We have a four-game NHL slate to close out the week and a number of the teams in action are on the second night of a back-to-back, which means we could have some backup goalies in action. 

 

NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, January 5th

It's a smaller slate today and there are two very clear teams to stack – the Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning. They both played last night and are coming off of dud outings, but I love them to bounce back tonight. 

 

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Martin Necas and the Carolina Hurricanes are coming off a shutout loss to the Minnesota Wild and Necas ended with zero shots on goal. It's an uncharacteristic game for Necas, who has been one of the best offensive players in the league this season. With a role on the second forward line and the first power-play unit, Necas should have plenty of chances to pile up the shots. 

Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the play of the day and you can look to him in multiple formats. Whether it's Sleeper or traditional DFS, Kucherov is the player to trust tonight. Tampa is coming off of three straight losses and they need their best player to get the offense going. He still has 16 points over the last 10 games, despite not having any in his last two. 

William Nylander is an elite goal-scorer and has now gone six straight games without a goal. I love going to a player who hasn't scored in a while and Nylander is in a matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers to finally find the back of the net. Over the last two weeks, the Flyers have allowed 2.81 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the eighth-worst in the league. 

 

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Goalie Of The Day: Dustin Tokarski - CAR

It won't be a surprise to see several Hurricanes' players popular across the board today and it can start with their goalie, Dustin Tokarski. We saw Pyotr Kochetkov in net last night in a loss, so it should be Tokarski tonight. 

He's going up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are struggling to score right now and present an easy matchup. Over the last two weeks, the Penguins have scored 1.73 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fourth-lowest in the league. The Hurricanes are simply the better team in this matchup and while Tokarski may give up a goal or two, the Canes should come away with the win. 

Play Of The Day: Nikita Kucherov - TBL

It's been a slow few games for Nikita Kucherov but I'm always willing to trust one of the best players in the league who can rack up multiple points in any game. Kucherov still comes in with 16 points and 28 shots on goal over the last 10 games, and that rate of production is where we should see him tonight. 

The matchup against the Anaheim Ducks will always be a good one, as they have allowed 2.75 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the 12th-worst in the league over the last two weeks. After a few losses for Tampa, I fully expect them to come away with the win tonight. 

Value Play Of The Day: Ty Smith - CAR

With Shayne Gostisbehere out for the Carolina Hurricanes, Ty Smith has stepped into the defender role on the first power-play unit. He's very affordable on both DraftKings and FanDuel, making things a bit easier in terms of roster construction. 

Just to be clear, Smith has played an extremely limited role this season for the Hurricanes but is stepping into a larger role. We're not expecting 20+ fantasy points from Smith but with the offensive talent around him, Smith can “fall” into an assist or some shots, which will help him reach value. 

Stack Of The Day: CAR L1 (Sebastian Aho, Jack Roslovic, Seth Jarvis)

The Carolina Hurricanes come in with a juicy 4.0 implied goal total and given what they showed last night – absolutely nothing – they will want to put up a better performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Over the last two weeks, the Hurricanes are scoring 2.17 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is 20th in the league. However, if we glance at their Expected Goals Scored, they are up at 2.79, which is the eighth-highest in the league. 

The Canes are doing the right thing on offense, they just aren't getting the results right now. I'll always buy into a team like this, which makes the Canes top line well worth targeting tonight. 

Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks

Player Pool

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