We have two games today with some high-flying offensive teams. Washington and Boston will be popular, but can we find some value elsewhere? Will the Hurricanes continue their winning ways? Will John Tavares go crazy in his 1000th NHL game? You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Friday, December 16th, but before you build those NHL daily fantasy lineups, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS projections, the NHL Value Finder, and the NHL DFS lineup generator. Let's now take a closer look at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS slate.

 


Boston Bruins Vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Players to target: David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy, Linus Ullmark, Sebastian Aho, Martin Necas, Brady Skjei.

The Boston Bruins have lost two games in a row and are hoping to turn things around before the All-Star break. Carolina has been red hot-- winners of four in a row, and are looking to keep the fun going. 

Boston is still the best team in the NHL, so we just can’t ignore them. David Pastrnak is matchup proof and worth every penny. $9,600 for a player on a two-game slate is a lot, but we know what he’s going to be able to do. You can balance out his cost by playing David Krejci, Pavel Zacha, and Matt Grzelcyk.

Linus Ullmark is expected to start this game and he has been nothing short of amazing this season. Carolina can score goals and shoot the puck, but I think we can get Ullmark at low ownership on such a short slate. He’s also a respectable $7,500 on DK, which is way too low for a goalie with a 25-3-1 record.

For Carolina, there are some pieces we can look at. Sebastian Aho put up nine shots on goal last game against San Jose and could hit the shot bonus in this one. Carolina may try to get him away from Patrice Bergeron’s line, so that should free up some space for him. On the back end, Brady Skjei has three shots on goal and four blocked shots last game. Boston can certainly fire the puck, so Skjei can hit value at his $4,400 price tag.


Washington Capitals Vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Players to target: Nicklas Backstrom, Dylan Strome, Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Anthony Mantha, Sonny Milano, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Darcy Kuemper, John Tavares, Alex Kerfoot, William Nylander, Calle Jarnkrok, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie

This is the game you’ll want to have the most exposure to. Both teams have a ton of talented players who can score goals and I don’t think we see a strong performance from either goalie. There’s no reason to believe this game will be finishing 2-1.

For Washington, there are a ton of options to consider. Alex Ovechkin is the obvious choice, but if you need to save some salary, Sonny Milano, T.J. Oshie, Anthony Mantha and Nicklas Backstrom are some really good options to consider. You can also throw Trevor van Riemsdyk into any lineup you build because he’s going to be very busy blocking shots.

As much as I hate every goalie on this slate, Darcy Kuemper is cheap and has the best chance of picking up the win between the two teams. Ilya Samsonov has played a ton of hockey of late and it looks like he’s starting to lose his edge. If you have to pick between the two, make it Kuemper.

For the Leafs, John Tavares has been great this season and that trend shouldn’t change tonight. He’s the focal point of Toronto’s offence with AM34 out of the lineup and I like him to hit the shots on goal bonus in this one. William Nylander is another winger worth considering, but if you need to save some salary, Calle Jarnkrok is a good value play.

On the back end, T.J. Brodie is expected to be back in the lineup tonight, but he’s still listed as a game-time decision. Regardless of his starts, Mark Giordano is a man I’ll want to have exposure to. He’s cheap and is going to be tasked with slowing down Ovechkin. He could easily block three shots before the first period is even over. 

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