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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Jack Hughes  $7,700 |  Sebastian Aho $6,900 |  Josh Morrissey $0 |
| Jesper Bratt $5,300 | |||
| Medium | Mark Scheifele $0 | Nikolaj Ehlers $0 | Jaccob Slavin $4,000 |
| Nico Hischier $6,300 | Seth Jarvis $3,700 | ||
| Low | Adam Lowry $0 | Dawson Mercer $3,500 | Luke Hughes $0 |
Stacks
| Devils | Jack Hughes | Luke Hughes | Jesper Bratt |
| DraftKings | 7700 | - | 5300 |
 Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Devils | Jack Hughes | Luke Hughes | Jesper Bratt |
| DraftKings | 7700 | - | 5300 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
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.