NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Thursday Playbook
Published: Jan 30, 2025
Welcome to another version of NHL DFS picks! Do you smell that? Yeah, it’s another massive ten-gam slate for us to tackle!
We have a lot of high scoring matchups to choose from, so we need to be smart and make the right choices. We also need to make sure that we pick the correct goalie, if not, we won’t win any GPPs. Let’s take a look at some NHL DFS projections that we need to keep an eye on.
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, January 30th
Before we get into our NHL DFS picks for today, 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
- Connor McDavid O/0.5 PPP
- Mikko Rantanen O/0.5 A
- Jakub Dobes O/24.5 SV
Anytime you can target Detroit’s penalty kill, you gotta do it. Connor McDavid is the best player in the world and the Oilers power play is elite when he and Draisaitl are out there. I can’t envision a scenario where Detroit doesn’t give up a power play goal tonight, so let’s hope McDavid can be on the scoresheet for one.
Sebastian Aho is questionable to play tonight due to illness, but even if he doesn’t, Mikko Rantanen is still in a very good spot. He’s always been a great goal scorer, but he can also move the puck and rack up assists. The Blackhawks are terrible defensively and they are going to give up chances. Rantanen has a very good chance of picking up an apple.
Jakub Dobes is 5-0-1 this season and is getting the call tonight against Minnesota. The Wild are playing their second game in as many nights, but the Habs haven’t been great defensively and are giving up way too many shot attempts. The loss of Kaiden Guhle is also going to be a problem, so I expect Dobes to be on his game and need to make a ton of saves for Montreal to even have a chance of winning this game.
Thursday Salary Cap DFS Picks
Goalie Of The Day: Joey Daccord - SEA
There are some really good goalies with good matchups to choose from, but my favourite is Joey Daccord. Seattle is a good defensive team, and the Sharks aren’t very good offensively. They have some dynamic players, but they are ranked 31st in goals per game. Daccord is in a great spot, and I’ll gladly spend the salary to roster him.
Honorable Mention: Adin Hill - VGK
This might look scary on paper, but the Columbus Blue Jackets are trash on the road and Vegas is nothing short of excellent at home. Hill has been good this season, but his .901 SV% is a bit concerning. I still think he can do enough to hit value tonight.
Player Of The Day: Connor McDavid - EDM
Like I said earlier, it would be foolish to not attack Detroit’s horrendous penalty kill. Connor McDavid is elite most nights, it’s just a question of whether or not he can hit value. He needs shots and multiple points to get there, but he can certainly do that tonight.
Honorable Mention: Alex Ovechkin - WSH
Alex Ovechkin only has three goals in his last ten games, but on the season, he has 14 goals in 17 road games and Washington is in Ottawa tonight. The recent slump has pushed Ovi’s salary down on DraftKings, which also makes him more appealing. I wouldn’t go all-out to stack the Capitals, but I do think you can play Ovechkin as a single bullet in any format.
Value Play Of The Day: Mason McTavish - ANA
I’m going to leave Mason McTavish here until he cools off or his price tag really goes up. The Ducks have won three in a row and McTavish has six goals in the last four games. Not sure what the kid has been eating of late, but it’s helping him find the back of the net consistently.
Honorable Mention: Drew Doughty - LAK
The Los Angeles Kings are committed to giving old man Drew Doughty power play time, so we have to at least consider him as an option. I don’t think he’s a great option on this slate, but at $3500 on DK? You could tempt me. If you need to save some salary on the blue line this is one way to do. Also -- free Brandt Clarke!
Stack Of The Day - CAR L1 (Mikko Rantanen - Sebastian Aho - Jackson Blake)
At this exact moment, I’m expecting Sebastian Aho to play against Chicago. We know the Blackhawks are a mess and they have been giving up a ton of goals on the road. They had a good game against Tampa Bay, but I’m not expecting them to make it two in a row. Carolina’s top line will eat tonight.
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Jack Eichel  $8,000 |  Mikko Rantanen $8,500 |  Evan Bouchard $6,600 |  Pyotr Kochetkov $8,500 |
| Leon Draisaitl $9,100 |  Victor Hedman $6,500 | Adin Hill $8,400 | ||
| Medium |  Bo Horvat $6,700 |  Matt Boldy $7,500 |  MacKenzie Weegar $5,500 | Dustin Wolf $8,100 |
| Tomas Hertl $5,500 | Andrei Svechnikov $6,400 |  Jakob Chychrun $5,400 | Logan Thompson $7,900 | |
 Travis Konecny $5,900 | ||||
| Mark Stone $6,500 | ||||
| Low | Morgan Frost $4,300 |  Kaapo Kakko $4,200 | Brock Faber $4,000 |  Jakub Dobes $7,500 |
| Matty Beniers $5,300 | Jackson Blake $3,800 | David Savard $3,100 | Ilya Sorokin $7,600 | |
| Aliaksei Protas $4,300 |  Yaroslav Askarov $7,100 |
Stacks
| Oilers | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard | Leon Draisaitl |
| DraftKings | 9500 | 6600 | 9100 |
 Fanduel | 8700 | 6800 | 8900 |
| Flyers | Morgan Frost | Matvei Michkov | Travis Konecny |
| DraftKings | 4300 | 4200 | 5900 |
| Fanduel | 5600 | 6000 | 7800 |
| Kraken | Kaapo Kakko | Matty Beniers | Vince Dunn |
| DraftKings | 4200 | 5300 | 5800 |
| Fanduel | 5000 | 5400 | 6400 |
| Golden Knights | Jack Eichel | Tomas Hertl | Mark Stone |
| DraftKings | 8000 | 5500 | 6500 |
| Fanduel | 8400 | 6900 | 7900 |
| Oilers | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard | Leon Draisaitl |
| DraftKings | 9500 | 6600 | 9100 |
| Fanduel | 8700 | 6800 | 8900 |
| Flyers | Morgan Frost | Matvei Michkov | Travis Konecny |
| DraftKings | 4300 | 4200 | 5900 |
| Fanduel | 5600 | 6000 | 7800 |
| Kraken | Kaapo Kakko | Matty Beniers | Vince Dunn |
| DraftKings | 4200 | 5300 | 5800 |
| Fanduel | 5000 | 5400 | 6400 |
| Golden Knights | Jack Eichel | Tomas Hertl | Mark Stone |
| DraftKings | 8000 | 5500 | 6500 |
| Fanduel | 8400 | 6900 | 7900 |
| Oilers | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard | Leon Draisaitl |
| DraftKings | 9500 | 6600 | 9100 |
| Fanduel | 8700 | 6800 | 8900 |
| Flyers | Morgan Frost | Matvei Michkov | Travis Konecny |
| DraftKings | 4300 | 4200 | 5900 |
| Fanduel | 5600 | 6000 | 7800 |
| Kraken | Kaapo Kakko | Matty Beniers | Vince Dunn |
| DraftKings | 4200 | 5300 | 5800 |
| Fanduel | 5000 | 5400 | 6400 |
| Golden Knights | Jack Eichel | Tomas Hertl | Mark Stone |
| DraftKings | 8000 | 5500 | 6500 |
| Fanduel | 8400 | 6900 | 7900 |
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.