NHL DFS Playbook January 15th: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Jan 15, 2024
Monday's 4-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring a great matchup as Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche face Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens. We should expect lots of tight games with some great matchups out there, but expect some of the top scorers to shine through still. So, be sure to check in with our NHL DFS Tools, with the daily NHL projections, and our NHL lineup generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!
NHL DFS Playbook January 15th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
With the four games today, there isn't a lot to stand out. We should expect Colorado to see high levels of ownership as they easily have the highest expected goal total. I would lean into that for cash games, and try to find a way to get some combination of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen into a lineup. In a GPP, we should look to the Islanders as a potential source of goals facing Minnesota, and I wouldn't completely discount Vegas either as they face Nashville at home.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies,
Top Options for Saves
Joel Hofer vs Philadelphia Flyers
Jake Allen vs Colorado Avalanche
Juuse Saros vs Vegas Golden Knights
Best Odds for a Win
Alexandar Georgiev vs Montreal Canadiens
Joel Hofer vs Philadelphia Flyers
Logan Thompson vs Nashville Predators
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Ilya Sorokin G, New York Islanders
One of the most difficult things to do is to pick a goalie on a short slate. There just aren't many options. Sorokin isn't a great option when we look at the numbers. His save percentage on the road is barely over 0.900. However, he will face a Wild team that hasn't been great, and Sorokin is still one of the most talented goalies in the league. So using him in a GPP at his price isn't the worst idea.
Carter Hart G, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart is another good GPP option. There isn't a good reason to think that the Flyers can't win this game on the road, and Hart has been a good option for most of the year even if his numbers don't always pop off the page as seen in his goals saved above average number of 5.
Alexandar Georgiev G, Colorado Avalanche
In cash games, Georgiev represents your safest option. He has won three straight games, and he didn't give up more than three goals in any of those games. The Montreal team he is facing has struggled to score goals this season so he should have a good chance to get the win and not give up a lot of goals doing it.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Colorado Avalanche vs Jake Allen (4.0)
Minnesota Wild vs Ilya Sorokin (3.4)
Vegas Golden Knights vs Juuse Saros (3.2)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
MacKinnon has been a top player all season. He continues to shoot the puck a lot and rack up points for the Avs. He has points in seven straight games, and in four of those games, he has had multiple points, as well as having five shots or more in four of those seven games as well.
Gustav Nyquist, W, Nashville Predators
Nyquist has emerged as on of Nashville's top forwards this season. He has played nearly 20 minutes a night for the Preds, and he is putting up numbers doing it. he has five points in his last five games, and you are going to get him at a very reasonable price.
Cole Caufield, W, Montreal Canadiens
Coming into today, Caufield has five shots or more in three of his last four games. He only has one goal in that stretch, but that could only be an indicator that he is due to get a goal or two today. In a GPP, I don't mind using him, but his price is too high for a cash game.
Noah Dobson D, New York Islanders
Dobson continues to get it done. He has five points in his last two games, and he has blocked at least three shots in back-to-back games as well. He won't be as flashy as Cale Makar or Roman Josi, but Dobson has been very consistent all year
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Nathan MacKinnon  $10,200 |  Travis Konecny $7,900 |  Noah Dobson $8,300 |  Alexandar Georgiev $8,400 |
| Medium | Bo Horvat $8,300 |  Cole Caufield $6,700 | Mike Matheson $7,600 | Carter Hart $7,700 |
| Low |  Brayden Schenn $4,500 |  Gustav Nyquist $5,800 | Egor Zamula $3,700 | Ilya Sorokin $7,900 |
Stacks
| Avalanche | Devon Toews | Jonathan Drouin | Nathan MacKinnon |
 DraftKings | 4400 | 3900 | 10000 |
| Fanduel | 5400 | 5200 | 10200 |
| Islanders | Noah Dobson | Oliver Wahlstrom | Bo Horvat |
| DraftKings | 7300 | 3000 | 6900 |
| Fanduel | 8300 | 3200 | 8300 |
| Flyers | Egor Zamula | Scott Laughton | Travis Konecny |
| DraftKings | 2900 | 3300 | 7300 |
| Fanduel | 3700 | 4900 | 7900 |
| Avalanche | Devon Toews | Jonathan Drouin | Nathan MacKinnon |
| DraftKings | 4400 | 3900 | 10000 |
| Fanduel | 5400 | 5200 | 10200 |
| Islanders | Noah Dobson | Oliver Wahlstrom | Bo Horvat |
| DraftKings | 7300 | 3000 | 6900 |
| Fanduel | 8300 | 3200 | 8300 |
| Flyers | Egor Zamula | Scott Laughton | Travis Konecny |
| DraftKings | 2900 | 3300 | 7300 |
| Fanduel | 3700 | 4900 | 7900 |
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.