NHL DFS Playbook January 18th: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Jan 18, 2024
Thursday's 11-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring a great matchup as Cole Caufield and the Montreal Canadiens face Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators. 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 18th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
The Bookie are not expecting a lot of high-scoring games today with only one team having an expected goal total of four or higher. I am not sure I agree, there are some really good matchups out there that could result in high-scoring games. Buffalo against Chicago could be a game where the Sabres score four or more goals. The game between Montreal and Ottawa could be a high-scoring affair, as Montreal hasn't played good defence for much of the year and Ottawa is giving up a league-high 4.83 goals per game over the last two weeks. I also like the Toronto vs Calgary game to be high-scoring, as well as Arizona against Vancouver. If we can pick on those games we should be able to build lineups that help us win in all game types.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies,
Top Options for Saves
Jake Oettinger vs Philadelphia Flyers
Joey Daccord vs Edmonton Oilers
Logan Thompson vs New York Rangers
Best Odds for a Win
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen vs Chicago Blackhawks
Stuart Skinner vs Seattle Kraken
Thatcher Demko vs Arizona Coyotes
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Jake Oettinger G, Dallas Stars
Oettinger is a goalie who has been great on the road this year, with a 0.925 save percentage in road games. He will face a Flyers team that shoots as much as any team in the league so there should be upside there.
Connor Ingram G, Arizona Coyotes
The sites are giving Ingram a massive amount of disrespect. He is near the minimum price, and he has produced solid save percentages all season. This is a game that the Coyotes can win, and if there is plenty of profit to be made.
Stuart Skinner G, Edmonton Oilers
Skinner has been great in his last five games. Winning all five games, and he didn't give up more than 2 goals in any of those games. The Oilers are the heaviest favourite today as well which makes Skinner a great cash play today.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Edmonton Oilers vs Joey Daccord (4.0)
Buffalo Sabres vs Petr Mrazek (3.9)
Vancouver Canucks vs Connor Ingram (3.9)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks
Pettersson continues to roll. He has six goals in his last five games. With Vancouver having what is seen as a good matchup today against Arizona, he is a player I would look to get into GPP lineups.
Cole Caufield, W, Montreal Canadiens
This is a great place to use Caufield. Ottawa has been absolutely terrible defensively, while Caufield has been one of the hottest players in the league over the last couple of weeks, and he is also a player who will shoot the puck.
Yegor Sharangovich, W, Calgary Flames
Sharangovich has gotten hot recently. In his last four games, he has six goals and has been shooting the puck a lot more. He will face a Toronto team that has at times struggled defensively so I wouldn't be surprised to see Sharangovich have another big game today.
Michael Matheson D, Montreal Canadiens
Matheson has been a DFS beast all season. He is getting points (four in his last four games), taking shots (10 in his last four games), and blocking shots ( three or more in four of his last five games). All of this lines up especially well against Ottawa a team that doesn't play much defence and shoots the puck in volume.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | F | D | W | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Elias Pettersson  $9,800 | Quinn Hughes $8,100 |  David Pastrnak $10,300 |  Jake Oettinger $8,100 | |
| Medium |  Anze Kopitar $7,500 |  Mike Matheson $7,500 | Cole Caufield $6,700 |  Connor Ingram $7,700 | |
 Yegor Sharangovich $6,500 | |||||
| Low |  Ridly Greig $4,600 |  Egor Zamula $3,700 | Juraj Slafkovsky $3,800 |  Stuart Skinner $7,300 |
Stacks
| Canadiens | Juraj Slafkovsky | Cole Caufield | Mike Matheson |
 DraftKings | 3400 | 6200 | 6400 |
| Fanduel | 3800 | 6700 | 7500 |
| Canucks | Elias Pettersson | J.T. Miller | Quinn Hughes |
| DraftKings | 8300 | 7800 | 7300 |
| Fanduel | 9800 | 9500 | 8100 |
| Flames | MacKenzie Weegar | Elias Lindholm | Yegor Sharangovich |
| DraftKings | 6300 | 5300 | 5100 |
| Fanduel | 7300 | 6600 | 6500 |
Player News
Corbin Carroll doubled and tripled in a win for the Diamondbacks on Monday over the Padres.
Getting to play your home games in Arizona and being faster than the overwhelming majority of players gives you a good chance to pile up the triples, and Carroll has done just that with 10 already before the All-Star break. The 24-year-old also doubled while improving his season slash to .250/.332/.563. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Carroll approached 20-plus three-baggers someday. It could even be 2025.
Manny Machado homered while going 3-for-5 in a 6-3 loss for the Padres on Monday to the Diamondbacks.
Kevin Ginkel was credited with a save after firing a scoreless ninth against the Padres on Monday.
Zac Gallen struck out nine over six innings while allowing only an unearned run to get a win over the Padres on Monday.
Yu Darvish gave up two runs over 3 2/3 innings with five strikeouts in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Monday.
Travis d’Arnaud homered and drove in three runs to help the Angels to a win over the Rangers on Monday.