Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/15/16

Welcome back DFS NHL friends! The busy schedule continues tonight with eight games including a balanced slate according to Vegas as four home teams are favorites while four away teams are favorites. Ownership for tournaments should be nicely spread out with no clear big advantages other than the Leafs as big -200 favorites. Let's take a look at some of the top value plays from our 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

Frederik Andersen FD - $8800 DK - $7800
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 17.12 DK - 4.28

While the wins have been had to come by on a Leafs team that struggles big time on the road, Andersen is a top goalie pick on Thursday night. The good news? The Leafs will be in the comfortable confines of the Air Canada Centre where Andersen has been impressive with a 8-4-1 record and .915 save % this season. He has also been very sharp lately with a .937 save % over his last 10 starts. It will be a great spot for Andersen and the Leafs to add to their home success as they are big -200 favorites to the visiting Coyotes who have lost seven of their last 10 games. 

 

 

Also Consider: Jake Allen(STL)

 

 

CENTERS

Auston Matthews FD - $6600 DK - $7200
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 15.08 DK - 4.59

There will be a lot of love for the Leafs tonight and for good reason. They are the biggest favorites on the slate and will be at home to face a struggling Coyotes team that has lost seven of their last 10 games and have not been good away from home(4-9-3). While his second ranked salary at the position on DraftKings opens up some decisions, he is a must play on FanDuel in the mid $6K range. The rookie has heated up up once again with nine points in his last 10 games and even when he wasn't scoring was still providing a high floor. He ranks 6th overall in shot attempts per 60 minutes(incl PP) which has translated into 101 shots on goal in just 28 games played. Add Nylander and Hyman for a full line stack for tournaments and even Kadri who joins Matthews on the powerplay.

Stack With: William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Nazem Kadri(PP)

 

 
Artem Anisimov FD - $6600 DK - $6500
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 11.78 DK - 3.46

If you are looking to pivot off Matthews in tournaments, especially on FanDuel where they cost the same, Anisimov is a terrific option but comes with some risk. He doesn't offer anywhere near the same floor as the shot volume(1.7 shots per game) just isn't there. On the plus side he has been hot lately with goals in two straight and three of his last four games and benefits greatly skating on a line with the reigning Calder and Hart trophy winners.  

Stack with: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin

 

 
Devin Shore FD - $3700 DK - $3700
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 8.49 DK - 2.55

His salary is starting to go up with the added ice time but he is still a big value under $4K on both sites. He skates on the Stars third line but centers the teams second powerplay unit and has seen a big uptick in shot volume with three or more shots on goal in each of his last three games. He is best used as a salary relief option to fit some other high upside players in your lineup but if you want to go off the board contrarian pair him with Hudler and Ritchie who also occupy the second powerplay unit.  

PP Stack with: Brett Ritchie, Jiri Hudler

 

 

 

 

WINGERS

Corey Perry FD - $7300 DK - $6800
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 14.34 DK - 4.56

Love the value with the Ducks players tonight as they travel to Boston to face the bruins who are the only team playing on a back to back night. Perry has been playing like an all star once again this season but comes at a discount as the 6th and 7th priced winger on FanDuel and DraftKings respectively. This makes him a great choice in any format as he comes with a nice floor averaging three shots per game and also has big upside scoring in two straight and three of his last four games and now sits with 26 points in 30 games on the league's 11th ranked offense.

Stack with: Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell

 

 
Viktor Arvidsson FD - $5700 DK - $6200
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 11.06 DK - 3.22

The matchup is tough and I don't expect a high scoring game so Arvidsson is a cash game only play for me tonight. He has been red hot with points in four straight and eight points over his last 10 games but that isn't the main reason he ranks so high on a PTS/$ basis. He provides a very high floor averaging over three shots on goal per game this season and continues to grow as a player already eclipsing his career high in points through 28 games.

 

 

Jakob Silfverberg FD - $5800 DK - $5800
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 11.76 DK - 3.56

Back to the Ducks for a minute. For cash games it makes perfect sense to target multiple lines on a team that is projected to score goals that night. I will do this tonight with Perry on the top lien and Silfverberg on the second line. Selecting one from each line helps spread out the risk and gives you access to more of the team you are targeting. Perry and Silfverberg also both play the powerplay which adds to their overall opportunity and safety for cash games. If you are playing tournaments, stack Silfverberg with Kesler and Cogliano. 

PP Stack with: Ryan Kesler, Andrew Cogliano

 

 

 

 

 

DEFENSEMEN
Aaron Ekblad FD - $5600 DK - $4800
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 10.6 DK - 3.63

I couldn't get real comfortable with the high end goalies tonight so I will using a value approach across the board tonight. Ekblad makes an excellent high floor option for cash games as he is averaging over four shots on goal per game in his last 10 games. Those shot totals look to be fully sustainable as well as he ranks 40th overall in the league in shot attempts per 60 minutes(17.1). He doesn't comes with a ton of offensive upside but has recorded four of his nine points in the last 10 games.

 

Derek Forbort FD - $4300 DK - $3600
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 8.99 DK - 2.62

Before this season Forbort only had 14 NHL games under his belt and a heck of a lot of AHL games. This isn't a great sign for a player who was drafted in the 1st round, 15th overall. While he doesn't provide much offensive upside, his price is right on both sites and he has provided a nice floor averaging almost three blocked shots per game. Take the discount and pay up elsewhere. 

 

 

 

 

Also Consider: Morgan Rielly(TOR)

 

 

 

 

Hockey is back and with it comes 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.