NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/16/20

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Jan 16th, 2020
This 13-game slate is the last huge weekday slate until the end of January. Which spots stand out tonight?

A good chunk of you played daily fantasy football this year, and I'd be willing to bet a significant portion of you have also tried out daily fantasy basketball and baseball. But hockey? Hockey?

It's time to give it a try over on FanDuel because it's a ton of fun.

Our analysis and projections can help you win. To help, let's take a look at some goalies, high-priced skaters, and lower-priced players to target for today's slate.

Goalie to Target

Ilya Samsonov ($8,200): The Washington Capitals will start Samsonov on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils, looking to avenge a 5-1 home loss last Saturday. Samsonov has outperformed starter Braden Holtby this season. This is the Russian goalie's fourth start in the last seven games, with just five goals yielded during that span. In his last eight decisions, Samsonov has won every single one, including a December 20th start in New Jersey where he stopped 24 shots. See if Marc-Andre Fleury starts for the Vegas Golden Knights, too, as he will be just $8,000 and going up against Ottawa.

High-Priced Skaters

Nathan MacKinnon ($8,700): The center is not coming off a hat trick like Auston Matthews but has a nice matchup against an injury-depleted San Jose Sharks team. MacKinnon has 18-plus FanDuel points in each of his last three games and has four real-world points along with 14 shots and 11 scoring chances. MacKinnon has even added a blocked shot per night, as well. That does not sound like much, but every little point helps. Expect the Colorado Avalanche pivot to be right around 20 FanDuel points once again. Jack Eichel ($8,200) may have a difficult matchup against the Dallas Stars, but he has points in eight consecutive games.

Alex Ovechkin ($8,600): Ovechkin was none too pleased the last time he played against New Jersey. Most expect him to come closer to the two-goal effort he had against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. In that game, Ovechkin managed four shots on net and three scoring chances, and one of his goals was on the man advantage. That has potential to occur again considering in the December 20th meeting, Ovechkin had a goal and assist along with several quality opportunities. The Capitals' top line may go up against Cory Schneider but await confirmation there. Artemi Panarin ($8,400) had a five-point night against the New York Islanders on Monday, and the Rangers and Islanders play each other again tonight.

Value Skaters

Ondrej Kase ($3,300): Kase had three solid games in a row and then had just one blocked shot versus the St. Louis Blues. These things happen. Fortunately, the Anaheim Ducks' forward faces a Nashville Predators that can give up some goals. Throw all the records out, as these two teams have a heavy dislike for one another. Kase has two games recently where he fired five-plus shots on net, and a Nashville game where he hit the net four times with a couple scoring chances. Frank Vatrano ($3,300) goes up against the Los Angeles Kings after tallying a short-handed goal and assist versus the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Brady Skjei ($3,900): Skjei has endured a tough season, but his two assists against the New York Islanders give us some hope that he can hit the box score with a goal or assist in this tilt. He has averaged two shots a game and three blocks per contest over the last three starts. Skjei has played 21-plus minutes in seven of his last eight outings, so he is getting ice time in most crucial situations. Will Butcher ($3,600) is a viable alternative from New Jersey with 17 or more FanDuel points in two of his previous three contests.

Chris Wassel is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Chris Wassel also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username chriswassel. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.