DailyFaceoff DFS Cheat Sheet – January 9th
There are four games tonight and there’s a couple of beauties. The best game of the night should definitely be the goalie battle between Carey Price and Braden Holtby in Montreal. The Kings vs. Stars to wrap up the night should be great and the Jets vs. Flames should be the highest scoring affair.
This Cheat Sheet includes DraftKings and FanDuel salary as well as SaberSim dfs projections. These projections don’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. One game samples have too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Rather, the projections represent what a player’s performance would look like on average if that particular matchup were played over and over again. There is a wide range of possible outcomes, and the projections represent the average of those possibilities for each player.
Forwards
Taylor Hall – vs. FLA – (DK-$6,600 / FD-$7,000)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.05 / FD-14.59
Since returning to the lineup on January 2nd, Hall is averaging 3.5 shots on goal per game, which is a little higher than his season average of 3.19. Hall shoots a lot, but isn’t scoring at the same rate as he did earlier in his career. Tonight the Panthers come limping into town, which makes the Devils rare favourites. The other positive for Hall, is he has been dominant on home ice. The 25-year-old has 17 points (7G / 10A) in 15 games at the Prudential Center.
Tanner Pearson – vs. DAL – (DK-$5,000 / FD-$5,400)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.86 / FD-10.30
Pearson has been one of the hottest players in the NHL since the last week of December. Pearson has scored four goals with three assists and has averaged 3.38 shots per game in his last eight contests. Pearson has stepped up with Tyler Toffoli out and his great chemistry with Jeff Carter continues to be a huge asset for the Kings. Tonight they’ll face Kari Lehtonen, who has given up nearly 3.00 goals per game on the road.
Nikolaj Ehlers – vs. CGY – (DK-$5,700 / FD-$6,600)
SaberSim Projection: DK-3.91 / FD-14.14
Like Pearson, Ehlers has been dominant over the last few weeks. Ehlers has nine goals on 26 shots (2.89 S/PG) and three assists in his last nine games. With Patrik Laine out, he could get even more opportunity and the Jets will need Ehlers to continue to produce until the rookie sniper is set to return.
Value Play: Colton Sceviour – @ NJD – (DK-$4,100 / FD-$4,300)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.43 / FD-8.60
Sceviour has been a nice find for the Panthers and tonight he gets an opportunity on the top line with Vincent Trocheck and Jaromir Jagr. The Panthers are really banged up, so they need players like Sceviour to step up. He has six shots in his last two games and makes for a solid value option as he is also expected to see amble power play time as well.
Defensemen
Alec Martinez – vs. DAL – (DK-$4,900 / FD-$5,300)
SaberSim Projection: DK-1.55 / FD-5.41
I don’t think there’s anything to say about Martinez that I haven’t said before. He shoots a fair bit and blocks even more. Martinez has been an extremely consistent Daily Fantasy producer over the last two weeks and should continue that production tonight vs. the Stars.
Jacob Trouba – vs. CGY – (DK-$4,800 / FD-$4,900)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.03 / FD-7.10
Trouba doesn’t see a tonne of power play time, that goes to Dustin Byfuglien, but he has been a beast at even strength. Trouba has picked up two goals and eight assists (10 points) in his last 12 games and every single point has come at even-strength. Trouba plays massive minutes and is averaging the most shots of his career and 2.15 blocks per game.
Value Play: Nathan Beaulieu – vs. WSH – (DK-$3,500 / FD-$3,800)
SaberSim Projection: DK-2.22 / FD-7.71
Beaulieu has one goal, five assists, 15 shots (3.0 S/PG) and eight blocks (1.6 BS/PG) in his last five games. Beaulieu plays with Jeff Petry at even strength, another defenseman that has been playing great, but he also plays with Shea Weber on the top power play unit. Of those five assists, four of them have come alongside Weber with the extra-man.
Goalies
Braden Holtby – @ MTL – (DK-$7,500 / FD-$9,500)
SaberSim Projection: DK-4.62 / FD-18.48
Holtby has posted back-to-back shutouts, stopping all 59 shots that he has faced vs. the Blue Jackets and Senators. Tonight he faces a Canadiens team that is extremely banged up. They had no problem scoring against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, but things should be more difficult vs. the Capitals. Holtby is a better play on DraftKings ($7,500) than on FanDuel ($9,500), but he should be fine on both platforms.
Cory Schneider – vs. FLA – (DK-$7,600 / FD-$8,700)
SaberSim Projection: DK-5.34 / FD-21.37
Schneider has played a lot better since the calendar flipped to 2017, going 2-1-1 with a 1.82 GAA and .940 SV%. Schneider has been one of the best goalies over the year’s so there’s no reason not to expect this to continue. Tonight the Devils welcome a really banged up Panthers team to the Prudential Center, where Schneider is 10-3-2 with a 2.42 GAA and .914 SV% this season.