NHL DFS Playbook January 5th: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Published: Jan 05, 2024
Friday's 3-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring some really great matchups! 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 5th
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies,
Top Options for Saves
Darcy Kuemper vs Carolina Hurricanes
Arvid Soderblom vs New Jersey Devils
Best Odds for a Win
Vitek Vanecek vs Chicago Blackhawks
Laurent Brossoit vs Anaheim Ducks
Pyotr Kochetkov vs Washington Capitals
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes
The Capitals have played a lot of hockey lately and for a team like them its not a good thing. They've scored just 2.8 goals at home over the past 30 days and the Hurricanes have snapped back into the contending team we thought they would be all season. Koch is a steady goaltender with a 2.53 GAA and a good game script I think he pays off tonight.
John Gibson, G, Anaheim Ducks
With a slate this small you need to be different and I don't know many DFS players that will have some Ducks exposure tonight. Its a risk but the Jets played last night and the Jets are scoring just 2.9 goals on the road over the past month compared to their 32.2 shots on goal. Opportunity of a slate breaking outing from Gibson tonight.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
New Jersey Devils vs Chicago Blackhawks (3.86)
Winnipeg Jets vs Anaheim Ducks (3.48)
Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals (3.41)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Jack Hughes, C, New Jersey Devils
He's going to be mega chalk tonight but with the matchup against the Blackhawks who allow 5.4 goals per game on the road over the last month its hard to fade him. May just need to eat the massive ownership to keep pace with everyone else's lineups.
Nikolaj Ehlers, W, Winnipeg Jets
This is a great matchup for Ehlers, who gets the Ducks tonight who allow a ton of shots. Ehlers has a good floor with 15 shots on goal over the past 4 games and may just score a goal tonight.
Seth Jarvis, W, Carolina Hurricanes
Cheaper than some other options at winger tonight and a decent matchup against a Capitals team that is kind of falling apart right now. Jarvis has 13 shots over the last 3 games and 27 total points on the season to this point. Gets good minutes and is likely to record some points tonight.
Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils
The little Hughes has been putting up big numbers lately for the Devils with 6 points over the past 4 games! The matchup is great against a Chicago team on a back to back and the top powerplay unit minutes matter so much for blue liners, plug him into your lineups.
Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | D |
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Stacks
Devils | Jack Hughes | Luke Hughes | Jesper Bratt |
![]() | 7700 | - | 5300 |
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Devils | Jack Hughes | Luke Hughes | Jesper Bratt |
![]() | 7700 | - | 5300 |
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Player News
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reports Curtis Samuel (hamstring) was not spotted at Sunday’s practice.
Getzenberg also notes that Samuel “didn’t participate in a good chunk of Friday’s practice,” which is presumably due to the same injury that’s left him sidelined for Sunday. Samuel, along with free agent signee Elijah Moore, is expected to battle for playing time behind Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer. The veteran receiver totaled 31-253-1 in limited action with the Bills last season and is unlikely to have much fantasy upside at this stage in his career. That said, this injury will be something to watch if his absence extends multiple days/weeks into camp. In addition to Samuel, linebacker Terrel Bernard is also dealing with a hamstring injury and did not practice on Sunday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Dolphins and Minkah Fitzpatrick have agreed to a revised contract.
The revised contract does not add any additional years to Fitzpatrick’s deal, which is good through the 2026 season. Instead, the veteran safety will have a $16.245 million signing bonus added to his deal, which agent Drew Rosenhaus said Fitzpatrick was “comfortable” with as they “continue to work with the Dolphins on a multi-year extension.” Fitzpatrick was acquired from the Steelers in the trade that sent Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey to Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old safety should be in line for another big extension after totaling 96 tackles, one interception, and four pass breakups last season.
Diamondbacks activated OF Alek Thomas from the bereavement list.
Thomas returns to Arizona’s outfield mix after spending two games away from the club on bereavement leave. The 25-year-old outfielder holds a .660 OPS with five homers and five steals in 90 games.
Saints beat reporter Mike Triplett reports Taysom Hill (knee) was “working off to the side with a trainer in his jersey for the first time” this offseason.
Hill opened camp on the PUP list due to a torn ACL he suffered in December. While the team has declined to put a timeline on his return, Hill’s returning to the field in any capacity is a good sign. It still seems unlikely that he’ll be ready for the start of the season, but we will be sure to provide any updates as they come across.
Jackson Holliday is on the bench for Sunday’s series finale against the Rockies.
Jordan Westburg slides over the second base, and will handle the leadoff spot, on Sunday afternoon against Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber. It’ll be Ramón Urías entering the lineup at the hot corner in this one. It’s an extremely rare day off for Holliday, who has played pretty much every game this season for Baltimore.
Yankees recalled LHP Brent Headrick from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Headrick has been summoned to bolster New York’s overworked relief mix ahead of Sunday’s game against the Phillies. The 27-year-old southpaw has posted a pedestrian 4.73 ERA across 13 1/3 innings (11 appearances) this season at the highest level.