It’s a pretty brutal slate, as the only team playing the second of a back to back is Detroit, who happens to visiting Calgary. On top of that, the biggest favorite in Vegas (via Covers Experts) is Pittsburgh at just -150. The nice thing about nights like tonight is that there really isn’t a wrong way to go – with such seemingly even matchups, DFS owners can get a bit creative.
Like Marek Zidlicky yesterday, I will say that Andre Burakovsky should be a staple of cash games tonight. He’s joined the top line in Washington, and had a goal in his first game with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Needless to say, in his position, at his price, it’s fairly obvious why he should be the first player added to cash game lineups.
DraftKings has a near-nightly Sniper tournament that is just $2 to enter. Details are below.
– Use promo code “XN”
-$7,000 prize pool.
– First place wins $500
– $2 entry fee (FREE with first deposit)
– Top 800 finishing positions are paid.
– Starts Wednesday, January 7th at 7:00 PM EST
– Salary Cap Style Drafting. $50,000 to select 9 spots. 8 players and 1 goalie.
– Roster Format: 2 C, 3 W, 2 D, 1 G and 1 Util.
– First time depositors at DraftKings receive a 100% bonus up to $600
As always, check Left Wing Lock for goalie confirmations.
Players will be in order of perceived value, by position, and there should be enough to mix-and-match for each type of game available on Draft Kings. Some positions might only have a few plays, some might have several. It all depends on the day, the matchups, and the price.
Remember: players are in order of value, not necessarily in cost. Just because Sidney Crosby is $8000 one day doesn’t mean he’s a better value than Andrew Shaw at $4000.
Cash Games
| Centre | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Backstrom (WSH) – $6100 | Perron (PIT) – $3900 | Franson (TOR) – $4400 | Fleury (PIT) – $8200 |
| Kesler (ANA) – $6000 | Perry (ANA) – $7000 | Vatanen (ANA) – $4300 | Andersen (ANA) – $8400 |
| Kadri (TOR) – $4900 | Burakovsky (WSH) – $2900 | Green (WSH) – $4700 | |
| Sheahan (DET) – $3200 | Kessel (TOR) – $8100 | Letang (PIT) – $5600 | |
| Brassard (NYR) – $5000 | Beleskey (ANA) – $4400 | ||
| Datsyuk (DET) – $5700 | Abdelkader (DET) – $4000 | ||
| Ovechkin (WSH) – $9500 | |||
| Nyquist (DET) – $5400 | |||
- It wouldn’t be a shock if Toronto and Washington played the highest scoring game tonight. There should be a good amount of value coming out of that game.
- Though I don’t particularly love the Getzlaf line in cash games, Corey Perry’s price has dropped to the point where it’s hard to leave him out of cash game rosters.
- Letang’s price has also dropped a fair amount, leaving him as a viable option on a short slate.
- It’s sort of a crapshoot about where to go in net, though Fleury seems to be the best bet.
Guaranteed Prize Pools/Tournaments
| Centre | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Crosby (PIT) – $9000 | Perron (PIT) – $3900 | Letang (PIT) – $5600 | Bernier (TOR) – $8900 |
| Getzlaf (ANA) – $8500 | Downie (PIT) – $3200 | Vatanen (ANA) – $4300 | Fleury (PIT) – $8200 |
| Kadri (TOR) – $4900 | Perry (ANA) – $7000 | Rielly (TOR) – $3400 | |
| Zetterberg (DET) – $7600 | Bourque (ANA) – $2900 | DeKeyser (DET) – $3200 | |
| Kessel (TOR) – $8100 | |||
| Winnik (TOR) – $2700 | |||
| Nyquist (DET) – $5400 | |||
- With the price of his wingers, it’s not necessarily a bad night to stack the Crosby line. It also gives DFSers exposure to both power play units.
- Anaheim may be a mess to target in GPPs; I can see the wingers being mixed and matched all game long.
- Kadri has been put on a line with Kessel and Winnik, and that’s a reasonably priced line with big upside tonight.
Slim’s Pickins (bargain plays)
Josh Jooris (CGY-C, $2900) – Jooris is centering Gaudreau and Hudler. That’s all I got to say about that.
Daniel Winnik (TOR-W, $2700) – Winnik could be the glue that holds together the newly-formed top line. Not a goal scoring threat, but a cheap assist gets him to reach value.
Simon Despres (PIT-D, $2900) – Don’t be surprised if the game tonight gets a little heated i.e. penalty city.
Good luck!
**UPDATE: Ilya Bryzgalov is in net for Anaheim tonight, and that elevates Rangers plays. All of Stepan, St. Louis, and McDonagh are good cash game plays now, and Stepan/St. Louis/Kreider make for a decent GPP stack. That also means Andersen is not a viable starter, and would rather use Henrik Lundqvist. Fleury remains the top goalie cash game play.
