NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Picks of the Day (Jan.13)
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Picks/Lineup of the Day – 7 games are scheduled Friday night. The Maple Leafs head to Broadway to take on the Rangers. The surging Blackhawks take on the Capitals. Carolina plays host to Buffalo. Florida welcomes the NY Islanders to town. Columbus heads to the Sunshine State to take on the Lightning. New Jersey continues their Western road trip as they head a bit south to Calgary. Lastly, Arizona faces off against Winnipeg.
NHL daily fantasy sports (DFS) continues to grow in popularity despite the uncertainty surrounding the industry. Companies like Fan Duel and Draft Kings are still immersed in legal battles and in turn are unable to offer their services in certain American states.
Even with restrictions, the DFS community continues to thrive and in likelihood will emerge victorious when all is said and done. Just think of the way fantasy sports, in general, has evolved over the last 15-20 years. Daily fantasy sports is just the next step. Instead of drafting a team, spending an entire season tweaking and adjusting your lineup, you can select a roster of players for that given night and compete against other individuals.
Welcome back to my NHL daily fantasy sports series intended to help give fans an edge selecting their DFS rosters today. I’m targeting one player at each position (center, winger, defense, goalie) that make for quality value picks that won’t break the bank. I’ve also included results from yesterday’s picks and a bonus lineup of the day.
NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Picks of the Day (Friday, January 13th)
Well, it was by far the biggest beating I’ve taken with my “DFS picks of the day” on Thursday. A day after hitting on Sabres netminder Anders Nilsson for nearly 10FPTS, we took a -0.8 hit with Petr Mrazek. That’s the danger if you’re looking to save money between the pipes. Our forwards/defense didn’t fare any better, either. We’ll look to get back on track with those 5+ fantasy point producers on Friday.
NHL Schedule (Friday, Jan.13)
Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals
Buffalo Sabres at Carolina Hurricanes
New York Islanders at Florida Panthers
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning
New Jersey Devils at Calgary Flames
Winnipeg Jets at Arizona Coyotes
*Important Note: Prices/Scoring Format from DraftKings.com
Center – Denis Malgin, Florida Panthers $3,800 (vs. NYI)
Malgin returned to action versus the Islanders on Wednesday after suffering a minor injury the game before. He was left off the scoresheet in that one, but found the back of the net in the Panthers-Isles first meeting earlier in the year. He logs limited 3rd/4th line minutes, but does see a bit of PP time.
Buyer beware with this pick. Malgin hasn’t found the scoresheet for over 10+ games now. Given the match-up history, Panthers injury situation, and length of drought, the rookie is well overdue for a breakout performance.
Yesterday’s Pick: Patrik Berglund, STL $3,900 (at LA) – 2SOG = 1FPT
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Winger – Elias Lindholm, Carolina Hurricanes $3,900 (vs. BUF)
Lindholm had a sub-par start to the season, but is finally starting to warm up. In fact, Elias is currently riding a four-game point streak (six points over that span) and has eight points in his last 10 contests. The Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams of late, so this could be a favorable match-up versus the Sabres.
Yesterday’s Pick: Calle Jarnkrok, NSH $3,500 (vs. BOS) – 2SOG 1BS = 1.5FPTS
Defenseman – Michael Matheson, Florida Panthers $3,700 (vs. NYI)
Matheson got off to a decent start with 12 points through his first 35 games. He has since been left off the scoresheet over the last eight contests. There is some good news, though. The Panthers rookie is paired alongside Aaron Ekblad, and occasionally spends time on the second PP unit. Even if he doesn’t record a point, here’s a guy that can pile up the FPTS with shots on goal and blocked shots.
Yesterday’s Pick: Matt Benning, EDM $3,300 (vs. NJ) – 3BS = 1.5FPTS
Goaltender – Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs $7,200 (at NYR)
Toronto will be in tough to pick up two points on the road tonight at MSG, but it might be worth the risk. Andersen is 5-1-1 over his last seven starts and tends to see a ton of rubber as the Maple Leafs give up a lot of shots. So, even when Toronto loses, if Andersen is seeing 35+ shots, he still generates decent FPTS as long as the GA’s are fairly low.
Yesterday’s Pick: Petr Mrazek, DET $7,300 (at DAL) – 16 saves, 4GA = -0.8FPTS
Next: NHL Daily: Gabriel Landeskog, Chris Kreider, & More
NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Lineup of the Day
C Mark Scheifele, WPG (at ARZ) $6,700
C Vincent Trocheck, FLA (vs. NYI) $6,200
W Nikolaj Ehlers, WPG (at ARZ) $5,900
W Jonathan Marchessault, FLA (vs. NYI) $5,100
W Ondrej Palat, TB (vs. CLB) $4,900
D Justin Faulk, CAR (vs. BUF) $5,300
D Jake McCabe, BUF (at CAR) $3,200
G Roberto Luongo (or James Reimer), FLA (vs. NYI) $7,900 ($7,700)
UTIL Adam Henrique, NJ (at CGY) $4,800
Yesterday’s Lineup of the Day Generated 30.0FPTS