NHL DFS Picks: Thursday's Best Values & Studs for DraftKings & FanDuel

We have a healthy eight-game slate from which to choose our NHL DFS picks tonight, and there is no shortage of star power, including Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin. Let’s get into some of the top fantasy hockey plays for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.

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NHL DFS Power Plays: DraftKings & FanDuel Picks | Feb. 4

NHL DFS Picks: Center

Mika Zibanejad (NYR vs. WSH)

DraftKings – $6,800 | FanDuel – $6,800

It hasn’t been a great start to the season with just 1 goal in nine games, but Zibanejad is still landing over 3 shots per game on target. There should be puck luck coming his way; he’s shooting under 4 percent, compared to nearly 15 percent over the last three years. His price has come down quite a bit from earlier in the season, and while it’s still high for a guy with 1 goal, the matchup tonight features a top line that has seen injuries/suspensions and a second line with a winger at center. A positive matchup at home for a great player whose price has been in decline is a good spot.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi (MTL vs. OTT)

DraftKings – $4,000 | FanDuel – $4,800

While he hasn’t been lighting up the goal lamp like linemate Tyler Toffoli, Kotkaniemi would still be on pace for nearly 60 points in a normal 82-game season (7 points in 10 games), and he’s averaging over 2 shots on goal per contest. Tonight Montreal hosts Ottawa, and Kotkaniemi should avoid the Ottawa top line in all five-on-five matchups. That is great news for the young center because with Brady Tkachuk and Joshua Norris off the ice for Ottawa, they’re controlling less than 40 percent of the expected goal share. It is a great, great matchup for the third-year pivot.

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NHL DFS Picks: Winger

Andrei Svechnikov (CAR at CHI)

DraftKings – $6,600 | FanDuel – $7,000

Svechnikov has had a great start to his year, even if Carolina has been inconsistent because of their schedule, with 5 goals in seven games. He is averaging over 3.5 shots per game and gets a very good matchup against a defensively weak Chicago team. What’s more is that has been skating on a line with Jordan Staal and Warren Foegele, and while that may seem a detriment, they have great offensive numbers as a line dating back to last year, with goal scoring surpassing 3 goals per 60 minutes. Svechnikov is probably the guy to one-off on the line because of his shot rates, and that makes him a target in any format.

William Nylander (TOR vs. VAN)

DraftKings – $5,300 | FanDuel – $6,400

Toronto has been using the Auston Matthews line against the opposing team’s top line, and in this contest that will mean up against J.T. Miller and company. That will leave the Nylander/John Tavares duo to play against Vancouver’s middle six, which should be a good matchup for that line. Beyond that, Vancouver is one of the most penalized teams in the NHL, allowing over 4 power plays per game to the opposition. Nylander quietly had a 30-goal year last year, and his 82-game pace this year is for over 30 goals again. A good matchup at a low-ish price means Nylander is fine for cash games but probably best used in a stack with Tavares in tournaments.

Andrew Mangiapane (CGY at WPG)

DraftKings – $3,400 | FanDuel – $3,800

Calgary’s last game saw Mangiapane – who finished strong last season with 15 points in his final 18 games when he got moved up the lineup – skating with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. Mangiapane is good in transition, with his controlled zone entries ranking in the 84th percentile. He knows how to generate offense through the neutral zone, which is beneficial for his two linemates. Mangiapane isn’t a volume shooter, but that’s also why he’s priced where he is. He is unlikely to get power-play minutes, but the Jets don’t take a lot of penalties anyway, so he should see a healthy amount of five-on-five time. He is fine as salary relief, but like Nylander, he is likely better used as part of a line stack.

[*NOTE: Mangiapane has been moved to the third line so Dominik Simon would be the one-off to use on the Gaudreau line tonight.)

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NHL DFS Picks: Defense

Roman Josi (NSH at FLA)

DraftKings – $6,100 | FanDuel – $6,500

It has been a slow start to the season for Josi, but a slow start for him is still 2 goals, over 3 shots per game and over a block per game. Even when he’s not producing at his best, he can still be solid. There is some positive regression to come for Josi, as the percentage of goals he has manage a point on is only 25 percent, whereas he has posted six straight seasons over 40 percent and the last two at least 50 percent. The team is also shooting just 4.26 percent with him on the ice, having never been below 7 percent in any season for his career. Josi has all these signs of being unlucky so far this year, and yet, on a per-game basis, his DraftKings output surpasses comparably-priced defensemen like Thomas Chabot, Shea Weber and Mark Giordano. The fact that Josi has better days coming his way and he’s still performed well speaks to the upside that he has on a nightly basis. He should be a target in any format tonight.

Colton Parayko (STL vs. ARI)

DraftKings – $4,900 | FanDuel – $4,800

Even with Torey Krug brought in, Parayko is still off to a great start with 7 points, 21 shots and 20 blocks in 10 games. Though his ice time has dipped in recent games, that was because the Blues had blowout wins in two of them and a lead throughout the third. There wasn’t a game where it was necessary for him to play 25 minutes, yet he has points in three straight. Arizona is in town tonight, and surprisingly, the Coyotes have taken the sixth-most shot attempts in the league at five-on-five. That gives Parayko lots of shot-blocking opportunities. He has a reasonable price and is a good defenseman on a Cup contender. He is in play in any format, particularly as a Krug pivot in GPPs.

NHL DFS Picks: Goalie

Antti Raanta (ARI at STL)

DraftKings – $7,300 | FanDuel – $7,300

We love our cheap goalies over here at Awesemo, and Raanta is one of the cheapest on the night. By expected goals saved above average – a goaltending metric that shows us how many goals a goaltender saved above their expectation – Raanta is third in the league since 2017. The two goalies ahead of him are John Gibson and Ben Bishop, and the two goalies behind him are teammate Darcy Kuemper and last year’s goaltender of the year Connor Hellebuyck. He is in great company. St. Louis isn’t a big shot-volume team, but the shutout is certainly in play for Raanta, and at his price he doesn’t even need a shutout or a 35-save bonus for value.

Kevin Lankinen (CHI vs. CAR)

DraftKings – $7,000 | FanDuel – $7,200

Lankinen, on the other hand, should see a fair amount of volume tonight. Chicago ranks 19th by shot attempts allowed at five-on-five this year, while Carolina ranks second in shot attempts taken. We have no idea what Lankinen’s true talent level is after a handful of NHL games, but he’s playing very well right now. But that doesn’t really matter for us; what really matters for tournaments tonight is that he’s cheap and should see a lot of shot volume.

Stacks

TOR2: Nylander – Tavares – Muzzin

With the Maple Leafs matching Matthews against Vancouver’s top line, the Tavares line will have free reign on the depth from the Canucks. While the Leafs’ power-play units remain a concern and Jake Muzzin may not bring correlation, he is still a good puck mover who plays considerably more with Tavares than he does with Matthews at five-on-five.

CHI2: Kubalik – DeBrincat – Strome

While not a big sample by any means, Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik have played very well together this year in over 90 minutes at five-on-five, posting an expected goal share of nearly 56 percent. Add a proficient goal scorer in Alex DeBrincat, and there is some serious upside here. It is a tough matchup at home against Carolina, but Strome and DeBrincat both played over 20 minutes in this matchup last game. A lot of minutes at home on a good line at a reasonable price is enough for me to ensure that CHI2 will find themselves into some of my lineups.

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Data from Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey

Author

Michael Clifford

Michael has been writing about fantasy hockey for over a decade, and has been playing Daily Fantasy for just as long. He has contributed to both the Chicago Tribune and the Boston Herald, has worked for Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and is now in his fifth season with Stokastic. He lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and can be reached on Twitter @SlimCliffy.