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Ahh, that magical week between Christmas and New Year’s! Time, calories, and money don’t matter, and it’s a great week to just sit back and relax! Hopefully you are all enjoying your holiday season so far. The NHL returns tonight from its holiday break with a massive 11 game slate. It was originally 12, but the Columbus game has been postponed due to weather. With that being said, let’s dive into it and check out our DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Good luck!
Goalies
Pyotr Kochetkov – Carolina Hurricanes: Kochetkov is in a good spot again tonight as the Canes host the Blackhawks. There isn’t much to say about this matchup, as the Hawks are struggling a ton right now, and Kochetkov is a solid goaltender so far this season.
Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets: The Jets host the Wild tonight, and this looks like a nice upside spot for Hellebuyck, who has quietly been one of the better goalies this season.
Pheonix Copley – Los Angeles Kings: The Kings host Vegas tonight, and Vegas is pretty banged up. Copley has been playing well this season and has a good matchup tonight against the Knights.
High Risk Goalie Pick – Jacob Markstrom – Calgary Flames: This one is a really tough pill to swallow, but there is some value in playing Markstrom against the Oilers tonight. He was struggling going into the break, but the hope here is that the break did him well. Coming back rested might help him in a game where he should see a ton of shot volume. He should be in line for a save bonus, but he could also let in 5.
Others to Consider: Karel Vejmelka (ARI), Jake Oettinger (DAL), Darcy Kuemper (WAS), Juuse Saros (NSH)
Lines to Build Around
These NHL DFS lines are considered top plays for the night and can be considered the focal point of your builds. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).
Carolina Hurricanes 1 – Paul Stastny/Andrei Svechnikov/Martin Necas/Brent Burns: There’s no two ways about it, the Hurricanes are in about the best spot you can be in against the Blackhawks tonight. The Hawks have been terrible defensively, and this line should see mostly the Toews line tonight, which is a good matchup.
Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – Auston Matthews/Michael Bunting/William Nylander: The Leafs’ top line has a very, very nice matchup tonight against the Blues and the O’Reilly line. The Blues have the worst HDCA/60 in their last five games on the entire slate, and the Leafs have the best HDCF/60. There should be a ton of chances for this line tonight, and they should be one of the top plays of the evening.
San Jose Sharks 1 – Tomas Hertl/Kevin Labanc/Timo Meier/Erik Karlsson: Under the assumption that they put this line back together with Hertl back in the mix, the Sharks’ top line has a prime opportunity tonight. They see the Canucks, who are very leaky defensively. This line has a fantastic opportunity tonight.
High Risk Lines
These are NHL DFS plays that carry significantly more risk, but could pay off at low ownership. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).
Calgary Flames 3 – Mikael Backlund/Blake Coleman/Andrew Mangiapane: Last game out, this line matched the opposing top line for the Blues. If they follow that same matching scheme tonight, they will be up against the McDavid line in a very, very good matchup. It’s a small sample size, but the McDavid line is giving up 33.67 SCA/60 and 21.64 HDCA/60, setting this line up to be a potentially sneaky play.
Pittsburgh Penguins 2 – Evgeni Malkin/Jason Zucker/Bryan Rust: The second line for the Pens is in a very nice looking spot tonight against the Islanders, who bleed chances.
Carolina Hurricanes 3 – Jordan Staal/Jesper Fast/Jordan Martinook: This line absolutely exploded the other night, and they have a very good chance of doing that again tonight. They should match the Domi line for the Hawks tonight in a very, very juicy matchup.
Vancouver Canucks 3 – Elias Pettersson/Lane Pederson/Andrei Kuzmenko: This line doesn’t feel like a true third line, but the opportunity tonight is very good for them. Reimer for the Sharks has been struggling, so there should be plenty of chances for this game to go pretty high scoring.
NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: BOS1, LAK1, WPG1, OTT1, EDMPP
Value Options – DraftKings
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!
Center: Jordan Staal ($2900) – Carolina Hurricanes
Wing: Andrew Mangiapane ($3300) – Calgary Flames
Defense: Samuel Girard ($2900) – Colorado Avalanche
Value Options – FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!
Center: Lane Pederson ($3200) – Vancouver Canucks
Wing: Jesper Fast ($4400) – Carolina Hurricanes
Defense: Mattias Ekholm ($4300) – Nashville Predators
Cash Considerations – DraftKings and FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays for your cash lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. Cash lineups do not need to be stacked, and it is recommended to play no more than two players from a given team.
Center: Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
Wing: Timo Meier – San Jose Sharks
Defense: Brent Burns – Carolina Hurricanes
Goalie: Pyotr Kochetkov – Carolina Hurricanes
Bets and Player Props
In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.
Carolina Hurricanes: Team total over 4.5 (+115 on DK Sportsbook)
Toronto Maple Leafs: -1.5 (+150 on DK Sportsbook)
Timo Meier (SJS): anytime goal scorer (+125 on DK Sportsbook)
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