NHL DFS Picks: Expert DraftKings + FanDuel Lineups

Tuesday brings us a nice big slate of NHL DFS action with plenty of top stars and interesting looking opportunities on both sites. It is important to note that we lost a game due to COVID-19 concerns, the Carolina Hurricanes – Nashville Predators game has been postponed, be sure to remove it from your player pool. With multiple games from what remains still carrying heavy Vegas totals, it looks like we have another high scoring night coming. Landing on the correct stack and player combinations will be critical with that much scoring on the board, in this Power Plays article, the goal is to highlight several NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy hockey tournaments. Using Awesemo’s premium proprietary player projections and the top stacks tool, we will highlight several players and situations that will be advantageous and help your team rocket up the leaderboard.

As always, be sure to check our premium Slack for crucial lineup information in the 20-30 minutes leading up to every game’s lock. With the COVID-19 pandemic still looming, teams have taxi squads and are ready to fill positions daily as teams scratch players. Our Slack chat is hands down one of the best places to get news and line change notifications.

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NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | Jan. 19

NHL DFS Picks: Centers

Mika Zibanejad ($8,100 DraftKings / $7,800 FanDuel), A/B(A) Grades

The dynamic center of the New York Rangers ultra-productive top line and first power play unit is slightly underpriced in FanDuel NHL contests tonight. His “B” grade on DraftKings is telling us that he slots in as less of a premium value and is more appropriately priced, but just as in-play, on DraftKings. Zibanejad will be popular on both sites, justifiably so. In his third and fourth years on Broadway over the last two seasons, Zibanejad truly broke through as an NHL star. The 26-year-old pivot posted back-to-back seasons of 74 and 75 points. As one of the team’s primary offensive engines, Zibanejad has seen his average ice time climb from 18 minutes in 2017-18 to 21:38 per game last year, and he has done nothing but shine with the added responsibility. Add in more than three and a half minutes per game of power play time, playing alongside Artemi Panarin, and Zibanejad’s production and value skyrocket. He potted 15 goals and added 12 assists on the power play in just 57 games last season.

Zibanejad centers the Rangers top line, which is currently rated an A/A on both sites and is one of the premium pay-up options on the board. Playing alongside Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich, Zibanejad’s line is highly productive with a 52.5% Corsi-for as a line. If you can work the expensive overall salary, the Rangers top line is a great investment on tonight’s slate, and Zibanejad is what makes that line go.

Mark Scheifele ($6,300 DraftKings / $7,500 FanDuel), A/A Grades

With one of the higher implied team totals on the night, despite the presence of bigger names, the Jets could be a sneaky option on this NHL DFS slate. Scheifele is particularly noteworthy for his DraftKings price at just $6,300. This seems like a misprice when we look across the sites, even his $7,500 on FanDuel could be considered low for a player who has posted five consecutive seasons over 60 points. Those totals include 73 in just 71 games last season, and a robust 84 point effort (38-46) the season before. Scheifele put 170 shots on goal through his 21:48 average ice time last season, and has started this year with a heavier workload, putting up a monster 26:19 per game over the Jets first two contests.

Scheifele centers the top line for Winnipeg, playing between Andrew Copp and Blake Wheeler on a line that grades out as an A/A on both sites. They make a pricey trio on FanDuel, where the line costs a full $20,100, which could suppress their popularity. The line is far more affordable on DraftKings where we can get them for a collective $17,500, which is a massive discount from some of the other top lines on the site.

Additional Center Values

An additional value consideration in DraftKings NHL contests include Ryan Strome (NYR2), Pierre-Luc Dubois (CBJ1) and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin is a name that is known outside of NHL circles and will draw some public attention, while the other two players land further off the board. Strome centers the high scoring second line for the Rangers, playing alongside Panarin, while Dubois is the pivot for the Blue Jackets top line.

In FanDuel NHL contests, we pick up some additional value plays. Each of the players listed for DraftKings could be named here as well, and we can include Aleksander Barkov (FLA1) and Jack Eichel (BUF1) with their reasonable salaries and productive stacking options.

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NHL DFS Picks: Wingers

Alex DeBrincat ($5,300 DraftKings / $6,000 FanDuel), A/A Grades

We featured two of DeBrincat’s line-mates in this space the other day, and all of Chicago’s top unit looks terrific once again on the Tuesday night slate. As the least expensive member of the line, DeBrincat is bringing up some strong value numbers along with his high end expectation of fantasy point production. DeBrincat posted a 45 point (18-27) season in his 70 games last year, putting an average of 2.95 shots on goal per game. Skating with center Pius Suter, the line has generated just a 38.46 Corsi-for in 19:31 of ice time, while as a tandem DeBrincat and Patrick Kane had a 41.38% Corsi-for in 17:13 without Suter this year, and a 47.88% Corsi-for across 413:52 on-ice time.

DeBrincat adds time on the Blackhawks top power play unit alongside Kane from the first line, but without Suter. Playing the stack as the power play unit rather than the straight top line play could be an interesting differentiator, though Chicago’s first unit does rank as one of top plays in the NHL DFS Top Stacks tool.

Brady Tkachuk ($6,700 DraftKings / $6,500 FanDuel) A/B(A) Grades

With a slight price difference from site to site, Tkachuk brings different value depending on where you are playing. The reliable production and significant upside are the same regardless of site, and Tkachuk plays on an Ottawa top line that is interesting tonight. With a 6.0% probability of being one of the top two stacks tonight, Ottawa’s top unit is by far the least expensive first line option from atop the board. They’re going slightly over-owned, with a -3.3 leverage score, but the price is going to keep them in play both as a unit and as individuals.

Tkachuk finished his second season in the NHL in style, putting up a 44-point (21-23) season in 71 games that essentially mirrored his 2018-19 rookie year of 45 points in the same number of games. Where Tkachuk expanded his game was on the physical side, his penalty minutes jumped from 75 to 106 and he threw 303 hits, an increase of 74% over the previous season. Tkachuk is a power forward’s power forward and plays the game with edge that can lead to production. He is not shy about shooting, averaging 3.64 shots on goal per game in his 18:56 average ice time last season. Tkachuk and his pals from the top line pull double-duty on the first power play unit for the Senators, adding to the value of this stack overall.

Anthony Duclair ($2,700 DraftKings / $4,300 FanDuel) C/A Grades

Duclair is not a household NHL name outside of the more hardcore fans and, of course, NHL DFS players. Getting time on the top line in Florida this season could do something to change that. Duclair has yet to achieve the heights that some predicted for him on breaking into the league in the 2014-15 season, but the 25-year-old found his footing in Ottawa last season, posting a 40-point (23-17) year in 66 games.

This season, Duclair will play on the right side of Barkov, Florida’s highly productive center. In his 66 games last year, Barkov posted a 62-point season (20-42) and he hit the 96-point (35-61) mark in 82 contests the year before. Playing alongside one another for the first time, the combination generated a 53.33% Fenwick-for rate and two high-danger chances in their 13:31 of ice time, though they didn’t manage to score. Both of Florida’s top lines will be popular tonight, and they look well worth it. I would have no problem getting over the field on this play in tournaments on either site.

Additional Wing Values

There are values up and down the board on both sites tonight. A few names that are in play everywhere include Wheeler, Anthony Mantha, Taylor Hall, Jake Guentzel and Nikolaj Ehlers.

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NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen

Aaron Ekblad ($5,800 DraftKings / $5,200 FanDuel) B/B(A) Grades

Another member of Florida’s top power play unit and the key member of their top defensive pair, Ekblad is a popular click for NHL DFS rosters. Ekblad has seen an average of more than 21 minutes of ice time every season since breaking into the NHL as an 18-year-0ld rookie in 2014-15. He played 81 games that season, averaging 21:49 and posting a 39-point (12-27) season. Again, as an 18-year-old. The production has been remarkably consistent throughout his career since; Ekblad put up between 36 and 41 points in five of his six seasons, falling short in his 68-game 21-point season in 2016-17. Last year, the blueliner averaged 22:59 minutes on the ice, posting a 5-36 year. He took 2.19 shots on goal per game, while adding 1.25 blocks. He averaged nearly two minutes of power play time with the team’s top unit, though he managed just six assists in that time. In each of the two seasons prior to last year, Ekblad scored five times on the power play, reminding us of the upside.

Rasmus Dahlin ($4,400 DraftKings / $4,500 FanDuel) D/B(A) Grades

Looking for a less expensive and less popular entry point to the high-end Buffalo stacks led me to Dahlin tonight. Not to be confused with the also-productive other Rasmus (Rasmus Ristolainen) from the Sabres blueline, this is the one who plays on the top power play unit alongside first line studs Eichel, Hall and Sam Reinhart. That trio ranks as Awesemo’s third most likely stack to finish in the top two tonight, and they carry an impressive 3.2 leverage score, meaning they are under-owned. If we take the approach of rostering the power play unit and pivoting to, or simply including, Dahlin, we pick up a player projected for under five percent ownership.

Dahlin has two seasons under his belt so far and he has become a productive name for DraftKings NHL and FanDuel NHL DFS contests. At just 20-years-old, there is room for growth and significant upside on a player who already has two 40-point seasons. In his 82-game rookie campaign, Dahlin put up 44 points (9-35) as an 18-year-old rookie. Last season he managed 40 points (4-36) in just 59 games. Dahlin averages 1.52 shots and 0.89 blocks per game, his upside is primarily on the offensive side of the game, if we roster him we are hoping primarily to pick off some power play value from his significant average of more than 3:30 minutes per game with the man advantage. Dahlin does not offer much of a safety net in terms of counting stats, making him very much a GPP play.

Additional Defenseman Values

There are numerous top defensemen who are coming in with strong value grades on both sites. The list includes John Carlson, Kris Letang, Seth Jones, P.K. Subban and Adam Fox.

Top Stacks

Colorado 1: Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

NY Rangers 1: Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Pavel Buchnevich

Buffalo 1: Taylor Hall – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart

Winnipeg 1: Andrew Copp – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler

Value Stacks

Florida 1: Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Anthony Duclair

Ottawa 1: Brady Tkachuk – Josh Norris – Drake Batherson

Columbus 1: Mikhail Grigorenko – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Emil Bemstrom

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Author

Terry McBride

Terry used to do other things, now he writes words on the internet. He hopes his more than 20 years’ experience in season-long and daily fantasy sports and his custom models for MLB, NBA, and NFL don't steer you too wrong when he writes columns and makes picks on Awesemo.com. A lifetime of experience keeping odd hours make Terry ideal to cover KBO baseball overnight until the world returns to normal. Most of those late night hours have been spent on the couch watching sports, T.V., and movies; just try to shut him up about any of the above. You can find his pop-culture ramblings and more on Sideaction.