Columbus Blue Jackets' Sergei Bobrovsky, of Russia, plays against the Philadelphia Flyers during an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Hello hockey fans and welcome to nice little three-game slate on Friday. Las Vegas is playing their first ever game and we have some nice offensive production expected in all three games. Let's dive right in and check out today's picks.
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 lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 17.75 DK - 4.44
Three game slates can sometimes be tricky for cash games but tonight we are blessed with last years Vezina Trophy winner. Bobrovsky also ended up third in the Hart Trophy voting behind McDavid and Crosby as he led the league with an elite 2.06 GAA and .931 save % while recording 41 wins for the Blue Jackets. The matchup is not the best he will see all season as the Islanders ranked 10th in overall offense last season(2.91 goals per game) but he is at home adn the Jackets open as -160 favorites. I will be rolling him out in all formats.
Opponent - VEG
Proj Pts FD - 20.33 DK - 5.08
Bishop is the most expensive option on both sites tonight but the Stars open their season at home as huge -240 favorites to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. Bishop is coming off a down season where he posted a .910 save % between two teams(Lighting & Kings), his lowest in any season where he played high volume games. He gets a fresh start on a new team in 2017/18 and should be able to bounce back and it starts tonight vs. a sub-optimal Knights lineup that lacks a star player on offense and has the look of a bottom feeder for a few years. It is probably best to reserve Bishop for GPP's tonight considering we get last year's Vezina Trophy winner at the same price on FanDuel and $200 cheaper on DraftKings.
Opponent - VEG
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0
Actually, Vegas has a good goalie with Marc-Andre Fleury coming over from Pittsburgh. But he can't stop everything and he's gonna get lit up today in Dallas and look for this guy to be a huge part of the action today. Last season he had 72 points with 29 of them on the powerplay and he averaged 19 minutes of ice-time per game. He plays on the top line and #1 PP in Dallas. We want heavy exposure to Dallas today and Seguin is an elite play in all formats
Stack with: Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 6.54 DK - 1.9
Steve Stamkos is obviously an elite play most nights, but when value like this represents itself, we must take advantage. The young Russian speedster plays on the top line and the #1 PP with Stamkos and Kucherov and I don't see that changing any time soon. He scored 10 goals and added 18 assists while filling in for the injured Stamkos last year. This season he gets to play alongside him? Sign me up in every lineup in every single format folks.
Stack with: Steve Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 9.68 DK - 2.82
There is a new guy in town and it's just what the doctor ordered for Columbus. He has spent his first two seasons in the league playing alongside Patrick Kane in Chicago and will get a ton of opportunity in Columbus as he will start the season on the top line and the powerplay unit. He had 74 points and averaged 8.9 shots per 60 last year in Chicago which is a near elite number considering Kane also loves to shoot the puck a ton. The Islanders are weak defensively as they were ranked 23rd overall in that category last season making Panarain is a solid play in all formats this evening.
Stack with: Brandon Dubinsky,
Opponent - CBJ
Proj Pts FD - 11.3 DK - 3.25
Bob is a great goalie, but I still expect the Isles and their 10th ranked offense from 2016 to score a couple of goals. Last season he scored a whopping 34 goals and added 18 assists and will get a ton of opportunity playing on the top line and powerplay unit with superstar John Tavares. He is dirt cheap to start the year and I can't see myself not having him in a large majority of my cash and GPP lineups this evening.
Stack with: John Tavares, Jordan Eberle
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 8.61 DK - 2.56
We want guys who shoot the puck a ton and that is exactly what Vrbata provides. The Lightning aren't bad defensively, but Vrbata will be starting the season on the top line, so he may be a part of a goal today. Start him with confidence in all formats.
PP Stack with: Jonathon Huberdeau, Alex Trochek
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 13.36 DK - 4.02
I usually like the value at the D position, but there is so much value elsewhere that I didn't want to fade these two d men this evening. Hedman is a fantasy beast and he contributes in all areas while playing on the top defensive unit as well as the #1 PP unit. Sign me up all day for a defensemen who can tally 72 points, 33 of which came on the powerplay. Add the fact that he blocks shots and shoots the puck often makes Hedman an elite play against the Panthers in any format on this tiny slate.
Opponent - VEG
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 0
Did I mention that Vegas will be bad to start the year? We can feel sorry for them in real life hockey but in fantasy hockey? No way. We must take advantage in any way we can. Klingberg plays on the Stars lethal #1 PP unit and last season he had 49 points and averaged just over 23 minutes of ice-time per game. Don't think twice and get him into your cash game lineups as soon as you can my friends.
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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