Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/29/16

Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy hockey my DFSR friends. With Christmas now in the rearview, we can go full steam ahead with the second half of the season and it continues tonight with a huge 12 game slate. There are five teams (TOR, TB, MON, FLA, LAK) who will be playing on a back to back night but I am not too worried about fatigue just three days removed from the break. Let's dig in and have a look at some of the 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

Devan Dubnyk FD - $9700 DK - $8300
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 19.55 DK - 4.89

My top goalie for today was in no way a slam dunk and came down to two very hot teams. Both the Wild and Blu Jackets look unbeatable right now with 10+ game winning streaks while they ride their red hot goalies. I lean Dubnyk tonight as he will be on home ice and comes in as the much bigger Vegas favorite(-195). Dubnyk has been elite all year, leading the league in GAA(1.58) and Save%(.947) and Shutouts(5). The streak will eventually come to an end but it does not appear to be tonight. Dubnyk is safe in al formats.

 

Braden Holtby FD - $9300 DK - $8200
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 17.74 DK - 4.43

You are probably wondering why Bobrovsky didn't fall into this spot after I hinted at it above. Well, it comes down to home/road matchups for me and although Holtby has not been at the same level as Bob and Duby lately he makes an excellent lower owned GPP play tonight. The Capitals are the biggest favorites(-205) on the slate currently home to the struggling Devils who sit in the basement of the Eastern Conference. They rank 27th in offense, 26th in defense and have enjoyed minimal success on the road going 4-12-5 for the season. Although Holtby has only won five of his last 10 starts, he has been solid with a .935 save % and two shutouts. With so many people gravitating towards Bobrovsky and Dubnyk you should be able to get Holtby grossly under owned tonight.

 

 

Also Consider: Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ)

 

CENTERS

Tyler Seguin FD - $8400 DK - $7600
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.99 DK - 5.31

Both Seguin and McDavid are at home tonight but it comes down to matchup and Seguin and the Stars win out easily in that respect. They are the highest projected scoring team of the night facing the league's worst team in the Colorado Avalanche. They rank dead last in not only offense but also defense after allowing a whopping 49 goals in 13 December games(3.76 per game). Seguin hasn't been lighting the world on fire with just seven points in his last 10 games but the shot volume(35 shots) has been there indicating the goals will soon start accumulating for the elite centerman.

Stack With: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza

 
Jeff Carter FD - $7700 DK - $7100
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 15.88 DK - 4.8

You can't have a conversation about shot volume and not mention Jeff Carter's name. Looking at all situations on stats.hockeyanalysis.com, Carter ranks 13th with 19.5 shot attempts per 60 minutes which he has converted into 3.2 shots on goal per game. He has also produced actual points as well with 30 in 35 games and sits fourth in the leaue in goals per game(.54). Carter is safe in all formats.

Stack with: Tanner Pearson, Devin Setoguchi

 
Alexander Wennberg FD - $6200 DK - $5600
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 10.91 DK - 3.7

The Blue Jackets are the hottest team on the planet right now having won 13 straight games and are full of fantasy producers. While Wennberg doesn't provide much safety for cash games with very low shot volume, he does provide a ton of GPP value playing on the top line of the league's #2 offense. He has also seen his salary go down on both sites despite picking up nine assists in his last 10 games. The Jackets are a very balanced team and combining Wennberg with Atkinson and Gagner(PP line #1) you get a piece of each of the top three even strength lines.

PP Stack with: Cam Atkinson, Sam Gagner, Nick Foligno

 

 

 

 

 

WINGERS

Johnny Gaudreau FD - $7500 DK - $6900
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 16.15 DK - 4.95

He stayed red hot out of the Christmas break with two goals and an assist against the Avalanche on Tuesday and I am going to ride the hot streak.  Johny Hockey has now tallied 14 points in his last 10 after a very slow start and is now averaging just under a point per game. On top of that, he has increased his shot volume a ton averaging over three shots on goal per game over his last 10 games making him safe in all formats. If you are stacking the Flames it is best to target the powerplay as they have scored with the man-advantage in  10 of their last 11 games and are running at over a 30% efficiency in that time.

PP Stack with: Alex Chiasson, Sean Monahan

 
Brad Marchand FD - $6700 DK - $6300
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 13.69 DK - 4.08

The Bruins have been incredibly inconsistent all year but from a fantasy perspective, Marchand has provided excellent value. He comes with elite shot volume(16.9 shot att/60) which he has converted into 37 shots over his last 10 games played. This gives him a safe floor for cash games despite only recording six points over those last 10 games. The good news is that Marchand has been much better on the road this year with 19 of his 29 points coming away from home where he has also recorded a +8 rating.

Stack with: Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak

 
Evander Kane FD - $6300 DK - $5500
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 14.28 DK - 4.32

In the same game, we have another extreme value play in Evander Kane who has been red hot over the last month. After recording just three points in November, he tallied 10 in 12 December games including eight goals and has 37 shots over his last 10 games. His salary is in a buy low state right now as he has slipped out of the top six at even strength but comes with a ton of upside playing top minutes on the powerplay. 

Stack with: Brian Gionta, Johan Larsson

 

 

 

DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Ristolainen FD - $6200 DK - $5900
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 14.44 DK - 4.93

The salary is on the rise but he still comes at a big discount from the elite D-men while producing elite fantasy output. Over his last 10 games played, Ristolainen has tallied 12 points(4 on the PP) while providing a safe floor averaging over two shots and two blocks per game. He also has shown us big GPP upside with four multi-point games in those last 10 games played. Easy call here.

 
Jake Gardiner FD - $4800 DK - $4400
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 10.21 DK - 3.21

If you are looking for a bit more value at the D spot tonight, consider Jake Gardiner who ranks up there on a PTS/$ basis.  He comes into tonight with a three-game point streak and has recorded nine points in his last 10 games which include six points on the man advantage. The sub $5K salary makes him attractive in all formats but realistically he should only be considered in GPP's with low shot volume and minimal value in terms of shot blocking.

 

 

Also Consider: Victor Hedman(TB)

 

 

 

 

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.