NHL DFS Picks: Strategy, advice, values for DraftKings, FanDuel for Tuesday, January

It's a medium-sized, six-game NHL DFS slate on Tuesday that features a two-game late option. We're still dealing with the byes, but that's not stopping us from helping daily fantasy hockey players with potential value picks and strategy advice for DraftKings and FanDuel contests. Our tips are based on advanced stats, Vegas odds, matchups, and potential points per dollar, among other factors.

The “Two Man Advantage” may fill easily based on increased demand. That has an $8 entry with $30,000 prize pool ($3,000 goes to first place). Also, there are the Fantasy Hockey World Championship qualifier which has a $33 entry fee. Also of note is that several games have an over/under of six from Las Vegas. Keep in mind, Vegas is not always right.

Because of the volatile nature of goalies (and other reasons), there will be more information on social media coming closer to roster lock. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you are looking for even more advice and insight, please check me out on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. Let’s get into tonight’s value picks after a visit from the RotoQL optimizer.

Tuesday NHL DFS Picks: Center values

Christian Dvorak, Arizona vs. San Jose (DraftKings $3,300, FanDuel $3,800)

Again, Tuesday features a bounty of higher profile options. Gourde has four points in his past three games but has been providing nice value (especially at home). Though Dvorak plays on the third line at even strength mostly, he is going to see some bad San Jose depth. His only risk is average to sometimes low shot volume. He is not the only interesting play, however.

With the six-game slate, there is still room to set up a few different lineups that are outside the limits of being safe. This can even be a nice one-off if needed or part of a mini-stack. How high event does that Vegas-Nashville game become or the Flyers-Rangers game for that matter? Those are good questions given their center options and some high floors (lots of shots and/or block potential).

The good news is there are several other options as far as value on Tuesday night. With the bye weeks, exploring around can increase your potential for profit.

Other Options: Brayden Schenn (backing off in price), John Tavares/Matthew Barzal (chalk), Sean Couturier (may be lower owned), Nico Hischier (concern with power play time though), Erik Haula/William Karlsson (touch expensive), Kyle Turris, Auston Matthews, Paul Stastny, Tyler Seguin, Joe Thornton or Derek Stepan (More choices on Twitter).

Crazy Value Possible: Calle Jarnkrok, Radek Faksa (hit or miss), Chris Tierney.

Tuesday Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks: Winger values

Anthony Mantha, Detroit vs. Dallas (DraftKings $4,900, FanDuel $4,600)
Mantha has five points in his past five games. Here is the thing. Dallas’s team defense is not quite as strong on the road and unrested. They allow 3.18 goals per game and have a penalty kill that is in the high 70’s away from home. The expected goals for easily will be lower due to pace concerns. Easily! The slate is just small enough that a few may try a mini game stack here. Andreas Athanasiou has been hotter ,but his price has skyrocketed to $5,700 on DraftKings. Do you risk that much when there are other choices out there? It’s a great question.

Jesper Bratt, Alex Tuch, and maybe Jesper Fast (top line) are all nice lower price options on DraftKings tonight. With this slate, even these riskier plays are viable. On a few lineups, these forwards may be worth a shot. Watch the second and even third lines of some teams. It should take 40-plus points to cash.

Other Options: Taylor Hall (near chalk), Kyle Palmieri (moderate risk), Claude Giroux/Jakob Voracek, Joe Pavelski, Craig Smith (some risk), Anders Lee, Alexander Radulov/Jamie Benn, Kevin Labanc (low priced on DraftKings), Clayton Keller, Mitch Marner. More plays will be on social media. Also, watch to see if there are any last minute line shifts (Extra choices will come later this afternoon on Twitter).

Crazy Value Possible: Colton Sissons (watch ice time), Marcus Johansson (extreme risk), Brandon Perlini, Richard Panik (some risk), Ivan Barbashev.

Tuesday NHL DFS Advice: Defensemen picks, values

Jakob Chychrun, Arizona vs. San Jose (DraftKings $4,600, FanDuel $3,800)
Choices are abundant among defensemen on Tuesday night. Chychrun shoots at moderate to higher levels typically and has block potential of two or three shots per game. On occasion, he will block more shots than usual. That sounds a bit risky, but the Sharks could drag the pace up here. He produces at around $350 per FanDuel point.

San Jose plays five games in seven days this week and Chychrun could benefit because of this. As a matter of fact, their depth lines are getting cratered possession wise. Ryan Ellis is also a great play and his price is mostly steady. Ellis is flying a little more under the radar for now.
The defenseman position has lots of possibilities. Alex Pietrangelo has backed off in price, but Colton Parayko could be the play. There is also a lot of value in the bargain bin tonight. Many punt plays will again arise from the blueline. Also note that Marc-Edouard Vlasic is in play along with the usual value plays.

Other Options: Nick Leddy (maybe near chalk), Alex Pietrangelo (not as chalky as usual), Brent Burns (chalk), Ivan Provorov (watch Gostisbehere status), Roman Josi, Will Butcher (some risk), Mike Green (high risk), John Klingberg, Shea Theodore, Kevin Shattenkirk (moderate risk). More choices on social media to come.

Crazy Value Possible: Esa Lindell, Joel Edmundsen, Justin Braun, Sebastian Aho/Ryan Pulock, Alex Goligoski, Brandon Manning (very risky).

Tuesday Daily Fantasy Hockey Advice: Goalie picks, values

Pekka Rinne, Nashville vs. Vegas (DraftKings $7,500, FanDuel $8,400)
Rinne is a risky GPP play because of moderate-event shot projections on Tuesday. He is expected to face 30-plus shots. This can always be wrong, but his price given Vegas projections and expected goals for gives Rinne little margin for error. Nashville is banged up with Arvidsson and Forsberg now out and will have to rely even more on the goaltender. They will have to almost approach this as a road game where Rinne has a .941 save percentage. There are few safe options tonight, but Petr Mrazek and Jaroslav Halak may be decent. Again, even they have risk, as Detroit is inconsistent and the Islanders give up so many shots and goals (at home even).

That leaves the dilemma of who else to play. Confirmations are just coming out, so the best course of action may be to wait a bit. There are also some low team totals tonight. For as many bullish predictions from Vegas, there are some bears, as well. Henrik Lundqvist could be good in cash games and even some GPP’s in a show-me game. Yes, he has been in a downturn over his past five or six starts, but he has six quality starts at home in his previous seven games against the Flyers.

The emphasis will be to wait until closer to lock (7 p.m. ET) for any line shifts and goalie changes, etc. Also, watch for injuries and returns tonight as some projections may be impacted.

Other Options: Jake Allen (moderate risk), Martin Jones? (more cash games), Frederik Andersen. More choices will come closer to lock. Watch for late line changes and injury news as that will have more impact on small and medium slates, particularly.

NHL DFS Picks for Tuesday: Top Lines to Stack

These are based on RotoQL lineup optimizer projections.

• NYI 1 – 1 will be chalky and yet will be the toughest fade of the night for those that go that route. Even the power play unit of the Islanders is in play. The second line is also a possibility given how much difficulty NJ had in slowing it down.
• VGK 1 – It's not bad and Nashville’s top line is in shambles. (Could trend downward as more news comes in).
• TOR 1 – St. Louis has been getting blitzed by some top lines of late and Toronto has a rather good one. Florida generated double-digit chances easily.
• SJ PP 1 – One of the better lines in the league and draws a reasonable matchup against a Coyotes team that bleeds high-danger chances per 60 (bottom five in league at home).
• DET 1 – Dallas just played in Boston last night, and this is risky given Detroit’s propensity for slow pace. However, Athanasiou and Larkin have been pushing that needle.
• DAL 1 – Line 1 could be heavily owned because of name recognition, but, again, see above.
• NJD 1 – The Islanders won’t give up 56 shots like they did against Montreal, but their defense is beyond a mess. They allow the most chances per 60 in the league and second-most shots on average at home. Even the NJ power play is a viable play in what could be used as a game stack.
• PHI 1 – This is a little risky because traditionally the Rangers play well at home against Philadelphia. However, the Rangers have now allowed 40-plus shots in seven of Henrik Lundqvist’s starts this season. Their defense cannot clear pucks out of the danger areas.

These are just a few lines. As updates become more available, there will be more on social media. Watch to see who plays. That will swing ownership a little bit. This is one of those nights where even one or two scoops can mean a huge difference. One of the major tips for lineup construction will be trusting the numbers a little more. Nearly three months into the season just about and trends are firmly establishing themselves. Our spotlight picks feature more value, which can mean more inherent risk. Those picks will mostly be lower owned.

NHL DFS Strategy: Reviewing what went wrong

This was simple. There was a spread out four-game slate yesterday