This Monday indicates a medium slate. First off, let’s remind everyone of the Votts media list and a few links to follow.
When you are making your teams, one needs to make sure your goalie is confirmed and starting. Sites like Dailyfaceoff.com, Leftwinglock.com, and Goaliepost.com are great places for information. Another great source exists in team the form of team beat writers. Jeff has created a list on Twitter @Votts_DFS  for all of the NHL teams, and a separate list of all the beat writers for you to follow, it’s a great tool and a necessity. The advanced stats that I use and reference in this article come from Corsica.hockey and naturalstattrick.com.
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact me on our premium Slack chat, or you can hit me up on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS.
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A Quick Note…
The picks below cover the Monday slate which includes six games.
Full Schedule For Monday, January 14th, 2019
[table id=1089 /]
Prices are in DraftKings format unless noted. FanDuel prices will be included as well.
NHL DFS GPP Plays For Monday
High Priced Shots
John Tavares ($7,600) — The play should be higher owned just because of Toronto playing Colorado which projects to see close to 70 shots between the two teams combined. Tavares can be used or even Auston Matthews as a possible double center stack. The slate length brings about the possibility. Tavares is more the tournament play lately with eight goals and 14 points in his last ten games. Consider that he is averaging four shots a night lately and that only adds to the GPP choice. Both Toronto centers are above $8,000 on FanDuel so keep that in mind. Jack Eichel ($7,400) offers a solid alternative even on the road as Edmonton may have a less than 100% Connor McDavid on Monday. It is a matchup to at least consider exploiting.
Alex Ovechkin ($7,900) — The Washington forward has inched up to $8,600 on FanDuel but for good reason. He has a great matchup against a Blues team that can be porous. Their road numbers are better but still among the six worst teams in scoring chances per 60 allowed. He was a bit off target — 2 shots on net in seven attempts against Columbus but had 4+ shots in each of his previous three starts. An interesting facet of this game may be taking a look at Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko has been snake bitten all year but has three points in his last two games and is a good bit cheaper on DraftKings at just $5,600. His FanDuel price has bounced back to above $7,000. David Pastrnak becomes a strong play as well given his point a game pace against Montreal in his career.
Into The Middle
Nico Hischier ($5,800) — Hischier heated up at just the right time for New Jersey and has eight points in his last nine games (4 goals on 28 shots). The constant mantra is that Hischier must shoot the puck more. He has an above average snap shot and some slick breakaway moves (see against Philadelphia on Saturday). He is a center who will frustrate by trying to make the perfect play but his production has stepped up in the absence of Taylor Hall. Kyle Palmieri is still rolling along because of the second year center. They both enjoy a plus matchup against Chicago, who bleeds chances, has a bottom of the barrel penalty kill (73% on the road), and gives up goals early in 22 of their last 25 games.
The FanDuel prices for both center and wing are also not too expensive. Alex DeBrincat has eight goals in his last nine games and comes in at $5,800 on DraftKings and yet only $6,500 on FanDuel. Given his hot streak, that is not bad.
David Perron ($4,500) — Perron looks like a reasonable cash play and a decent tournament play on Monday. This is only because of the slate. He will not typically wow anyone but lately he has been consistent at generating opportunities and points. Overall, Perron tallied 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in his last ten games. The shot volume comes in at less than two per contest. Again, bottom line merits a look here. A ten game point streak is a ten game point streak. If one feels squeamish here, Blake Coleman is an interesting pick especially against Chicago’s depth which is 30th in DFS points to forwards. Watch for Andreas Johansson ($4,800/$3,900) who combines speed with a nice spot. That combination could be trouble for Colorado’s below average defense which lately has been yielding a ton of quality chances.
Throwing Some Darts
Sean Kuraly ($3,600) — Kuraly firing the puck on net around three times a game is a great sight to see. He has been rewarded with seven points in his last nine games and even a little power play time in Boston. His ice time upped to 15+ minutes a night has produced an unexpected boon for Boston and much needed depth scoring. How long that continues is anyone’s guess? However, his price on both sites is easy to take and allows to stack different Boston options on Monday night. Other center shots include Jesperi Kotkaniemi (who will see some top six time) and even Tage Thompson as a true winger punt play around $3,000. Value one-offs will be available on social media as line shifts happen.
Pavel Zacha ($3,400) — Zacha can be awfully frustrating and inconsistent but he does have five points in his last nine games with 27 shots on net. His ice time inched up to over 18 minutes against Philadelphia and there he was generating three high-danger chances. This expects to happen every game and especially versus a team like Chicago whose foot speed is well below average in key areas. Do not sleep on Oskar Sundqvist ($3,300), who has quietly put up six points in his previous nine games while average 2.5 shots per game in that span. He played over 17 minutes in his last game and could see more ice time as St. Louis sees what they have in the young player.
Radko Gudas ($3,800) — Gudas makes for a nice stacking option to Philadelphia’s top line for a bit of price relief. His FanDuel price is $100 higher but his floor is lately as well. With seeing 3+ shots on net in three of his last four starts, the rugged Flyers defenseman becomes a viable play over guys like Travis Sanheim and Robert Hagg. This was not expected but floor value is floor value.
Goading The Goalies
Again, our best bet with this slate is to simply wait for confirmations to come in. The problem lies in that there are no confirmations so far. Morning skates reveal a few more but alas sometimes the wait can be right until warm-ups on a moderate Monday night slate. Looking towards the lesser games tonight might actually pay off in GPP’s. Can a high-event game in New Jersey entice players to take a shot on one of the goalies?
Watch to see who starts whom. Expect the unexpected again as there is lots of uncertainty among who may start. Jordan Binnington is a high-risk GPP play for St. Louis but does Jake Allen get a start because they are playing in Washington. Will MacKenzie Blackwood get the nod for New Jersey? Carter Hart and Frederik Andersen have to be in play here. Andersen should face a lot of shots but is high priced. Hart comes in cheaper but will he face enough shots from Minnesota.
The slate offers up a few ways to get fancy.
More picks and choices will be available on Slack and social media later.
Best of luck on Saturday! This expects to feature a lot of unexpected, slate wise. Buffalo and Edmonton is one hell of an unknown for a late hammer.
