NHL DFS Playbook January 6th: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Published: Jan 06, 2024
Welcome to Saturday’s 10-game NHL Slate. We have a massive slate with a ton of good options to choose from. If you’re rocking with just one lineup, you’ll have to make some choices. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Saturday, January 6th, but before you build those NHL daily fantasy lineups, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS projections, the NHL Value Finder, and the NHL DFS lineup generator. Let's look closer at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS Showdown slate.
NHL DFS Playbook January 6th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
Who doesn’t love a massive NHL slate on a Saturday? I know I love it! It may be tricky to build a winning DFS lineup with so many options, but we just have to make sure that we are picking players with a ton of upside. We also have to make sure our value players perform and that our goalie is good. Goalies are voodoo, but there are still some solid options to choose from. Let’s take a look at some options for tonight.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
MacKenzie Blackwood Vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Stuart Skinner Vs. Ottawa Senators
Best Odds for a Win
Martin Jones Vs. San Jose Sharks
Stuart Skinner Vs. Ottawa Senators
Jonathan Quick Vs. Montreal Canadiens
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Martin Jones, G, Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s 2024 and Martin Jones is the most expensive goalie on DraftKings. What a time to be alive. As much as I hate Jones, we can’t deny that he has played very well over his last five starts. In the last two games, he’s allowed a total of one goal against. The Sharks are a bad hockey team, so if you’re chasing the win in cash games, Jones is a solid option. I hope I don’t regret my words.
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Minnesota Wild
Marc-Andre Fleury has lost his last three starts but it’s not all his fault. The Wild have provided him with four goals in that span, so there’s not much the veteran goalie can do when your team is giving you no offensive support. Columbus is a team that really struggles to score goals, so this is a good spot for Fleury.
Linus Ullmark, G, Boston Bruins
A matchup against Tampa Bay may seem scary, but the Lightning are 21st in goals per game on the road and we know just how good the Bruins are on home ice. Linus Ullmark hasn’t been “elite” by any means, but he is still an above-average goalie. He’s played well in his last two games and could be in line for a very good night if he can hold the big boys off the board.
Jonathan Quick, G, New York Rangers
Jonathan Quick has come back down to earth over his last two starts, but he still has a great matchup on the road against Montreal. The Canadiens don’t have a great offence and they struggle to generate scoring chances. The Rangers are a good team that can hurt you in so many ways, so if Quick can just play a solid game, he should be able to come away with the win.
Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders
Ilya Sorokin is a good goalie on a poor hockey team. The Islanders have a good record, but they are allowing over 35 shots against per game and Sorokin is having to stand on his head most nights. The Russian netminder has a 3.10 GAA but a .912 SV%. In short; he’s allowing a lot of goals but he’s also stopping a ton of pucks. Vegas has struggled a ton recently and they aren’t scoring many goals. If Sorokin can geep the goals against to a minimum, he could still hit value without having to register a win.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Edmonton Oilers Vs Joonas Korpisalo (4.2)
Toronto Maple Leafs Vs. MacKenzie Blackwood (3.9)
Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (3.8)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid is coming off a five-point game and could be in line for another elite game. The Ottawa Senators are terrible defensively and they have the worst penalty kill in the NHL. The Oilers are going to dominate this game from start to finish and McDavid is going to have all the chances in the world to rack up points.
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
If you don’t want to go with McDavid, Auston Matthews is the next best thing. He had a goal and 13 shots on goal in the last game against Anaheim. Now he has a date with San Jose. AM34 is $10,200 on DK, but he is with every dollar and continues to exceed value.
Chris Kreider, W, New York Rangers
I hate Chris Kreider for a multitude of reasons, but I know he can score goals and he loves to do that against Montreal. The veteran winger has 20 on the season and he gets a matchup against a Montreal team that has a terrible power play and that can’t defend. He doesn’t shoot the puck a ton, but tonight could be an exception to the rule.
Matt Boldy, W, Minnesota Wild
Matt Boldy is coming off a goose egg versus the Wild, but he has a chance to redeem himself tonight. Mats Zuccarello is back in the lineup so that gives Boldy some support offensively. Denial Tarasov is #NotGood and the Wild should be able to capitalize on their chances. Boldly is also under $6K on DK, so there are lots of good reasons to trust him.
Mario Ferraro, D, San Jose Sharks
This one should surprise no one. You all know how much I love shot-blocking defenceman and Mario Ferraro is going to be busy tonight. He’s not going to provide you with any offence, but he can hit value by just blocking shots and hitting the bonus.
Travis Hamonic, D, Ottawa Senators
We are sticking with value defencmen who love to block shots. Travis Hamonic is playing under 15 minutes a night when his team is trialling, but he’s still finding a way to hit value. He played just 13 minutes against Seattle but still found a way to block four shots. He’s a risky option, but he’s going up against an Edmonton team that can really shoot the puck. If you’re trying to fit McDavid or Matthews into your lineup, you’ll need to take some chances and this is one I’m willing to trust.
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Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | F | D |
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Stacks
Oilers | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard | Zach Hyman |
![]() | 9500 | 6700 | 7900 |
![]() | 10300 | 8600 | 9600 |
Senators | Travis Hamonic | Josh Norris | Drake Batherson |
![]() | 2900 | 5100 | 5400 |
![]() | 3800 | 6500 | 7000 |
Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Morgan Rielly | Matthew Knies |
![]() | 10200 | 6200 | 3500 |
![]() | 10500 | 7400 | 3800 |
Penguins | Jake Guentzel | Sidney Crosby | Marcus Pettersson |
![]() | 7700 | 8000 | 3500 |
![]() | 9000 | 9200 | 4600 |
Oilers | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard | Zach Hyman |
![]() | 9500 | 6700 | 7900 |
![]() | 10300 | 8600 | 9600 |
Senators | Travis Hamonic | Josh Norris | Drake Batherson |
![]() | 2900 | 5100 | 5400 |
![]() | 3800 | 6500 | 7000 |
Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Morgan Rielly | Matthew Knies |
![]() | 10200 | 6200 | 3500 |
![]() | 10500 | 7400 | 3800 |
Penguins | Jake Guentzel | Sidney Crosby | Marcus Pettersson |
![]() | 7700 | 8000 | 3500 |
![]() | 9000 | 9200 | 4600 |
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.