NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft (1/19): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks

Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey season is back and I am thrilled to be covering this sport over at RotoBaller! As always, I will do my best to give you the stats and info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

If you are new to playing NHL DFS, there are several things to know that will help you get caught up to speed. The first thing to know is that stacking lines is important and correlating your plays can pay off. In hockey, if someone scores a goal, there's a good chance that some on his team will receive an assist on that goal, so you want to build lineups around players skating together. The second thing is to make sure you look at the two sites and see the different ways to obtain points. On DraftKings, you get bonus points for 5+ shots or 3+ blocked shots so someone like Alex Ovechkin who is a volume shooter tends to be a better play there just because he can rack up additional points based on his style of play.

Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and Fanduel for Tuesday, January 19th, 2020 at 7:00 PM. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @jorgepucks as I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions. Good luck RotoBallers!

NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 1/19

• New Jersey Devils vs.  New York Rangers (-145) - 5.5O
• Buffalo Sabres vs. Philadelphia Flyers (-165) - 6U
• Chicago Blackhawks vs. Florida Panthers (-160) - 6.5U
• Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-125) - 6.5U
• Winnipeg Jets (-115) vs. Ottawa Senators (-103) - 6.5U
• Columbus Blue Jackets (-180) vs. Detroit Red Wings - 5.5U
• Carolina Hurricanes (-120) vs. Nashville Predators - 5.5O
• Colorado Avalanche (-230) vs. Los Angeles Kings - 5.5O

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

The matrix above takes the averages of four categories and creates a rating scale to help you decide which goalies to use, which goalies to target against, and conversely which teams could be viable from a stacking standpoint. It looks at four categories: Goals Allowed (GA), Shots Allowed (SA), Goals For (GF), Shots For (SF). The higher the overall rating in the last column indicates that it is a more dangerous matchup for that team's goalie while it might be beneficial to stack against him. I match and sync this every day to the actual opponents that they are facing every slate so this is always slate specific.

NHL DFS Power Play Matrix

The Power Play matrix is to help locate matchups that can be exploited should there be an odd-man advantage during the game. Just like the goalie matrix above, the teams are matched up based on their own power play percentage rank and their opponent's penalty kill percentage. When looking at this matrix, you will want to look for teams that succeed in the power play rank while their opponent has a poor penalty kill rank.

NHL DFS Core Plays

The Core plays below are the players that you should focus on incorporating into your cash game builds and tournament builds. When it comes to cash games, you want guys that offer high floors that rack up peripheral stats (shots, blocks, etc). When it comes to tournaments, it is best to take a core play and see who their linemates are and build line stacks based on that. I will give 2-3 plays at each position at different pricing ranges so that you can have a variety of plays to choose from when building your cash builds.

NHL DFS Center Picks

• Mika Zibanejad ($ 8,100 DK / $ 7,800 FD) - Zibanejad has one of the higher ceilings on this slate and when factoring in the matchup against a young Devils team that plays with pace, he could see plenty of scoring opportunities. When going back to the 2019 season, Zibanejad has faced the Devils in eight total games, and in that stretch, he has had five multi-point performances.
• Alexander Barkov ($ 6,900 DK / $ 7,100 FD) - The Blackhawks are allowing over five goals per game to start the season and with how much of a scoring threat Barkov can be, he is certainly viable in all formats. Barkov registered an assist in their win over Chicago on Sunday while also taking three shots during the game. He has the ability to take more shots and potentially hit the back of a net in this matchup.
• Pierre Luc-Dubois ($ 4,200 DK / $ 5,600 FD) - The Blue Jackets top center finally got on the board as he netted a goal in Monday's win over Detroit. Luc-Dubois finally pulled the trigger and fired four shots on goal which was encouraging to see. While he isn't the safest of plays, he will see ice-time as he centers the top line and also is on the top power-play unit as well.

Other centers to consider: MacKinnon, Eichel, Kadri, Suter, Norris

NHL DFS Forward Picks

• Patrick Kane ($ 7,400 DK/ $ 8,000 FD) - The Blackhawks are off to a rough start to the 2021 season and they will need Kane to start scoring in order for them to rack up a couple of wins. Kane has registered a point in back-to-back games and is averaging three shots per game so look to him to have a green light to shoot the puck anytime he gets a chance.
• Anthony Mantha ($ 5,400 DK/ $ 6,000 FD) - Mantha is in a favorable price range and while Columbus is a sound defensive team, Mantha has found points in back-to-back games. He is coming off of a four-shot performance and is searching for his first goal of the season which could come on this slate.
• Patric Hornqvist ($ 3,300 DK/ $ 5,200 FD) - The pricing is just too good to pass up on for Hornqvist. He is in the low 3k range on DK and offers great upside for this pricepoint. He registered two points (one goal, one assist) and draws another favorable matchup again against Chicago.

Other wings to consider: Connor, Huberdeau, Tkachuk, DeBrincat, Burakovsky, Ryan, Kapanen (GTD), Duclair

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

• Thomas Chabot ($6,300 DK / $ 5,300 FD) - Chabot is a young offensive defenseman that is heavily involved in the offensive end for the Sens. He sees a tremendous amount of ice-time and has produced points in back-to-back games. The Jets will be on the end of a back-to-back so they could be fatigued from playing and then traveling so Chabot and company could take advantage and push the pace.
• Duncan Keith ($5,700 DK / $ 5,000 FD) - Florida has struggled over the past several years against offensive defenseman and Keith is a main cog for this Blackhawks team.  The veteran defenseman recorded his first two points of the season against the Panthers on Sunday night and with this projected to be another fast-paced game, Duncan can be included in your tournament lineups.
• Mattias Ekholm ($ 3,800 DK / $ 4,000 FD) - The pricing on Ekholm is just too low as he offers one of the better floors from the defensive position. Ekholm registered his first assist of the season against the Blue Jackets is averaging two blocked shots per game this season. He sees a very solid amount of ice-time and also skates on the second power-play unit so his role is firmly cemented on this Nashville squad.

Other defensemen to consider: Josi, Ellis, Ekblad, Fox, Subban, Zaitsev

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

• Philip Grubauer ($ 8,400 DK / $ 8,300 FD) - The game between the Avs and Kings could be a very physical game and it really could end up being a grind it out kind of game for the Avs goalie. The Kings take shots but struggle to convert those chances into goals which bode well for Grubauer as a fantasy play.
• Alexander Georgiev ($ 7,800DK / $ 7,900 FD) - The Rangers get a nice home matchup against the Devils and New Jersey is averaging only two goals scored per game to start the season. Georgiev will be in net for this Tuesday matchup and in his lone start of the season, Georgiev pitched a shutout against a very good Islanders team as he stopped 23 total shots and scored 26.1 DK points.
• Jonathan Bernier ($ 6,800 DK / $ 6,900 FD) - This might not be a normal recommendation as rostering a Red Wings goalie nowadays might be taboo but it could make for a great tournament play. Bernier is in the high 6k range and if he is able to limit to see a decent shot volume and limit the number of goals scored, he could hit value with ease.

Other goalies to consider: Murray

Note: If you do roster a goalie listed above in cash games, it is sometimes best to make a hedge lineup in tournaments and take the opposing offense against them incase he gives up a few goals while that opposing team carries lower ownership.

Favorite NHL DFS Line Stacks

• NYR 2
  • Panarin/ Strome/ Lafreniere (Fox, D-men add on)
    • The Rangers have as much scoring upside in the league as anyone else and they also have one of the highest ceilings as a team. They moved Alexis Lafreniere to the second line and it seemed to have an impact as the Ranger's second line generated five scoring chances, two high-danger opportunities, and a goal in their most recent game against the Islanders. While it is a very limited sample size, it is better to be ahead of the curve and play them in a good matchup hoping we get a ceiling game early on in the season.
• BUF 1
  • Hall/ Eichel/ Reinhart/ (Dahlin, D-men add on)
    • The Sabres have a very strong top line and they will be a handful for opposing teams to defend. The loss of Couturier really impacts the Flyers from a defensive standpoint and while the Flyers still have solid defensive pieces, this trio can push the pace and create opportunities for themselves. So far, this line has generated two goals already against the Flyers as I am writing this article. With Hart most likely not in net tomorrow, it only gets better for this Sabres top line.
• COL 2
  • Saad/ Kadri/ Burakovsky (Girard, D-men add on)
    • This game is intriguing for several different reasons. The Avs top line will garner ownership and be one of the higher owned stacks on the slate but they also draw a tough matchup as the Kopitar line hard matches with the opposing team's top line. Pivoting to the Avs second line could be a nice salary saving move as they will get mixed with the second and third lines which offers up a much better matchup in this game.
• Other Stacks to consider: OTT 1, FL 1/2, PIT 1, CHI 1

SuperDraft NHL DFS Picks

C: Zibanejad (1X), MacKinnon (1.25X), Eichel (1.35X), Larkin (1.55X), Kadri (1.65X)

W: Kane (1.15X), Panarin (1.2X), Tkachuk (1.35X), Hall (1.5X), Huberdeau (1.75X)

D: Carlson (1.15X), Josi (1.3X), Chabot (1.65X), Ekblad (1.7X), Doughty (1.8X)

G: Georgiev (1.65X), Murray(1.55X), Bernier (1.65X),

*Core 4 for SuperDraft are Bolded

Key Abbreviations:

xGF/60= expected goal for per 60 minutes of ice time

GF/60= goals for per 60 minutes of ice time

SC/60= Scoring Chances per 60 minutes of ice time

If you have any additional questions, make sure to reach out to me on twitter or in our NHL room at the RotoBaller slack chat!

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