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Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for January 4th of the 2015/2016 NHL season. Each day we'll be providing you with a handful of forward, defensemen, and goaltender picks for DraftKings and FanDuel GPP and cash games.
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NHL DFS Picks for Monday, January 4th
We continue to ring in the new year with five games Monday night. The small card heavily influences the daily picks, mainly focusing on matchup-specific picks, zeroing in on if is smarter to select a player on DraftKings or FanDuel or both. Tonight's lineup consists of several Los Angeles Kings, a pair of Blues, two Oilers, and one lone Coyote. For updated confirmations of starting goalies, check out www.leftwinglock.com.
From 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 Monday's action.
Jonathan Quick - Goaltender, Kings (DraftKings - $8,200 FanDuel - $9,100)
Quick is the best goalie starting on Monday and is playing some of his best hockey between the pipes of late. Quick has won five straight games and has only surrendered seven goals total in that span. The Kings face off against the slumping Colorado Avalanche who have dropped four of their last five games. The Avalanche were recently shut out by the Calgary Flames, and although they score a lot of goals, they give up even more, putting Quick in line for his sixth straight win. Quick is the top ranked goalie on DraftKings Monday, but is cheaper than Allen and Varlamov in FanDuel.
Cam Talbot - Goaltender, Oilers (DraftKings - $6,600 FanDuel - $6,600)
Talbot is coming off his first win in six games, now looking to establish some momentum against Carolina. The Hurricanes score the fifth fewest goals a game, fewer even than the Oilers. Talbot has struggled to find success on his new team in his new starting role after impressing the league last year in an almost unbeatable relief role for the injured Henrik Lundqvist. It's been anything but that away from Broadway but Talbot still owns a 2.91 GAA and .906 save percentage.
Anze Kopitar - Center, Kings (DraftKings - $5,500 FanDuel - $7,200)
Kopitar enters Monday on a five game point streak, including a four assist performance against Vancouver a couple days after Christmas. Kopitar leads the Kings in assists and sees over 20 minutes of ice time a night. Colorado gives up the eighth most goals in the league, opening up plenty of opportunities for Kopitar to continue setting up his line mates.
Leon Draisaitl - Center, Oilers (DraftKings - $5,000 FanDuel - $5,200)
Draisaitl is one of two players who produce for the Oilers that have a positive plus/minus (+11). He won't stifle you with bloated fantasy points but he is one of the few consistencies on Edmonton. The 20 year old has cooled down a bit since his picking up 10 points in seven games in early and middle December, but the young center still averages more than a point per game. Draisaitl is a smart play, especially for FanDuel tournaments where he is cheaper than most centers, but averages the most fantasy points per game for centers on the card.
Tyler Toffoli - Winger, Kings (DraftKings - $5,800 FanDuel - $5,800)
Toffoli has six goals on special teams this season, now facing an Avalanche team that has relinquished the tenth most power play goals in the league. Toffoli leads the Kings in goals and points, while averaging close to three shots on goal per game. Most importantly, Toffoli is capable of exploding on any given night, most recently posting a hat trick against the Canucks and scoring two goals against the Sharks. On FanDuel, Toffoli averages among the highest fantasy points per game of wingers and is a lot more affordable than the top point-getters.
Vladimir Tarasenko - Winger, Blues (DraftKings - $7,800 FanDuel - $9,100)
Tarasenko leads the Blues and is fifth in the league with eight power play goals. St. Louis faces the Senators who have given up 31 power play goals this season, second most in the league. Tarasenko should be used in both DraftKings and FanDuel, and despite his lack of production of late, he scored in his last game and tallies stats in other categories, especially shots on goals; 146 on the season.
Kevin Shattenkirk - Defense, Blues (DraftKings - $6,400 FanDuel - $6,200)
We've already heard about Ottawa's special team woes, but the Senators have the second lowest penalty killing percentage in the league. Shattenkirk is an important part of the Blues solid power play, tied for first on the team in power play points. Shattenkirk averages more points in DraftKings and has exceeded his projection in three straight.
Michael Stone - Defense, Coyotes (DraftKings - $4,000 FanDuel - $3,300)
Stone is a solid play, specifically for DraftKings, since blocked shots and hits aren't incorporated into FanDuel scoring. Stone has picked up five points in five games but even when he isn't contributing via goals or assists, he tallies a bunch of blocked shots, hits, shots on goals, and penalty minutes consistently. Stone has blocked multiple shots in four straight, including two games of four.
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