Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for January 13th of the 2015/2016 NHL season. Each day we'll be providing you with a handful of forward, defensemen, and goaltender picks for FanDuel and DraftKings GPP and cash games.
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NHL DFS Picks for Wednesday, January 13th
There are four games on the schedule tonight. With every goalie on Columbus seemingly injured, opportunities emerge, but for the guy between the pipes on the opposite side of the ice. Tonight's lineup features multiple Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Senators, one Flame that keeps lighting up the scoresheet, and the sole productive Duck skating in Anaheim's pond. For updated goalie confirmations, check out www.leftwinglock.com.
As per my colleague and fellow Hockey DFS writer, Chris:
A couple strategy notes. For cash game construction look for players who can contribute to your score when they are not providing offense. Examples are guys who take a ton of shots, defensemen who block a lot of shots(DraftKings). Also, look for guys who get powerplay time and especially Top 6 forwards. You can find value in players who join a new line due to an injury or just get a promotion and more ice time.
For large field tournaments (GPP's) you want to find payers who have multi point upside and can grab double digit fantasy points. To stack the most upside in your forwards a common strategy is to punt the defense position. This doesn't mean just grab anyone. Try and look for a D man who will be playing more PP time or might get a boost in overall playing time due to an injury.
Let's take a look at some solid plays for Wednesday's action.
James Reimer - Goaltender, Maple Leafs (DraftKings - $6,500 FanDuel - $ )
Reimer is confirmed to start against the Blue Jackets on Wednesday. As mentioned in the introduction, Columbus is depleted at the goalie position with Sergei Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney both on injured reserved. The unproven Joonas Korpisalo will likely get the nod between the pipes, who has given up four goals in three straight games. Reimer hasn't picked up a W since late November, but expect him to get back to his winning ways against the lowly Blue Jackets.
Craig Anderson - Goaltender, Senators (DraftKings - $7,600 FanDuel - $ )
With Andrew Hammond day-to-day due to personal reasons, Anderson will likely get the nod against the Anaheim Ducks. Anderson is coming off a winning performance where he made 33 saves on 34 shot attempts. It was his best showing since late December, and heads into an incredible matchup against Anaheim. The Ducks score 1.85 goals a game, an NHL-worst this season, looking up at the Devils who are the next worst scoring team with 2.21 a game. Anderson is a must start in both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Tyler Bozak - Center, Maple Leafs (DraftKings - $4,300 FanDuel - $ )
James van Riemsdyk is set to miss six to eight weeks of action with a leg injury. Leo Komarov is day-to-day, and has missed practiced two days in a row due to an undisclosed injury. Both are Toronto's leading goal-scorers and point-getters. Bozak is third on Toronto with 27 points, and will now be looked to often for production. The Maple Leafs host the woeful Blue Jackets who give up the most goals in the NHL with 3.21 a game. Bozak is very capable of lighting the lamp while he tallies stats in the hits, blocked shots, and shots on goal categories as well. He should be considered on both DFS sites.
Aleksander Barkov - Center, Panthers (DraftKings - $5,800 FanDuel $ )
Barkov has had a very productive stretch over his last ten games. In that span, he has collected 11 points, five goals and six assists, posting a +7 plus/minus, tallying 27 shots on goal, ten hits, and seven blocked shots. The 20-year-old sees close to 20 minutes of ice time a night and is benefiting from playing on both Florida's top line and number one power play unit with Jaromir Jagr.
Jaromir Jagr - Winger, Panthers (DraftKings - $5,800 FanDuel - $ )
Jagr continues to stave off father time in his magical 22nd season in the NHL. The Panthers's 12 game winning streak was recently snapped by the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, but Florida's surprising success is due largely in part to Jagr's team-leading 32 points. He has picked up a point in five straight games and is making the young talent around him better. As long as the Panthers continue to play well, expect Jagr to be at the center of their offensive attack.
Corey Perry - Winger, Ducks (DraftKings - $6,800 FanDuel - $)
Perry leads the offensively troubled Ducks in goals, points, power play points, and shots on goal. He has scored in two straight games and, with the exception of Ryan Getzlaf, is the sole provider of much of anything in Anaheim. Lucky for him, the Ducks host the Senators who surrender the fifth most goals in the league, almost three a game. Perry also sprinkles stats across the board. Friday against the Blues, he tallied eight shots on goal.
Fredrik Claesson - Defense, Senators (DraftKings - $2,500 FanDuel - $ )
First things first, his price is not a typo, I promise. Claesson has no points on the season and was recently recalled to the Senators at the end of December. So where is the value here? Even though he doesn't score, Claesson posts enough blocked shots, hits, and shots on goal a night, for his price, to make his 1.4 fantasy point average valuable. He also benefits from playing with one of the top defenseman in the league, Erik Karlsson. He frees up cap space and should have an easy time accumulating stats against the Ducks. He should only be used on DraftKings.
Mark Giordano - Defense, Flames (DraftKings - $6,300 FanDuel - $ )
Giordano has picked up a point in five straight games and remains one of the top defenseman for Daily Fantasy lineups. He's blocked multiple shots in five straight games as well. Giordano plays well over 20 minutes a night and is an integral part of Calgary's special teams. He leads Calgary defensemen in scoring and shoots the puck on net often. He should be considered in both DraftKings and FanDuel.
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