Daily Fantasy Hockey: DraftKings & FanDuel Value Picks, January 12th
The Fix always has a full breakdown of significant NHL slates for our Front Office subscribers, but now we’re also going to be highlighting a few value plays for everyone on most days with big NHL slates. Below you’ll find three or four players who are cheap and undervalued in today’s DraftKings and Fanduel contests.
If you’d like to read our full breakdown of tonight’s slate, complete with player rankings, you can become a Front Office member or purchase today’s breakdown individually right here.
DraftKings
Robby Fabbri—St. Louis blues–$2800
The rookie is having himself a pretty decent start to his NHL career—scoring ten goals in 39 games. The 19-year-old will finally get his chance to show the Blues he’s ready to be a full-time NHL player. The Blues take on the Devils at home and Fabbri is expected to skate on a line with Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko. His price tag is low and his upside is high—everything I want in a value play. He’s picked up four goals in his last ten games, and if he can find a way to score one tonight, he’ll be the best value play of the night.
William Karlsson—Columbus Blue Jackets–$2500
The 23-year-old Swede hasn’t had a ton of success in the NHL so far in his career, but tonight Karlsson may finally be worth a start in DFS. The former 2nd round pick in 2011 is expected to skate on a line with Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson, which automatically brings his value up. At $2500, the risk is minimal and the reward is potentially through the roof. Karlsson doesn’t see any power play time, so his upside does have a ceiling, but if he can find a way to pick up just one point against the Islanders, it’ll have been worth it.
Ondrej Palat—Tampa Bay Lightning–$3800
As the Lightning continue to look for a winger to play with Stamkos (#FreeDrouin), head coach Jon Cooper has decided to spilt up the triplets in a effort to get their offense going again. Palat will skate on the top line with Stamkos and Vladislav Namestnikov and should see some minutes on the top power play unit. It’s been a difficult year for the 24-year-old, but tonight could be the night he gets back on track.
FanDuel
Louis Domingue—Arizona Coyotes–$6700
Getting a good goalie under 7K on FanDuel isn’t easy, but tonight that isn’t going to be a problem. Louis Domingue has been lights out in his last five starts—posting a 4-0-1 record with a .956 SV%. To make it even more appealing, the Oilers are ranked 27th in GF/60 on the road this season. This recent success won’t last forever, but daily players will want to continue to ride the train before it comes to a halt.
Ryan Suter—Minnesota Wild–$4300
Suter may not be a typical value play, but at his current price tag, he’s a steal. The veteran defenseman has 28 points (4G, 23A) in 42 games with a plus-12 rating in 42 games. He plays a ton of minutes per night and hardly ever finishes as a minus player, which is extremely important on FanDuel. The 30-year-old has collected four points in last five games and is a plus-7 in that span. If you need to save some salary to pay up for the superstars, Suter is the way to go.
Jori Lehtera—St. Louis Blues–$4100
Lehtera, like Fabbri, is an excellent value play tonight just because he gets to play with Tarasenko. The 28-year-old will center the top line and see some time on the top power play unit. He doesn’t take that many shots on goal (two over his last five games) but his job is to feed the puck to Tarasenko and rack up those assists. With Fabbri on his RW, that gives Lehtera two goal scorers to pass the puck to. At $4100, the price is just low enough for me to consider using him. I don’t expect this game to be a high scoring affair, but I do expect the Helsinki native to pick up at least a point in that game. If you need to save some salary down the middle, Lehtera is your best option.