a great matchup.

Stack with: Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno

 

 

 

WINGERS

Nikita Kucherov FD - $7800 DK - $7400
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 15.59 DK - 4.83

Even without Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning have continued to roll out a Top 10 offense(6th) and still are producing elite numbers on the powerplay(3rd). Kucherov has stepped up ponce again and put the offense on his back. Through 23 games this season he has recorded 26 points and impressed with a +10 rating. He ranks Top 20 in shot attempts per 60 minutes which has resulted in him averaging right around three shots on goal per game. This gives him a high floor and safety in all formats.

Stack with: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat

 
Patric Hornqvist FD - $7100 DK - $7300
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 14.36 DK - 4.37

If you are looking to get exposure to the Pens top line and powerplay unit consider Hornqvist. he returned from a concussion last night and picked up an assist, two shots and a block in just over 17 minutes of ice time. He now has 14 points through 17 games and as long as he plays alongside Crosby he will be in play for daily fantasy. That is until his price gets closer to Crosby's in which case, just take the KID!

Stack with: Sidney Crosby, Connor Sheary

 
Travis Konecny FD - $4300 DK - $4400
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 8.36 DK - 2.55

Value, value, value! That's what you get with this pick. Last years first round pick(24th overall) is one of many young players in the Flyers lineup making an early impact. He has bounced around and played on multiple lines with multiple players and has already recorded 13 points through 24 games. That total could start to grow even faster if he should settle in to a specific line. Well good news! Coach Hakstol has placed Brayden Schenn back at his natural position of center with Konecny and Simmonds on his wings. I fully expect this to stick for some time but honestly we are only concerned about tonight. The combination makes a very affordable stack in GPP's and Konecny also provides a nice salary relief option for cash games.  

Stack with: Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn

 

 

DEFENSEMEN

Erik Karlsson FD - $7600 DK - $7300
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 16.57 DK - 5.59

Tonight is a great night to pay up at defense in tournaments. Most people are going to want an elite goalie with few backups and values on the board. This means paying up for Karlsson is tough making his projected ownership lower than usual. He went through a short dry spell but is back putting up elite number and has nine points over his last 10 games. In those games he has also provided 28 shots on goal and 38 blocks giving him a very high floor and the upside is always through the roof when a team plays the Flyers non existent defense. 

 
Colton Parayko FD - $5100 DK - $4700
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 9.39 DK - 2.89

If paying up for Karlsson just isn't in the cards for cash games take a close look at Parayko in the low mid tier on both sites. He has been a play making machine this season and is red hot with eight assists in his last 10 games. The thing that makes him a great cash game play is that he takes a lot of shots (31 in last 10 games) and also adds blocks to help keep that floor high on a game by game basis. 

 

 

 

Also Consider: Anthony DeAngelo(ARI)

 

 

 

 

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 accessto 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.