NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Thursday Playbook
Published: Jan 23, 2025
Welcome to another NHL DFS Playbook! We have a massive 11-game slate with some high scoring teams in action.
There are some superstars in very good matchups, but we can’t play them all. We also need to make sure that we are picking the correct goalie. There is so much to get to, so let’s dive right into the action.
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, January 23rd
Before we get into DFS, let’s make some pick’em picks for the night over on Sleeper.
There are lots of ways we try to fill your wallet over here at Fantasy Alarm and this is just another option.
NHL Pick 'Em Picks On Sleeper Fantasy Today
- Dylan Larkin O/2.5 SOG
- Sidney Crosby O/0.5 A
- Frederik Andersen U/21.5 SV
I know the Montreal Canadiens have been playing better of late, but Dylan Larkin’s shot total shouldn’t be this low. He’s been very good at generating chances this season and that trend should continue tonight. With Patrick Kane out of the lineup, more opportunities are going to arise for others. This number is just too low in my books.
The Penguins aren’t a very good hockey team, but the Anaheim Ducks are worse. Sidney Crosby remains elite and he is one of the greatest passers in NHL history. I expect him to hit the over before the first period even ends.
It’s remarkable how terrible the Blue Jackets are away from home. They beat Toronto last night but had just 19 shots on goal. Now they travel to Carolina and may not break 20 shots on goal. Andersen’s number is low but the Jackets just don’t inspire any confidence. I’ll take the chance here and hope the Hurricanes’ defence is ready.
Thursday Salary Cap DFS Picks
Goalie Of The Day: Yaroslav Askarov - SJ
Yaroslav Askarov revenge game? Sign me up! Both teams combined for a wild one less than a week ago, totaling 11 goals, but we won’t see that kind of explosion tonight. The Predators are a terrible hockey team and they struggle to win games on the road. I know it’s the Sharks, but Askarov is a good goalie and his price tag is too low to be ignored.
Honorable Mention: Igor Shesterkin - NYR
Are the New York Rangers back? Still too early to say, but Igor Shesterkin has posted back-to-back shutouts and he’s looked very good. The Flyers aren’t an elite offence and they don’t have the depth to keep up with New York. I think he’s serviceable in all formats.
Player Of The Day: David Pastrnak - BOS
I don’t love the Bruins tonight, but I do love David Pastrnak. He has 12 points in the last five games and continues to be a shooting machine. The Senators are below-average defensively and I’m still not sold on Leevi Merilainen. He has the highest floor of any superstar on the slate.
Honorable Mention: Leon Draisaitl - EDM
Connor McDavid is out of the lineup due to his suspension, so Leon Draisaitl is going to be the focal point of the offence again. When McDavid is out of the lineup, Draisaitl just seems to take his game to another level, which I didn’t think was possible. The Canucks are a decent team and you never know what team is going to show up. There is enough value here to consider Leon as a single-bullet.
Value Play Of The Day: Jesperi Kotkaniemi - CAR
Jesperi Kotkaniemi has three goals in the last two games and is on the second line playing about 14 minutes per night. It’s hard to trust him because of how volatile he can be, but his $3500 price tag has caught my attention and as mentioned earlier, the Blue Jackets are hot trash on the road.
Honorable Mention: Lane Hutson - MTL
Lane Hutson is an above-average defenceman in the NHL, but DraftKings keeps pricing him like he’s nothing special. The kid has 13 points in the last ten games and is riding a nine-game point streak. He’s not scoring a ton of goals and his shot total is low, so his upside is capped, but he’s racking up assists and blocking a decent amount of shots and his ice time is elevated. You could do A LOT worse at this price point.
Stack Of The Day - MTL PP1 (Cole Caufield - Patrik Laine - Lane Hutson)
Do you know which team has the worst penalty kill on the slate tonight? Correct, it’s Detroit. The Habs power play isn’t anything to write home about, but Patrik Laine is going to get a ton of chances to clap bombs from his office, while Caufield and Hutson set him up. Depending on your build, you can swap Hutson for Nick Suzuki, but any combination of the top unit works for me.
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | G | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Jack Eichel  $9,100 |  Frederik Andersen $8,500 |  Kirill Kaprizov $9,000 |  Quinn Hughes $8,100 |
 Sidney Crosby $8,000 |  Charlie Lindgren $8,100 | Alex Ovechkin $8,800 |  Evan Bouchard $7,000 | |
| Alex Nedeljkovic $8,200 | ||||
| Medium |  Macklin Celebrini $7,000 |  Dustin Wolf $7,800 | Rickard Rakell $6,900 | Jake Walman $6,300 |
 Vincent Trocheck $6,500 | Filip Gustavsson $7,800 | Andrei Svechnikov $5,800 | Adam Fox $6,000 | |
| J.T. Miller $6,000 | Alexis Lafreniere $5,400 | |||
| Low | Jordan Staal $3,700 |  Sam Montembeault $7,500 | Jake DeBrusk $4,900 |  Jake Sanderson $5,400 |
| Evgeni Malkin $4,800 | Jackson Blake $3,100 | Erik Karlsson $5,200 | ||
| Joel Armia $2,500 |  John Marino $2,600 |
Stacks
| Penguins | Rickard Rakell | Erik Karlsson | Sidney Crosby |
| DraftKings | 6900 | 5200 | 8000 |
 Fanduel | 7100 | 6400 | 7800 |
| Oilers | Evan Bouchard | Zach Hyman | Leon Draisaitl |
| DraftKings | 7000 | 6400 | 9300 |
| Fanduel | 6700 | 6700 | 9000 |
| Hurricanes | Sebastian Aho | Seth Jarvis | Andrei Svechnikov |
| DraftKings | 7500 | 6600 | 5800 |
| Fanduel | 7400 | 7200 | 6500 |
| Sharks | Tyler Toffoli | Macklin Celebrini | Jake Walman |
| DraftKings | 4600 | 7000 | 6300 |
| Fanduel | 6000 | 7600 | 6400 |
| Penguins | Rickard Rakell | Erik Karlsson | Sidney Crosby |
| DraftKings | 6900 | 5200 | 8000 |
| Fanduel | 7100 | 6400 | 7800 |
| Oilers | Evan Bouchard | Zach Hyman | Leon Draisaitl |
| DraftKings | 7000 | 6400 | 9300 |
| Fanduel | 6700 | 6700 | 9000 |
| Hurricanes | Sebastian Aho | Seth Jarvis | Andrei Svechnikov |
| DraftKings | 7500 | 6600 | 5800 |
| Fanduel | 7400 | 7200 | 6500 |
| Sharks | Tyler Toffoli | Macklin Celebrini | Jake Walman |
| DraftKings | 4600 | 7000 | 6300 |
| Fanduel | 6000 | 7600 | 6400 |