NHL DFS Playbook January 8th: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Published: Jan 08, 2024
Monday's 4-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring a great matchup as Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche face David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins. 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 8th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
It is an interesting four-game slate today as we have some genuinely fun matchups. The matchup that stands out the most for me is Dallas at Minnesota. The Stars have been scoring four goals per game on average in the last couple of weeks, and Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't played well this season. This could be a long night for the Wild at home. The other matchup that stands out for me is Boston at Colorado. In Boston's last six games, they have scored five goals per game on average, while Colorado has struggled defensively as they are in the bottom third in the league in goals against, and Alexandar Georgiev hasn't helped much either with a 0.894 save percentage on the year.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies,
Top Options for Saves
Carter Hart vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Marc-Andre Fleury vs Dallas Stars
Alex Nedeljkovic vs Philadelphia Flyers
Best Odds for a Win
Igor Shesterkin vs Vancouver Canucks
Scott Wedgewood vs Minnesota Wild
Alexandar Georgiev vs Boston Bruins
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Carter Hart G, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart has been feast or famine as of late. He has either been giving up no goals, or blowing up. With that said, he has only lost once in regulation in his last nine games, and he played very well in a win the last time the Flyers faced the Penguins.
Igor Shesterkin G, New York Rangers
Outside the game against the Hurricanes, we have seen Shesterkin play well in his last five days. With that said though I don't love his price, and I see him as a GPP play only, as he has struggled at home this season, and Vancouver has enough firepower to score four times or more today.
Jeremy Swayman G, Boston Bruins
Swayman has lost just once this season on the road. If the Bruins can lock down the Avalanche's top line it shouldn't be a surprise for them to win this game on the road. In a GPP I don't mind taking Swayman on the road as he could see a lot of shots as well.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
New York Rangers vs Thatcher Demko (3.6)
Dallas Stars vs Marc-Andre Fleury (3.2)
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Carter Hart (3.2)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
MacKinnon has as solid of a floor as you're going to find. He has 17 shots in his last three games, and seven points in those three games as well. It isn't a great matchup against Boston, but that will keep his ownership numbers down as well and be a boon if he had a big game.
Travis Konecny, W, Philadelphia Flyers
With goals in four of his last five games, Konecny has been one of the hottest players in the league as of late. He also has five shots or more in three straight games, which will help his floor in what should be a hard-fought matchup against the Penguins.
Mason Marchment, W, Dallas Stars
We continue to see solid value from Marchment who has points in four straight games, and he has had five shots or more in two of those games as well. With the Stars having one of the better matchups tonight we should look for him to keep his point streak alive.
Jacob Trouba D, New York Rangers
Trouba has points in three of his last four games, and he has blocked three shots or more in four of his last five games. Trouba's floor remains really high, and with the Rangers facing a Canucks team today that hasn't been good on the road, I would expect them to score more than a few goals.
Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | D | G |
---|---|---|---|---|
High | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Medium | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Low | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Stacks
Bruins | Hampus Lindholm | David Pastrnak | Morgan Geekie |
![]() | 3200 | 9500 | 4200 |
![]() | 4400 | 10200 | 4900 |
Stars | Roope Hintz | Thomas Harley | Jason Robertson |
![]() | 6200 | 4500 | 6700 |
![]() | 7200 | 6100 | 8200 |
Flyers | Sean Couturier | Nick Seeler | Travis Konecny |
![]() | 5000 | 3600 | 6500 |
![]() | 6500 | 4100 | 8000 |
Player News
Blue Jays signed LHP Joe Mantiply to a minor league contract.
Mantiply was released by the Diamondbacks on July 2, and it took a bit for the former All-Star reliever to find a new home. He’ll head to Triple-A Buffalo to try and find that form — or at least a semblance of it — and could be an option for the Toronto bullpen at some point this summer. The Blue Jays will need to add him to the 40-man roster for that promotion to take place.
The Athletic’s Chad Graff believes Stefon Diggs (knee) will “likely open camp by working on the side until he’s cleared from his injury.
Diggs suffered a torn ACL in Week 8 of last season, but surprised during spring practices when he took the field in a limited capacity with the team. While he’s yet to be cleared for full football activities, Graff believes the encouraging spring we saw from Diggs may lead to some limited work to the side in camp while leaving the door open for Diggs to eventually participate in full closer to the end of camp. While opening the season on the PUP list, which would require him to miss a minimum of four games, remains a possibility, Diggs’ involvement in camp will be worth monitoring as the Patriots aim to get their WR1 back on the field.
Mariners optioned LHP Tayler Saucedo to Triple-A Tacoma.
Saucedo pitched in just one game in this stint with Seattle while firing a scoreless inning to end a 15-7 blowout. The 32-year-old will likely be back at some point this summer.
Mariners activated RHP Carlos Vargas off the paternity list.
Yankees claimed RHP Rico Garcia off waivers from the Mets.
Garcia was designated for assignment despite pitching well in his two outings with the Mets, so it’s not a huge surprise the 31-year-old saw interest on the wire. The Yankees will likely have him operate in low-leverage situations with the club.
Royals placed RHP Michael Lorenzen on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain.
The Royals won’t announce a corresponding move until after the break. Lorenzen will be out through the majority of July with a chance to return July 26 if there are no setbacks. Kansas City should give a timeline — and an update on who starts with Lorenzen out — in the coming days.