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
Medium		Yegor Sharangovich $6,500
Low	Ridly Greig $4,600		Egor Zamula $3,700	Juraj Slafkovsky $3,800	Stuart Skinner $7,300