This Monday of the NHL DFS season features a shorter 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 evening slate. Also note, DraftKings carries an 11 game schedule. However, FanDuel nixed the 6:00 pm games so they only have eight games on their main board.
Full Schedule For Monday, December 31st, 2018
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Prices are in DraftKings format unless noted. FanDuel prices will be included as well.
NHL DFS GPP Plays For Monday
High Priced Shots
Tyler Seguin ($6,800) — The play should be higher owned just because of the horse poop comments made by the Dallas CEO last week. The concern with the center is that he has just 11 shots in his previous six games. Chances have been higher than shots hit on net which means he is missing a lot more than usual. Montreal has allowed 15 goals in their last five games and yields an average of 3.2 goals per game on the road. Their road penalty kill is just under 76% too. This may be a night to buy low on the Dallas center and be rewarded for it. For contrarian purposes, look to Montreal as there will be a few options. Max Domi draws a favorable matchup especially if Dallas breaks up their top lines yet again.
Aleksander Barkov ($7,100) — The Florida forward will be undervalued on this night as most will gravitate toward the higher profile matchups. Detroit and Florida have combined for just over seven goals a game in their last ten clashes. Shots on goal are right around 70 combined per contest. There are chances and shot galore typically. The top lines tend to be the ones that produce as well. Barkov has 13 points in his last ten games. He prices in at just $7,300 on FanDuel. Florida’s penalty kill is over 30% in the last month! Detroit’s penalty kill is 74.5% in that span. Remember, Florida’s penalty kill is not much better. Detroit and Dylan Larkin may be extremely low options to own on Monday night.
DraftKings Only Play
Jack Eichel ($8,000) — Eichel energizes the slate on DraftKings as his clunker on Saturday versus Boston may repel some ownership away. He still has eight goals in his previous nine contests and averaging over four shots a night. For those wondering, the top power play line for Buffalo could be in play. As for the Islanders, there is always Mathew Barzal. After a hat trick, do not be surprised if the center rides the wave a little longer. His speed will cause Buffalo’s defense fits.
Into The Middle
Mika Zibanejad ($5,400) — Zibanejad dished out four assists on Saturday in Nashville against a banged up Predators squad. St. Louis is even worse defensively which has most bullish here. The center has 11 points in his last nine contests on good chance volume. Shot selection presents a risk as the pivot is hitting the net at less than two shots per night and had three sub-par performances before the weekend outburst. The Blues allow 3.71 goals per game at home! New York’s road numbers are ugly which means looking at St. Louis is not taboo at least on this night. If for some bizarre reason Zibanejad does not play (concussion concerns), consider Kevin Hayes. Zibanejad is just $6.500 on FanDuel.
Tyler Johnson ($5,700) — Johnson makes for a nice FanDuel play because of his price and a decent option on DraftKings even. Anaheim playing a goalie that is not quite 100% has to heighten the play some. Tampa Bay’s frenetic play (the over has hit six straight times) could increase the pace of Anaheim even. The Lightning allow 3.8 goals per game in their last five while scoring 5 times a night! Johnson scored seven times in his previous nine starts. His shot volume is up to just about three a night as well. His FanDuel price rings in at $6.200 which is just about FanDuel average. Timo Meier is our other choice to watch for on Monday and his FanDuel price is just $5.300.
DraftKings Only Play
Zach Parise ($5,900) — Parise and Jamie Benn are just $5,900 but Parise has the higher chances, shots, and even better potential to pot a goal or two on Monday. The winger increases his floor by averaging a blocked shot a game of late along with the 3.5 shots per outing. Pittsburgh will be in play as well with their usual fringe linemates around Sidney Crosby. The only risk with Parise is that Pittsburgh has yielded just five goals in their last five games. This is while allowing 35 shots a game though.
Throwing Some Darts
Tyson Jost ($2,500) —Â Jost playing on the top line in practice on Sunday offered many hope and it looks like that he will play a game on the top trio, His punt play price lends itself to value as a few shots should do the trick. His FanDuel price comes up to $3,700 and FanDuel lists him on the wing, not center. Keep this in mind. Where will Jost be on the power play is a question? However, just playing that much at even strength should increase his chances. Colorado honestly is trying to get the young forward moving in any way they can. This allows for so many different lineup construction options.
Nick Ritchie ($3,500) — Ritchie’s risk is high, maybe very high on Monday. However, Tampa Bay has just been so vulnerable defensively of late. Shot and chance maps indicate they are bleeding down the middle. The forward’s speed is an asset along with playing on the top line with Ondrej Kase. Ritchie comes in at just $3,700. He has four assists in his last two games. This play hinges on that assist potential because he averages just 1.5 shots per contest. Anthony Cirelli and his line are ones to watch for Tampa as their speed should draw depth matchups from Anaheim.
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 lighter Monday. Looking towards the lesser games tonight might actually pay off in GPP’s. Can Montreal pile on enough shots to make Ben Bishop a viable play?
Watch to see who starts whom. Expect a few unexpected changes with it being New Year’s Eve. How risky is Semyon Varlamov on Monday? David Rittich projects well with a likely quality start. Henrik Lundqvist is lesser risk than usual against St. Louis because of how poor the Blues play at home. Does on try Matt Murray on the DraftKings only slate?
The slate offers up few ways to get fancy. John Gibson and Devan Dubnyk are DraftKings value plays by their pricing only. Their FanDuel price is a bit high on Monday honestly. This is a night where being patient may prove to be extremely prudent.
More picks and choices will be available on Slack and social media later.
Best of luck on Monday! This expects to feature a lot of unexpected, slate wise.
Also, Happy New Year from all of us at Awesemo!!!!
