NHL DFS PICKS: Power Plays for DraftKings & FanDuel, 1/2 (FREE)

DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS Picks: We have a loaded 12-game slate as the holiday festivities wind down and we begin the new year. Jeff Votteler has you covered with some top picks at every position, including Patrice Bergeron, Nikita Kucherov and some of his favorite full line stacks as well.

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*Back to back / ^ 3 in 4 nights / ¥ 3 in 6 nights

NHL DFS Picks: Center

Auston Matthews (TOR @ WPG) – DraftKings, $7,600; FanDuel, $8,500

The Leafs have gone 8-1-1 to get a hold of 17 points in their last 10 games, which leads the league. Matthews has been a key part of that as he has tallied 15 points while averaging over four shots/blocks per game. Looking at Toronto, people will have a decision to make between the Matthews line and John Tavares line. Matthews should see the Mark Scheifele line, which has been pretty brutal defensively.

We have a large sample size of the Scheifele line and they have a 45 CF% while allowing 37 shots allowed per 60 and they are giving up over 16 high-danger chances per 60. Winnipeg as a team has also dropped in the expected goals department over the last 10 with a 2.6 XGA/60. Finally, the Jets penalty kill has been abysmal. They haven’t taken a ton of penalties but they have the worst penalty kill in the league for the month of December.

Jack Eichel (Buffalo vs EDM) – DraftKings, $7,400; FanDuel, $8,100

Eichel will be center stage tonight, squaring off with Connor McDavid. I don’t think Eichel gets the praise that he really deserves as a star in the league. He gets it done, day in and day out and has 53 points in 40 games with just under four shots a game. Eichel should see the majority of time against McDavid’s line and that’s a good thing. McDavid’s line plays at a fast pace and that leads to turnovers and chances at the other end. The Oilers top line as a whole has a 48 CF% while allowing 34 shots per 60 and 13 high-danger chances with an expected goals against of 2.9 XGA/60. Finally, Edmonton has been a good penalty kill team, but they have also taken a ton of penalties. The Oilers have been shorthanded the fourth most in the league.

Mathew Barzal (NYI vs NJ) – DraftKings, $6,800; FanDuel, $6,500

It’s been a while since an Islander has found its way on a Power Play article, but this could be a good spot for Barzal. The Islanders should use the Ross Johnson line as a checking unit against the top six of the Devils, which means Barzal should get the depth matchups against New Jersey. Looking at the New Jersey depths, Barzal should see a majority of time against the Jack Hughes line, which has been brutal defensively in a small sample. Barzal alongside Anders Lee have been good at creating offensive chances despite the team being a defensive liability. The duo creates 33 shots for per 60 and over 13 high-danger chances per 60 to go along with an expected goals of 2.52 per 60. With last change and depth matchups, I can see Barzal lighting the lamp tonight and being a pretty contrarian play.

NHL DFS Picks: Winger

Patrick Kane (CHI @ VAN) – DraftKings, $7,200; FanDuel, $8,200

Kane has been the one bright spot for the Blackhawks besides the goaltending. He’s tallied 15 points while averaging almost four shots on goal, and 18.4 DraftKings points per game. Depending on the goaltending, this game has a good chance to be a high-scoring affair. Both teams are horrible defensively. Vancouver is allowing the fifth-most shots against per game, the third-most scoring chances and the fourth-most expected goals against per 60. Kane is in the top 10 in shot attempts for forwards on the year and the matchup isn’t really a difference maker for me, as Kane always has the shot and point bonus upside.

Max Pacioretty (VGK vs PHI) – DraftKings, $6,500; FanDuel, $7,400

Pacioretty has been shooting the puck a ton. Over the last 10 games, he’s averaging 1.5 real points to go along with four shots on goal. Even with Chandler Stephenson pivoting the Golden Knights second line, they have a 60 CF% while creating 45 shots for per 60 and over 16 high-danger chances. That’s pretty elite when you have an expected goals of almost four per 60. Pacioretty should stay away from the Couturier line, and that’s all I need. Pacioretty should see the Hayes line, who has allowed over 40 shots against per 60 and 14 high-danger chances per 60 with an expected goals against of 3.19 per 60.

Alex Galchenyuk (PIT vs SJ) – DraftKings, $3,400; FanDuel, $4,200

This should be the chalk of the night. First of all, I wouldn’t play Galchenyuk as a one-off, only as a stack. Galchenyuk has assumed the elite spot on the top line of the Penguins since losing Jake Guentzel to a shoulder injury. Galchenyuk brings the price of the Penguins full stack down to a manageable $16,900 on DraftKings. The Penguins get a great matchup tonight on top of it and there’s no way they aren’t popular. The Sharks defense has been particularly bad over the last month. They have the seventh-worst expected goals against, allowing the fourth-most high-danger chances and their goaltending has been the worst in the league. I mean, they did just get shut out by the Detroit Red Wings.

NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen

Mark Giordano (CGY vs NYR) – DraftKings, $6,300; FanDuel, $5,400

Giordano is one of my favorite top-end options tonight. He logs big minutes and he is a key facilitator on the power play for the Flames. Over the last 10 games, Giordano has logged 24 minutes of ice time to go along with over five shots/blocks per game. The Rangers are allowing the second-most shots against per 60 and they are giving up the fifth-most DraftKings points to opposing defensemen. That is not to mention the Rangers have a bottom-six penalty kill with a 77.4% kill rate.

Tyson Barrie (TOR vs WPG) – DraftKings, $5,300; FanDuel, $5,100

Tyson Barrie is riding a four-game point streak, tallying six points in those four. He gets to quarterback the top power play unit for the lethal Maple Leafs. He makes a great addition to a Leafs stack if you plan on going that way tonight. Winnipeg has been a middling team in shot attempts allowed, but they have the third-highest expected goals against over the last 10 and they also sport the league’s worst penalty kill, only killing off 71.4% of their penalties.

Jeff Petry (MTL vs TB) – DraftKings, $4,200; FanDuel, $5,100

Petry’s price has gone down on DraftKings in the last two games and I can’t really figure out why. He was moved to the top power play and he is logging big minutes while averaging over four shots/blocks per game. I’ll buy that all day at $4,300 on DraftKings. The matchup against the Lightning should give him a little extra block upside as well tonight. Tampa has been a decent team at limiting chances and they have a middling penalty kill, but Petry’s floor is rather safe here with a paced-up matchup.

NHL DFS Picks: Stacks

Toronto 1: Mitch Marner – Auston Matthews – Zach Hyman

The Leafs top line has been great offensively and they should benefit from the better matchup against the Mark Scheifele line most of the night. The Scheifele line carries a 45 CF% while allowing 37 shots per 60 and over 16 HDCA/60. Patrick Laine is the defensive liability on that line as he is not in tune to playing any type of defense. This game should play with a ton of pace and there should be plenty of chances to go around for the Leafs top line.

Pittsburgh 1: Brian Rust – Evgeni Malkin – Alex Galchenyuk

With Alex Galchenyuk moving to the top line, it makes the Penguins stack a lot more affordable. Pittsburgh’s top line has been a goal-scoring machine and I don’t see that stopping tonight. Brian Rust playing alongside Evgeni Malkin has been a thing of beauty to watch. The Sharks have fallen off defensively and their goaltending has been downright awful. This stack should be a very popular stack tonight so make sure you play a low-owned stack with them to get some separation from the masses.

Vegas 2: Max Pacioretty – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone

As I mentioned earlier, there’s not many lines in hockey with the talent that the Golden Knights second line has. They have elite offensive numbers and they should find themselves in positive matchups all night by staying away from the Sean Couturier line. The Vegas second line creating 45 shots per 60 and over 18 high-danger chances. I know Vegas is hard to peg sometimes, not knowing what line is going to pop, but staying away from the Sean Couturier line is the way to go.

The Flyers moved Travis Konecny to the second line and he has a large sample with James Van Riemsdyk. The two have a 44 CF% while allowing 42 shots per 60 with 3.1 expected goals per 60.  Those numbers will come down a bit as Kevin Hayes should help on the defensive side a touch, but I don’t see how the Golden Knights don’t get it done tonight.