NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 1/20/23
NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.
Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com and DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.
Let's jump in and take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.
Goalie to Target
Alexandar Georgiev/Pavel Francouz ($8,400): Whoever the Colorado Avalanche decides to start tonight will be a strong option in net against the Vancouver Canucks. The Avalanche are -164 road favorites and are in a spot to pick up the win since the Canucks are so bad on defense.
They are allowing 4.10 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the third-worst in the league over the last two weeks. This is mostly about the Avalanche and their offense being able to put up goals against a bad defense, thus giving their goalie strong win equity tonight.
High-Salaried Skaters
Nathan MacKinnon ($10,500): As you'd expect, the Avalanche have a slate-high 3.56 implied goal total, and if they are going to reach or exceed that, MacKinnon will almost certainly be involved. He has been on fire over the last nine games with 15 NHL points and 49 shots on goal -- a remarkably high level of production every single night. Considering we are dealing with a very small two-game slate, the number of players that can match MacKinnon's consistency and fantasy ceiling can be counted on one hand.
He's not a player you should be looking to fade, especially when the Avs' offense is on fire. They're scoring 3.88 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fourth-best in the league over the last two weeks. That lines up perfectly against the Cancuks defense mentioned above.
MacKinnon is on the first forward line and the first power-play unit, putting him in a spot to maintain this level of production against a weak defense.
Rickard Rakell ($6,900): Rakell has a really strong shot volume over his last 10 games, and this is something you want to capture when he is facing the weak defense of the Ottawa Senators. Over the last 10 games, Rakell has 33 shots on goal, 8 NHL points, and 5 blocked shots while seeing time on the second forward line and the first power-play unit.
When it comes to the Senators' defense, it seems they've made it optional in recent games. They're allowing a league-worst 4.94 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations over the previous two weeks. That is why we see the Pittsburgh Penguins coming in with a 3.50 implied goal total, making this a favorable spot to attack.
Value Skaters
Jake Sanderson ($5,000): The Senators and Penguins played just two days ago, and we saw a total of nine goals. That's something they could undoubtedly replicate tonight.
Two teams that are able to push the pace on offense sets things up for a high-event back-and-forth game, which can lead to plenty of fantasy production. Sanderson is the defender on the second power-play unit for Ottawa and enters with 4 NHL points, 16 shots on goal, and 14 blocked shots in his last 10 games.
