NHL DFS Playbook January 9th: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Published: Jan 09, 2024
Welcome to Tuesday’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 Tuesday, January 9th, 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 9th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
We have some heavy favourite on tonight’s slate which means we will have to make some tough choices. Toronto welcomes San Jose to town while the Oilers travel to Chicago. Players from both teams are going to be popular, but there is still value to be found elsewhere. The Jets are the best team in the NHL and they have a great matchup against Columbus, while the Senators are in Calgary and looking to get back on track and salvage their season. Let’s take a look at which players we should be targeting for our lineups.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Petr Mrazek Vs. Edmonton Oilers
Jacob Markstrom Vs. Ottawa Senators
Ilya Sorokin Vs. Vancouver Canucks
Best Odds for a Win
Martin Jones Vs. San Jose Sharks
Stuart Skinner Vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Connor Hellebuyck Vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Martin Jones, G, Toronto Maple Leafs
Martin Jones has been red hot to start 2024 and that should continue tonight. He’s played some of the worst teams in hockey lately, but he’s still picking up wins. He’s allowed a total of two goals in the last three games and has a date at home with San Jose. No issue with rolling him out in cash games.
Stuart Skinner, G, Chicago Blackhawks
The Oilers are in Chicago and this game could get out of hand in a hurry. The Blackhawks are going to roster an AHL lineup, so Skinner should get more than enough goal support to pick up the win. It might be a challenge for him to hit value, but if all you care about is the win, he’s as good as it gets.
Joey Daccord, G, Seattle Kraken
Joey Daccord is going to be forgotten tonight because of all the elite goalie options to choose from. He’s 5-0 in his last five starts and has allowed just five goals in that span. The Sabres aren’t very good on home ice and Daccord can easily handle whatever is going to be thrown at him. If you want to save some salary on a goalie and still have upside, he’s an option to consider.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning
It’s crazy how much better the Lightning are on home ice. Andrei Vasilevskiy is 4-3-0 on home ice but sports a 2.45 GAA and a .912 SV%. Those are very good numbers. The Kings are elite on the road, but they have lost their last five games in a row and just can’t seem to get it together. If you’re looking for a goalie with upside and low ownership, this is the route to go.
Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders
It’s tough to trust Ilya Sorokin against a high-scoring Canucks team but hear me out. Vancouver is playing their second game in as many nights and Sorokin has been really good at home, posting an 8-2-6 record with a .917 SV%. It’s unfortunate that the Islanders are bad defensively, but Sorokin could very well hit value without picking up the win. We can’t trust him in cash games, but he’s a great GPP option.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Edmonton Oilers Vs Petr Mrazek (4.6)
Toronto Maple Leafs Vs. MacKenzie Blackwood (4.5)
Nashville Predators Vs. John Gibson (4.0)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
I can’t find a way to not play Connor McDavid tonight. The Blackhawks are decimated by injuries and they aren’t going to be able to keep up in this game. McDavid had eight shots last game and could have even more tonight. He’s expensive, but he’s by far worth every dollar.
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
The only reason you’re not playing McDavid is because you’re going with Auston Matthews. It feels like an impossible task to have both players in the same lineup, so you’ll have to make a choice. AM34 had a slow game against San Jose a couple of days ago, but we know he can shoot the puck and score goals. He’s going to get every chance to do that tonight on home ice.
Gustav Nyqvist, W, Nashville Predators
Nashville has an implied team total of 4.0, so we should expect them to score early and often. Gustav Nyqvist has 12 points in the last ten games but he’s still only $4500 on DraftKings. I don’t know what this man has to do to get some respect but we will continue to take the discount and roll on.
Warren Foegle, W, Edmonton Oilers
You don’t need me to tell you that Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman are excellent options for tonight, but there are some value players that we can target. Warren Foegle is skating in the top six and has 14 shots on goal in the last three games. His $4000 price tag is also quite appealing. He’s a great discount player who can provide a massive amount of upside.
Connor Murphy, D, Chicago Blackhawks
If you need a defenceman who can block shots, there is no shortage of options. Connor Murphy has the most upside, but Alex Vlasiv, Nikita Zaitsev and Jarred Tironrdi are all options you can consider. To be honest, you should probably pick two and use the salary savings to spend up elsewhere. Chicago’s defence is going to be crazy busy tonight and any one of these players could hit value before the end of the second period.
Jan Rutta, D, San Jose Sharks
You already know that Mario Ferraro is the preferred defenceman to target from San Jose, but if you’re unwilling to pay his price tag, there are other options to consider. Jan Rutta is $2700 and he is more than capable of blocking shots. He’s played under 20 minutes in the last three games, but I still think he can hit the bonus despite the limited ice time. Again, if you’re looking to pay up for the big boys, you’ll need to save your salary and this is one way to go.
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Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | D |
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High | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Medium | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Low | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Stacks
Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Morgan Rielly | William Nylander |
![]() | 10200 | 6300 | 8700 |
![]() | 10500 | 7400 | 10100 |
Oilers | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard |
![]() | 5800 | 9600 | 6900 |
![]() | 7700 | 10300 | 8600 |
Predators | Ryan O'Reilly | Roman Josi | Gustav Nyquist |
![]() | 5600 | 7000 | 4500 |
![]() | 6800 | 8100 | 5900 |
Jets | Cole Perfetti | Vladislav Namestnikov | Josh Morrissey |
![]() | 5100 | 3800 | 6600 |
![]() | 5600 | 4500 | 7500 |
Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Morgan Rielly | William Nylander |
![]() | 10200 | 6300 | 8700 |
![]() | 10500 | 7400 | 10100 |
Oilers | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard |
![]() | 5800 | 9600 | 6900 |
![]() | 7700 | 10300 | 8600 |
Predators | Ryan O'Reilly | Roman Josi | Gustav Nyquist |
![]() | 5600 | 7000 | 4500 |
![]() | 6800 | 8100 | 5900 |
Jets | Cole Perfetti | Vladislav Namestnikov | Josh Morrissey |
![]() | 5100 | 3800 | 6600 |
![]() | 5600 | 4500 | 7500 |
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.