There’s a short two-game slate this evening following the Winter Classic in Boston. Let’s dive into some NHL DFS picks and picks at each position. There is definitely a must-use stack to grab with a solid floor in any NHL DFS format.
NHL DFS Picks for Today | January 2
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Top Stack
Colorado Avalanche vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Nathan Mackinnon: $10,000 FanDuel | $8,900 DraftKings
Mikko Rantanen: $10,200 FanDuel | $7,800 DraftKings
Cale Makar: $7,600 FanDuel | $7,100 DraftKings
It makes sense to grab a high-floor stack for the base of our lineup on such a short slate. The Colorado Avalanche project as the right choice in that department.
Nathan MacKinnon leads Stokastic’s skater projections by a mile with his 18.45 projected DraftKings points. He’s sitting well above — you guessed it — Cale Makar’s 14.61 mark among skaters in this two-game slate. MacKinnon is skating in just his second game since returning from injury and while he was held in check Saturday against the Maple Leafs, I wouldn’t expect back-to-back goose eggs for him in this one.
Makar was also held off the scoresheet Saturday, but he brought his elite floor and ceiling to the table with five points over his previous two games with eight shots in that time. He’s collected 34 points in 35 games with 116 shots and 49 blocks in that time. Vegas’ Alex Pietrangelo is projected to approach Makar as the top blueline option in this NHL DFS slate but at a lower DraftKings price, the edge in value goes to Makar.
Finally, it’s a no-brainer to include Mikko Rantanen as a cap to a five-on-five and top power play stack. After all, that man advantage is humming along at a healthy 26.3% clip on the season. We can also target a Vegas penalty kill that’s at just 77% on the campaign. Before being blanked by the Leafs, Rantanen had collected three goals and six points over his previous four games.
This is an easy call to get this Avs stack into your lineup in both GPPs and cash games this evening.
Forwards
Trevor Zegras: $4,900 DraftKings | $6,200 FanDuel
Since the Avs are an easy call as the top stack on the slate, let’s take a look at some other forwards on the radar beginning with Trevor Zegras in a favorable home matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers’ 21st-ranked defense might not be atrocious on the surface, but this team is one of the more porous defensive groups around. They also sit 26th in high-danger chances against per 60 and 28th in shot attempts against per 60 minutes, both at five-on-five action.
It’s been a tough go for Zegras of late with a point in just one of his last five games, but this is a nice get-right spot for the sophomore. He’s still the team’s No. 1 center at five-on-five while his spot on the top power-play unit is a favorable one against a Flyers penalty kill that’s tied for 22nd at an ugly 74.6% mark.
His 27 points in 37 games might not jump out, but given the matchup tonight Zegras is a nice look, especially at DraftKings where his value increased due to his relatively low cost.
Joel Farabee: $5,100 FanDuel; | $3,200 DraftKings
Like Zegras, Joel Farabee’s value is clearly higher at DraftKings but his increased price at FanDuel should drop ownership in GPPs. Regardless, Farabee makes me a great option in Anaheim.
In fact, Farabee’s value rating is tops among forwards tonight at DraftKings. You can’t argue with the matchup as the Ducks have been about the worst defense in the league this season. The club not only ranks dead last in overall defense but last by a country mile in expected goals against per 60 and shot attempts against per 60 at five-on-five. Add in a 30th-ranked penalty kill and the Flyers should be able to generate some offense in this one.
Farabee has notched six goals and 18 points in 37 games, but we should see some shooting-rate regression kick in as his current 8.7% shooting rate is well below his 13% career mark. He scored 17 goals in 63 games last season and 20 in just 55 games the season prior, so here’s a guy that has demonstrated he can find the back of the net at a solid rate.
It would be wise to scoop up Farabee given the matchup tonight in Orange County. He definitely rates among the top NHL DFS picks on the slate.
Defenseman
Kevin Shattenkirk: $4,700 FanDuel | $3,500 DraftKings
Makar is easily the top blueliner on the NHL DFS slate as he often is but give Kevin Shattenkirk a look as a solid blueline option against the Flyers.
Even though he’s the second-unit power-play defenseman, Shattenkirk’s slightly lower cost at both sites has him sitting ahead of teammate Cam Fowler in the value department. Now, Shattenkirk has yet to find the back of the net this season, but he did score eight goals last season and is clearly due with a goal on a solid 69 shots across 33 games on the campaign. Shattenkirk has also added 47 blocks in that time so he’s at least been contributing in the peripheral categories.
His ice time is down to just 18:06 on the season from 21:25 last season, but I’m willing to wager he gets on the scoresheet in this one. The Flyers yield so many shots and attempts that he at least brings a solid floor to the table but he’s a solid look as at least a mini-stack option with Zegras at a low cost.
Goaltender
Alexandar Georgiev: $8,100 FanDuel | $8,100 DraftKings
Avalanche netminder Alexandar Georgiev has cooled off considerably after a white-hot start to his season and has also been torched for a whopping 14 goals against over his last three contests. Still, on such a short slate, he leads Stokastic’s NHL projections between the pipe, making him the top NHL DFS pick at goalie.
It’s an awfully big risk taking either John Gibson or Samel Ersson given how their teams perform defensively in front of them while I have Georgiev getting support from our stop stack above against Vegas netminder Logan Thompson.
Georgiev owns a solid 2.66 goals against average and .915 save percentage on the season despite his recent woes and also turned aside 33 of 35 Vegas shots in a winning effort in his lone meetings against them this season. He sports a 2.54 goals against average on home ice this season and owns a quality 8.13 goals saved above average, as per Hockey Reference, putting him 13th in the league in that department.
It’s best to simply roll with Georgiev given the offensive support likely coming his way in this one tonight.
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