NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Picks of the Day (Jan.19)
NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Picks/Lineup of the Day – We’ve got a busy Thursday schedule with 16 teams in action. Among the most notable match-ups: The Rangers head to Toronto for an Original Six meeting, while the Washington Capitals look to knock off a struggling Blues squad on the road.
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 (Thursday, January 19th)
NHL Schedule (Thursday, Jan.19)
Dallas Stars at New York Islanders (7pm et)
Ottawa Senators at Columbus Blue Jackets (7pm et)
New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30pm et)
Washington Capitals at St. Louis Blues (8pm et)
Arizona Coyotes at Minnesota Wild (8pm et)
Nashville Predators at Calgary Flames (9pm et)
Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks (10pm et)
Tampa Bay Lightning at San Jose Sharks (10:30pm et)
*Important Note: Prices/Scoring Format from DraftKings.com
Center – Valtteri Filppula, Tampa Bay Lightning $3,800 (at SJ)
After a hot start in 2016-17, Val faded away on the scoresheet for about a month a half. He’s starting to catch fire again in 2017 as he rides a four-game point streak into Thursday’s match-up. Filppula is averaging over 2.5FPTS/game over that stretch and has 29 points in 44 games so far this year.
Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-10
Union and Blue
Winger – Lauri Korpikoski, Dallas Stars $3,400 (at NYI)
Following a disappointing tenure with New York (Rangers) and Edmonton, it seemed the Finn’s NHL career may be over. He got a second lease on life with the Dallas Stars and is making the most of his opportunity in 2016-17. In fact, he has 17 points and +7 plus/minus rating – pretty astounding for a career negative player on a lousy Stars squad. With two goals, five assists (seven points) in his last 10 games, it might be worth rolling the dice on Korpikoski versus the Isles.
Defense – Nate Schmidt, Washington Capitals $3,100 (at STL)
Even though he logs limited bottom pair minutes, Nate Schmidt is tearing things up of late on the scoresheet during the Caps recent run. He has one goal, five assists (six points) in his last seven games, and will look to build off 12 points in 37 games when Washington heads to St. Louis to take on a struggling Blues team.
Goaltender – Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs $7,600 (vs. NYR)
Despite being one of the hottest teams facing off against a struggling Henrik Lundqvist (if he even starts) like we’ve never seen before, Toronto/Andersen still ranks 8th of a total 12 starters in terms of value/salary for Thursday. On a positive note, Rangers netminders rank even lower, suggesting DFS experts think this could be a high-scoring affair. Andersen is 6-1-1 over his last eight, so until he puts up a stinker, why not ride the hot hand?
Next: NHL Mid-Season Grades: Pacific Division
NHL Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS Lineup of the Day
C Auston Matthews, TOR $7,500 (vs. NYR)
C Valtteri Filppula, TB $3,800 (at SJ)
W Tyler Seguin, DAL $7,300 (at NYI)
W James van Riemsdyk, TOR $6,000 (vs. NYR)
W Lauri Korpikoski, DAL $3,400 (at NYI)
D Jake Gardiner, TOR $4,300 (vs. NYR)
D Nate Schmidt, WSH $3,100 (at STL)
G Frederik Andersen, TOR $7,600 (vs. NYR)
UTIL Eric Staal, MIN $7,000 (vs. ARZ)