There’s a five-game slate tonight with a ton of great options to choose from for NHL DFS purposes. 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 help your team rocket up the leaderboard.
As always, be sure to check our premium Slack for crucial fantasy hockey 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 fantasy hockey news and line change notifications.
[CONOR]
[SportsbookAffiliates]
NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | Jan. 20
NHL DFS Picks: Centers
John Tavares ($6,600 DraftKings / $8,400 FanDuel), A/B Grades
DraftKings and FanDuel are both of the opposing views for the two elite centers on the Maple Leafs. Tavares is $1,800 cheaper than Auston Matthews on DraftKings, while Matthews is $500 cheaper than Tavares on FanDuel. Tavares has hit the ground running in 2021. The pivot has six points in four games, and he’s had at least four shots on goal in every game so far. When you’re talking yourself through the Maple Leafs top six and trying to figure out which one to play, looking at the individual line matchup helps your decision. Tavares will likely go against the Oilers third and fourth lines, and he will be in plus matchups all night. The Matthews line will likely square up with Leon Draisaitl line most of the night, while the Alexander Kerfoot line will likely play the defensive role against the Connor McDavid line. That said, the Matthews line will likely see some action against the McDavid line as well at some point if things go astray.
Brayden Schenn ($8,300 DraftKings / $8,500 FanDuel), D/A/A Grades
The Blues and the Sharks will face off again after playing in a high-scoring affair on Monday night. Schenn is now listed as a center, making this line easier to play as a stack. This same matchup was a high-paced, scoring affair on Monday. The Sharks have started the year off pretty awfully on the defensive side of things. They are in the bottom two or three of almost every metric, but the season is very young. Schenn started the year off on a slow start, but he found something in the last game, with a goal and five shots on net. If he can continue to get pucks to the net, good things will happen for the crafty pivot. As for matchups, we will likely see the Ryan O’Reilly line play the shutdown role, while the second line gets the depth matchups. If you are looking to find value, the second line of the Blues is in play at $11,600. Finally, both Schenn and Jaden Schwartz will both see top power play time.
Latest NHL DFS Content
NHL DFS Picks: Wingers
Max Pacioretty ($7,500 DraftKings / $7,800 FanDuel), B/C Grades
I guess it’s broken record night for the Power plays article. Pacioretty has a goal in each game so far, and he’s hit the shot bonus in all three as well. These teams also just faced off on Monday. Even though the Coyotes controlled the possession game, the Golden Knights found a way to get it done with high-danger scoring chances. Pacioretty has been a reliable fantasy producer, and that shouldn’t change tonight. The coyotes have opened the season by giving up just about 33 shots per game, and they have struggled on the penalty kill. The year is still early, so we can’t really use metrics as an end all be all, but the trends are pointing down.
Mike Hoffman ($4,500 DraftKings / $5,700 FanDuel) A/A Grades
The benefits of having a team with good depth is that players like Hoffman will get positive depth matchups regularly. Hoffman hasn’t been a world beater by any means this year, but he is a known goal scorer. He was able to light the lamp on Monday with his one recorded shot on goal. The Sharks have given up over four goals against per game, and they are allowing 33 shots against. These teams had a shootout on Monday, and while I do not think it will be a high flying tonight, there will still be chances to find the back of the net.
Kirill Kaprizov ($5,400 DraftKings / $4,800 FanDuel), A/B Grades
On the cover this game feels like a black hole for fantasy stats. The Wild are into the neutral zone trap game, and the Ducks are in the middle of a complete rebuild. Adding Kevin Fiala and Kaprizov has brought new energy to the Wild, though, and I expect them to start scoring more goals. Kaprizov is a highly touted rookie from Russia, and he has comps as good as Artemi Panarin from well-respected NHL analysts. He debuted with a three-point night and then followed up with another assist. The Ducks will likely send out the Troy Terry line against the Wild’s top line. The Terry line has been pretty awful to start the season off, with a 48% Corsi-for and allowing 15 high-danger chances per 60. But the year is still young. Kaprizov will line up with Zach Parise on his off wing, and Parise has been a great possession player for years. Getting the Wild at super-low ownership on a short slate could be an option.Â
NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
Alex Pietrangelo ($6,700 DraftKings / $6,400 FanDuel), A/B/A Grades
The DFS sites are starting to price the Vegas defenseman according to their production, and it will be interesting to see how it goes throughout the year. Pietrangelo is a great defenseman that chips in with shots and blocks, while guys like Shea Theodore are more about getting pucks to the net. The way I would look at the blue line for the Golden Knights would be to use Pietrangelo if you are playing the Vegas top line as a stack or want exposure to it. Then you should use Theodore as your one-off, or if you need to save money, you can look at Alec Martinez. All three will get time on the power play, but correlation is where I would turn to.
Brent Burns ($6,900 DraftKings / $6,500 FanDuel), A/B/A Grades
Burns had a coming out party against the Blues on Monday. He had a three-point night and 30 DraftKings points. His ceiling is massive because he always chips in peripheral stats and he’s not just dependent on scoring goals. Burns is averaging over 27 minutes of ice time, and the offense runs through him on the top power play. If this game shoots out again like Monday, you can bet Burns will have something to do with it.
Alexander Romanov ($4,300 DraftKings / $4,100 FanDuel), E/E/E Grades
Awesemo’s ranking for Romanov doesn’t look promising, but the Russian rookie has been a pleasant surprise on the packed blue line of the Canadiens. Romanov has three shots on goal in each game this year while chipping in a goal and an assist. If you find yourself stacking up the top line of the Canadiens, adding Romanov can give you a little separation, as Habs coach Claude Julien has entrusted him with the second power play duties.Â
Top Fantasy Hockey Stacks
Vegas 1: Max Pacioretty – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
Toronto 2: Jimmy Vesey – John Tavares – William Nylander
Montreal 1: Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Fantasy Hockey Value Stacks
St Louis 2: Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Vancouver 2: Tanner Pearson – Bo Horvat – Nils Hoglander
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.
Looking for more DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy hockey and NHL DFS picks content? We have loads of fantasy hockey articles, data, DraftKings and FanDuel cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NHL home page. Just click HERE.
