NHL DFS Picks for January 8, 2026: Top Stacks, Best Value Plays & Goalie Targets

Thursday, January 8^th, 2026. Super fun 12-gamer let’s get to it.

Top Stack of the Day

Colorado Avalanche Power Play 1 (Nichushkin, Nelson, Necas, MacKinnon, Makar)

The vast majority of the NHL today will be playing in pick’em type environments, with an exception being the Colorado Avalanche, who get to play a team in Ottawa who’s goaltending has been so downright putrid that they are turning to AHL mainstay (and bad in the AHL) Mads Sogaard between the pipes tonight. Let me go on the record and say that this isn’t going to end well either. MacKinnon is currently up to a justified $10,200 salary and because this slate is 12 games, Colorado isn’t getting the ownership they rightfully deserve. I will be firing this up in all contests.

Top Value Stack of the Day

Boston Bruins not named David Pastrnak

Alright, hear me out as this is kind of a weird spot and I will attempt to explain myself. The top projected ownership to a skater tonight is Pastrnak at around 22% and although I don’t begrudge people from going there, he is back up to $8800 on DK and will be the chalk skater on the evening because this matchup is so good. Instead, can I interest you in anyone else wearing a B on their chest tonight? As of the time of this writing, nobody knows what exactly the lines will be tonight for the Bruins as they are expected to shuffle them, but a lot of these guys are just priced far too cheap for their expected roles tonight. Some of my favorites are Fraser Minten if he ends up skating with Pasta for $2800 or Elias Lindholm if he sees top-line, top power-play time for $4400. Check back closer to lock when we know what the lines will actually be, but the Bruins offer amazing value and salary savings in a high implied total game.

TOP C Value

Evan Rodrigues, Florida Panthers (3.8k DK)

In the “players not named Fraser Minten or Elias Lindholm” category of Center’s today, you really can’t go wrong with Rodrigues. He is a clear boom/bust option, but he has been moved back up onto the top power play in what should be a shootout in Montreal. Don’t be afraid to pair him with FLA PP1 or his linemates on FLA 3, especially Samoskevich.

Top W Value

Freddy Gaudreau, Seattle Kraken (3.0k DK)

Now for the revenge game that everyone has been waiting for, Freddy Gaudreau vs. Minnesota! In all seriousness, Gaudreau has been nails lately far exceeding his price tag and getting great ice-time in a top 6 role. Advanced Metrics don’t think Seattle can keep up the pace that has led them to 8-2 in their last 10, but that is as a team. As an individual player, it appears what Gaudreau has been doing is in fact sustainable with the increase in ice-time and I’m all there for it. #teamgaudreawildrevenge

Top D Value

Sam Malinski, Colorado Avalanche (2.9k DK)

Another boom/bust option with a floor of zero and a ceiling of twenty plus, we have Malinski tonight against the sieve that is Sogaard for Ottawa. Malinski is a third line defenseman pairing for the Avalanche, but when games go blowout, he sees more run, which could especially be true tonight with Toews sidelined. He also has massive offensive upside as seen by two twenty-point fantasy outbursts in December in games that Colorado scored six total. If that happens again tonight and it easily could, it’s possible we see another huge offensive output from Malinski, who definitely has the opportunity to excel tonight.

Top G Value

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets (7.2k DK)

I’m going to be honest with you, even on this twelve-game slate, goalie is a barren wasteland of sadness and disappointment. If we look back to Tuesday, the key decision you had to make was whether or not to take Sorokin or Markstrom in Devils at Islanders. 9-0 and a 44 save shutout later, in a game that advanced metrics favored the Devils to win in the post-mortem, you could have 40+ fantasy point Sorokin or negative 21-point Markstrom. Tonight feels similar in that something like that is likely to happen again, but not to the extremes that we saw Tuesday. Vegas is screaming at us that the best spot of the night is in Winnipeg, where the Jets who have been terrible lately get the home ice versus Edmonton, but they are only -105 dogs. We get the reigning Vezina trophy winner here in a pick’em at a bargain basement price. Do I love this and could this go terribly wrong? No, I don’t love this and it can go terribly wrong, however if I’m not playing Edmonton in my lineups (and you should like some EDM) sprinkling in some Hellebuyck is not a bad decision for the price.