NHL DFS Picks: Thompson, Sabres Tough Fades on DraftKings & FanDuel

Monday night’s short slate of four games is still long on NHL DFS picks. Let’s dive into some NHL DFS picks and picks at each position. Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres are a can’t miss stack on DraftKings or FanDuel and there’s a no-doubter going between the pipes.

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Best NHL Picks Today | January 9

Top Stack, Buffalo Sabres EV1. Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin
$23,300 DraftKings | $27,300 FanDuel

The Buffalo Sabres might be expensive tonight, but it is the perfect time to open up the wallet and roster them against the Philadelphia Flyers on home ice.

The Flyers are not only one of the worst defensive teams in the league, but they’re also in the second half of a back-to-back. They lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 last night. The Flyers enter this one ranked 19th in overall defense. They also sit 23rd in expected goals against per 60 minutes and 28th in terms of shot attempts against per 60 minutes, five-on-five.

On the other hand, the Sabres are first in the NHL in overall offense, averaging an even four goals per game. Buffalo’s power play is humming along at 29%, good for second league-wide. Buffalo’s offense is led by Tage Thompson, who also happens to pace Stokastic’s skater projections on this slate. Thompson ranks higher than the Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

Alex Tuch is easier on the purse than Rasmus Dahlin, but in Dahlin you get a high-end blueliner into lineups that skates alongside Jeff Skinner and Thompson on that top power-play unit. All three players are averaging well over a point per game on the season. They should all be able to take advantage of a weak Flyers club playing their second game in as many nights.

On a short slate, getting such a high-floor stack into your lineups is a recipe for success.

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Forwards

Adrian Kempe: $4,700 DraftKings | $5,900 FanDuel

Since we’re loading up with a costly Sabres stack at the top, we’ll need to find some value to fill out our lineups. That’s what Adrian Kempe can deliver, especially on DraftKings.

Kempe and the Kings take on an Edmonton Oilers club that sits 20th in overall defense and 23rd on the penalty kill at just 74.2% for the season. The Oilers are also 21st in expected goals against per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, making their defensive woes crystal clear.

Kempe will skate on the Kings’ top line and top power-play unit for this one. He’s notched 15 goals and 25 points across 43 games on the season. However, taking on a weak Oilers penalty kill raises his potential in this matchup. Kempe is not exactly lighting it up with just seven man-advantage points on the campaign, but he certainly has a higher floor on home ice tonight.

Kempe is seeing plenty of ice time with 18:54 per game on the season, a career-high for the 26-year-old. He should be able to put that figure to good use in this one tonight.

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Evgenii Dadonov: $2,600 DraftKings | $4,000 FanDuel

Evgenii Dadonov’s value upside is quite large over at DraftKings as he comes in at a near-minimum price in a matchup with the Seattle Kraken.

With just two goals and 10 points in 31 games on the season, Dadonov has clearly struggled. However, he has also collected four assists over his last five games while managing three helpers and eight shots on goal over his last thee contests. He skated 16:59 his last time out against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday and should be in for third-line duties along with second-unit power play time.

A four-time 20-goal man, he’s shown the in past he can produced at the NHL level as he’s notched as many as 70 points in a single season. His production has lagged of late, but he’s on a nice little run at the moment and facing the NHL’s 18th-ranked defense and 31st-ranked penalty kill surely gives him enough upside to warrant consideration on both sites tonight.

Defenseman

Drew Doughty: $4,700 DraftKings | $5,300 FanDuel

Drew Doughty fits nicely alongside Kempe in a Kings mini-stack tonight as they take on a suspect Edmonton Oilers back end. He’s not only reasonably priced at both sites but only four defensemen project to tally more fantasy points tonight than Doughty.

Doughty has recorded just two goals on the season, but also 20 helpers while dealing with poor puck luck. Doughty’s 2.6% shooting rate is less than half of his 6% career mark and he’s never finished a season below 3.2% in that department. He’s almost certainly going to start finding the back of the net more regularly moving forward.

As usual, Doughty is logging major minutes. The 33-year-old is averaging 26:20 of ice time per game. Only Cale Makar and Dahlin are logging more ice time per game than the London, Ontario native.

Skating on the same power-play unit as Kempe, Doughty projects to perform quite well in a favorable home matchup tonight.

Goaltender

Craig Anderson: $8,300 DraftKings | $8,000 FanDuel

The Sabres should certainly be able to handle the Flyers in a back-to-back situation tonight on home ice, making Craig Anderson a fine selection as the top netminder on the slate.

At 41 years old, Anderson is in the midst of a big season. He’s only played in 14 games but carries a 2.61 GAA and excellent .923 Sv% into action, his best numbers since the 2016-17 season while with the Ottawa Senators.

The matchup itself is excellent as the Flyers sit 27th in overall offense and 29th on the power play. While they sit 26th in shots per game on the season, the Sabres also rank 25th in shots against per game which should help Anderson rack up some saves in this one.

This decision isn’t particularly difficult as Anderson’s numbers and matchup both warrant serious consideration on a small slate.