Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid works for the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 4, 2016. The Blue Jackets won 6-3. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Welcome back to the final day of daily fantasy hockey in 2016. The good news is we get one of the best matchups of the season as the Columbus Blue Jackets and their 14 game winning streak travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild who just happen to have their own franchise best 12 game winning streak. For fantasy purposes, it sucks if you are playing on Draftkings as they have not included the game in either slate(Early or Main) today. So if you are wanting to get action on that particular game be sure to get over to FanDuel and play the All Day slate which includes all 11 games today.
For the following picks, I will be turning my attention to the eight-game Main slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET tonight.
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.
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 16.27 DK - 4.07
To start things off today I am going with one of my favorite GPP plays between the pipes. The Stars have been playing much better lately, winning three straight and four of their last five games and have limited opponents to two goals or less in six of their last seven games played. That is impressive considering they have been considered one of the worst defensive teams in the league this season. As for Niemi, he entered the game for an injured Kari Lehtonen last outing and is expected to get the start tonight with Lehtonen in the concussion protocol. It has been an up and down season for Niemi but he has been excellent on home ice with a 7-2-2 record and .936 save percentage and will face the league's 26th ranked offense in the Florida Panthers. Facing 30+ shot per 60, Niemi is borderline safe in all formats.
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 17.02 DK - 4.25
If you are looking for a little more safety roll out Talbot tonight as the Oilers are the biggest favorites(-250) on the slate. They will be home to their division rivals, the Vancouver Canucks who are playing on a back to back and have been one of the worst road teams(4-12-1) in the league this season. Talbot is coming off an impressive start on Thursday where he saved 28 of 29 shots as the Oilers beat the Kings and has now won four of his last five starts. He has been inconsistent as a whole for the season but is a prime target in a premiere situation tonight and comes in under $9K on both sites.
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 16.34 DK - 5.47
I have a feeling the Stars, especially Seguin, are going to be lower owned than they should be tonight. Why? They are priced up with other elite players in better matchups as the Stars face the 11th ranked defense in the Florida Panthers. It is a great time to jump on board the Stars train as they have been playing some good hockey lately winning three straight and four of their last five games. As for Seguin, he has come out of the gates flying after the break with four points in his first two games and now has 10 over his last 10 games. He is safe in all formats due to the safety he provides averaging over 3.5 shots on goal per game.
Stack With: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 16.34 DK - 5.11
One of the reasons Seguin will be lower owned is the terrific matchup that Connor McDavid has tonight. The Oilers are at home at huge -250 favorites to the Canucks and right now are projected for just under 3.5 goals. With the highest team projection of the day, it will be very had to fade the talented center even if he has been struggling lately. And by struggle, I mean he has only tallied eight points in his last 10 games. LOL. He has a huge ceiling with multi-point upside and should be able to take advantage of a poor road team in the Canucks.
Stack with: Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 11.36 DK - 3.56
I know I talked about Niemi as being borderline safe in all formats as a goalie today but it is hard to ignore the high floor Trocheck has been providing. He has recorded four or more shots in five straight games including two games where he tallied seven shots on goal. He has been rewarded for that shot volume as well with goals in back to back games. The shots are going to come from somewhere and the price is very attractive under $6K on both sites.
Stack with: Jussi Jokinen, Jonathan Marchessault
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 16.28 DK - 5.5
All the pieces are in place for Johnny Hockey to have a big New Years Eve game at home tonight. He has really come on after a slow start to the season and has tallied 12 points over his last 10 games showing us his multi-point upside. He also provides safety with a floor due to his elite shot volume lately as he is averaging over three shots per game. The Flames are projected to score the second most(3.26) tonight behind their Alberta neighbors to the North so getting exposure to both teams is a great idea to maximize your upside. They will be facing an Arizona team that ranks 29th in defense, allowing over three goals against per game.
Stack with: Sam Bennett, Alex Chiasson
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 13.24 DK - 4.15
With so many top options in above average situations tonight Jeff Skinner and the Hurricanes may get overlooked. This presents an excellent contrarian spot for tournaments. You get an opportunity to capture some low ownership without capping the upside really at all. Even after cooling off the last three games(zero points), Skinner still has seven points over his last 10 games while averaging just shy of four shots on goal per game. Stacking him with his linemates is very affordable and allows you to roster a superstar in another lineup spot.
Stack with: Victor Rask, Derek Ryan
Also Consider: Nikolaj Ehlers(WPG)
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 14.98 DK - 4.61
With some below average matchups for some of the top D men tonight, I turn my attention to the value on the back end. Hedman's price on FanDuel is about where it should be but over on DraftKings he is a near must play in all formats in the mid $5K range. He has shown us his offensive upside lately with 12 points in his last 10 games and has a very safe floor averaging right aroudn two blocks and two shots on goal per game.
Opponent - SJ
Proj Pts FD - 11.12 DK - 3.41
From a PTS/$ standpoint, Martinez is in play in all formats. Although he doesn't provide much more than average offensive upside he has a price under $5K on both sites and an extremely high floor. He is averaging over two blocks per game for the season and has been much better lately with 32 blocks over his last 10 games while adding 19 shots on goal and five points. Until the production falls off or the price hits the mid $5K range lock Martinez into at least your cash game lineups.
Also Consider: Ryan McDonagh(NYR)
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.
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