Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/7/17

Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 12/7/17

Welcome back to another exciting night of daily fantasy hockey. After a smaller four-game slate last night we are gifted with a much larger nine-game slate tonight. There are three teams(CGY, PHI, OTT) playing the second of a back to back game on the road and third game in four nights and while there are five Top 10 offenses in action, there are also seven of the Top 10 defenses going. Let's dive in and break down the top picks at each position.

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.

GOALIE

Jonathan Quick FD - $8800 DK - $8100
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 14.76 DK - 3.69

Quick has returned to top form after struggling for some time and has won five straight starts and while he didn't face 30 shots once in that time stopped 118 of 125 shots for an elite .944 save percentage. Tonight he gets an elite matchup vs. the Senators who after snapping their seven-game losing streak got back to their losing ways dropping their last game 5-0 to the Jets. They rank mid-pack offensively but have only scored 15 goals over their last nine games(1.7 per game) going into Wednesday night in Anaheim and will now be playing a back to back in Cali facing the league's #1 defense in the Kings. Quick is an excellent core play in cash games and can also be considered in GPP formats.

Andrei Vasilevskiy FD - $9300 DK - $8300
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.79 DK - 3.95

If you are at all concerned about the lack of shots and upside for Quick, may I interest you in Andrei Vasilevskiy? He has been tremendous lately winning seven of his last 10 games with an elite .943 save % while facing an average of 31.7 shots per game. Tonight, Vasilevskiy and the Bolts are huge -260 favorites as the Avs come to town and while they rank 9th overall offensively, they have dropped five of their last six and nine of their last 13 games as they have dropped to last place in the Central Division. All things considered, Vasilevskiy is a great play in all formats.

Also Consider: Carey Price(MTL)

 

CENTERS

Sidney Crosby FD - $9200 DK - $7900
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 18.16 DK - 5.28
Steven Stamkos FD -
$8400 DK - $7800
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.68 DK - 4.67

I suggest paying up for one of these elite centers tonight and looking at the salaries, I will likely be splitting them in cash games on FanDuel while I lean Stamkos on DraftKings with a big discount. Stamkos has been solid all season as he sits second overall in assists(27) and points(38) while averaging over three shots on goal per game giving him a high floor. He also gets an elite matchup vs. the Avalanche who have fallen to 25th defensively thanks to their current struggles that have seen them lose five of their last six games while giving up an average of 3.5 goals per game. Crosby sits outside the Top 10 in points this season due to a rough stretch where he tallied just three points in 11 games but has heated back up with 16 over his last 10. He also provides a safe floor averaging 3.3 shots on goal per game. When stacking in GPP's, I will be focusing on each teams powerplay as they both rank inside the Top 5 this season. To check out who skates on what powerplay unit, be sure to check out LeftWingLock.

Vincent Trocheck FD - $5900 DK - $5700
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 14.9 DK - 4.25

From a PTS/$ standpoint at the center position, there has been almost no one better than Vincent Trocheck lately. He not only comes at a price below $6K on both sites, he also averages over 21 minutes of ice-time and 3.3 shots per game giving him a very high floor. On top of that, he has also provided a ton of upside lately coming off a three-assist game and has nine points in his last 10 games and 27 for the season(point per game production). He is core play in cash games and excellent high-upside play in GPP's with his powerplay linemates.

PP Stack with: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad

 

Also Consider: Mathew Barzal(NYI)

WINGERS

Blake Wheeler FD - $7700 DK - $7400
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 15.77 DK - 4.63

Normally, being on the road, I would list a player as GPP only but tonight is a different story. Not only does Wheeler provide a high floor averaging three shots on goal per game, but he also gives us a ton of upside with 12 points over his last 10 games(36 for the season) and the best part is the matchup vs. the Panthers who rank  27th in defense allowing 3.37 goals per game. Then there is the PTS/$ value, especially on FanDuel where he comes at a big $1,100 discount from Kucherov and is the sixth highest priced option at the position. All things considered, he is my top winger tonight and safe in all formats.

Stack with: Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele

Brendan Gallagher FD - $6300 DK - $5100
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 13.34 DK - 3.84

Gallagher is a player I have been targeting for a while, especially on DraftKings where he is under-priced in the low $5K range. The Habs streak ended last game against the Blues but Gallagher is back in play tonight facing a Flames team playing the second of a back to back on road and rank 24th in defense this season giving up an average of 3.26 goals per game. Gallagher leads the team with 13 goals and also provides some safety for cash games with 19 shots in his last five games and is averaging over three per game on the season.

Stack with: Charles Hudon, Tomas Plekanec

Nick Bjugstad FD - $3900 DK - $3800
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 8.58 DK - 2.53

I already mentioned one Panthers player(Trocheck) but cannot get away from the value of Nick Bjugstad tonight. He skates on the top line with Barkov and Huberdeau and is joined by Trocheck on the top powerplay unit. He comes to us with a salary in the sub $4K range on both sites and has been hot with goals in back to back games and points in three of his last four. What stood out more than all of that, however, is the safety as he has tallied four or more shots in five of his last seven games and 30 over his last 10 games. At these prices, he is safe in all formats.

Stack with: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau

 

Also Consider: Jeff Skinner(CAR)

DEFENSEMEN

Colton Parayko FD - $5100 DK - $4900
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 10.72 DK - 3.22

Leading off the defense picks is Colton Parayko who has been providing tremendous value lately, especially considering the value price. He not only averages over 20 minutes of ice-time for the Blues and provides a high floor with 2.8 shots per game, he has been red-hot offensively with points in eight of his last 10 games(10 points total) including two multi-point efforts. Fire him up in all formats tonight.

Jordie Benn FD - $3900 DK - $3200
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 7.54 DK - 2.2

Guess who? That's right, Jordie Benn makes another article and is easily one of my Top 5 most mentioned defensemen this season. It's for good reason, however, as he has consistently been a top PTS/$ value play with a salary under $4K on both sites and not only gives us salary relief but a decent floor. I don't expect the scoring to continue(goals in back to back games) but will take the balance of shots and blocks all day long(15 blocks/10 shots last 5 games) for a punt play.

Also Consider: Brent Burns(SJ) in GPP formats and Nick "steady" Leddy(NYI) in all formats


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.

image sources

Chris Durell