COVID protocol has been making a strong onset through the NHL in the past week or so. Keeping an eye on new is imperative to succeeding at NHL DFS. Following my Twitter beat writer lists are a huge advantage for getting last minute news and scratches. This Power Play article will use Awesemo’s Premium NHL Tools NHL DFS advice to help with building lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel tonight. The Awesemo NHL projections and ownership projections are two of the best tools to utilize when constructing stacks and making the optimal NHL DFS picks. Let’s go position by position and pinpoint some of the top plays and stacks for Thursday, Jan. 13.
NHL DFS Picks, Top Stacks & Lineup Optimizer Plays
Center
Patrice Bergeron (BOS vs. PHI): DraftKings – $6,900 | FanDuel – $8,200
Bergeron continues to produce at an elite level, and DraftKings has decided to keep their prices depressed. Despite playing on the second of a back-to-back, Vegas has them with the second-highest team total on the night. The ownership projections will be the guidance for exposure tonight. It is possible the Bruins could see sub-15% ownership on tonight’s 11-game slate. But if they are garnering more than 15%, look at different games. Bergeron has been averaging a point per game, with almost four shots on goal per game as well. The Bruins’ top-line numbers have been pretty insane, and the Flyers are still without Sean Couturier. Bergeron will likely match up with the Flyers top line, which has been extremely leaky. With Claude Giroux pivoting, they carry a 45 % Corsi-for and 2.94 expected goals against. The ownership should dictate exposure because a $17,800 Bruins top line is a very strong play. The question is, how is the ownership going to shake out?
Bergeron is one of the top options popping up in the Awesemo NHL lineup optimizer. For all of our free NHL DFS picks tonight, check out the DraftKings NHL cheat sheet and FanDuel NHL cheat sheet.
Matt Barzal (NYI vs. NJ): DraftKings – $6,300 | FanDuel – $6,900
The Islanders have dealt with a plethora of injuries and COVID issues throughout the year. They have been getting health, and their top six has been fully assembled. Barzal is the key piece to the Islanders top line with great playmaking abilities, and he is not afraid to get pucks on net. Barzal will look to add onto his eight-game point streak. New Jersey is dealing with a ton of injuries and COVID issues. They are down a goalie and seven skaters, with two of them being their better defensemen. Barzal and the top line will see positive matchups all night, as they have last change and sit in a good spot tonight.
Winger
Kyle Connor (WPG at Detroit ): DraftKings – $7,400 | FanDuel – $9,000
Connor has been a shot volume monster. He is playing at a point-per-game ace, while averaging just under four shots on goal. The Red Wings are going to be without Dylan Larkin, who is their best defensive pivot. That means the high-powered offense for the Jets should be in a lot of positive matchups. Connor will likely see the depth lines from Detroit, who all carry a sub-45% Corsi-for and three expected goals against. Stacking-wise, Cole Perfetti brings the price of the stack down to a very affordable price of $15,600. Together the Jets second line has a 52% Corsi-for, 2.82 expected goals per 60, 31 scoring chances created and 14 high-danger chances.
Andrei Svechnikov (CAR vs. CBJ): DraftKings – $5,500 | FanDuel – $6,800
Svechnikov has been a volume shooter for most of his career. He is averaging four shots a game, and he can snipe. The Blue Jackets are in the bottom five of every defensive metric. They rank 28th in expected goals against, 31st in shots against, 29th in scoring chances against and 26th in high-danger chances against. The Hurricanes top line will likely be somewhat popular, while going to the second line with Svechnikov will likely be a good contrarian play, as they will also get the better matchup. Svechnikov will likely see the Jackets top line of Gustav Nyquist, Boone Jenner and Patrik Laine. Laine is awful on the defensive side of things, and with the Hurricanes having phenomenal possession numbers, this will likely be a lopsided game.
Alex DeBrincat (CHI vs. MON): DraftKings – $6,900 | FanDuel – $8,100
Derek King continues to switch the Blackhawks lines up, but he seemingly has settled on playing DeBrincat with Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik. Toews has been a shell of his former self, but he is still a great playmaker that can feed pucks to DeBrincat. Over the last 10 games, DeBrincat has averaged over three shots on goal per game, and he can light the lamp at moment’s notice. The Canadiens are the worst team in the NHL so far, with 18 points. They are coming off a fresh shellacking where Boston lit them up 5-1 and then had to get on an airplane and fly to Chicago for a game tonight. A bad team on short rest is usually a good team to target, especially with the fifth-worst penalty kill. Even though the Blackhawks have been pretty brutal offensively, they will get plenty of chances to light the lamp at a somewhat lower ownership on a big slate.
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Defensemen
Roman Josi (NSH vs. BUF): DraftKings – $8,000 | FanDuel – $7,500
Josi will break the bank tonight at $8,000 on DraftKings, but with the good amount of value on the slate, there are plenty of ways to get him. He plays in every facet of the game and supplies a ton of offense. Over the last 10 games, he is averaged 6.5 shots/blocks in 24 minutes of ice time. He also plays the quarterback role on the top power play. Buffalo started the year out playing great hockey but have since come back to reality. Over the last month, Buffalo ranks in the bottom five of almost all metrics. Finally, on the year the Sabres are giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing defensemen in the league. Josi is a great play where affordable.
Calvin de Haan (CHI vs. MON): DraftKings – $4,100 | FanDuel – $4,300
With Seth Jones sidelined, de Haan capitalized on his opportunities. He is playing over 21 minutes a night while averaging just under four shots/blocks per game. Derek King decided to use Jakub Galvas on the top power play last game, but de Haan saw second power-play duties. The Canadiens have been a turnstile on the defensive end, and they have the fifth-worst penalty kill in the league. Getting exposure to a blue liner on the Blackhawks at a discounted price is a good idea. Lastly, Montreal has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing defensemen in the league.
Value punt defensemen: Brady Skjei (CAR vs. CBJ)
Top NHL DFS Stacks
CGY1: Johnny Gaudreau – Elias Lindholm – Matthew Tkachuk
The Tkachuk brothers meet again, which is always a great game to watch. Both brothers play aggressively, but it looks like the Flames will be playing downhill tonight. The Flames get the last change, so they will use the Mikael Backlund line against the Senators top line. That leaves the Flames top line to get the depth matchups, and it is going to be hard to stop them. Calgary’s top line has 3.1 expected goals per 60 and a 58 % Corsi-for while creating 35 scoring chances and over 13 high-danger chances. Ottawa’s current depth lines are a smaller sample, but they have been bad. The Senators top line is their best line, and they have been leaky at best as well.
CAR2: Jesper Fast – Vinny Trocheck – Andrei Svechnikov
Carolina’s second line has been a good possession line; they just get overshadowed by the elite top line. Andrei Svechnikov is a sniper ,and with Trocheck feeding him he will get plenty of looks tonight. They will likely match up with the Jackets top line, who struggle on the defensive side. They have 3.12 expected goals against and a 50% Corsi-for while allowing 14 high-danger chances. They make for a solid filler stack or a two-man with a defenseman to avoid Fast.
*Additional Data from Natural Stat Trick
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