NHL Daily Fantasy Picks and Helper: Saturday 1/27/24

NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.

Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters.

Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com and DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.

Let's jump in and take a look at today's slate, find a goalie, some stacks, and some value plays for your NHL DFS lineups on FanDuel.

NHL DFS Picks

Goalie to Target

Jacob Markstrom, Flames ($7,700)

Given a 3-10-1 record, the month of January has been absolutely cruel to the Calgary Flames, but they're at complete rock bottom if they don't find a way to win tonight.

Calgary is a -300 favorite, per the NHL odds at FanDuel, leaving the opposing Chicago Blackhawks with tonight's lowest implied team total (2.12). That's welcome news for Jacob Markstrom ($7,700), who has actually performing well despite being forced to his heels at every turn.

Markstrom is sixth in the NHL over the past 30 days in goals saved above expectation (8.18 GSAx) as the Flames have spiraled, but Chicago's weak skating attack should give him -- or more appropriately, the defense skating in front of him -- a fair fight.

numberFire projects the former Vezina Trophy finalist for 19.2 FanDuel points on Saturday. While shot volume is always a bit of a concern from the Blackhawks, it's hard to pass up on his win equity and shutout equity at salary.

Stacks

Tampa Bay Lightning

The New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning are both stacking candidates with a lofty total entering tonight's game, but the home side has a clear advantage at relative full strength.

Tampa was -- as usual -- expected to be a solid offense this season, and it's played out that way. They're 13th in expected goals per 60 minutes in the past month (3.16), and the matchup against New Jersey is stellar. The Devils are allowing the 12th-most expected goals per 60 in the same period, and Vitek Vanecek hasn't helped them (-3.02 GSAx the past 30 days).

My favorite part about a workable spot for the Lightning is always their correlation. Nikita Kucherov ($10,700), Brayden Point ($8,500), Steven Stamkos ($8,400), and Victor Hedman ($7,600) are glued together in all ice conditions and have accounted for 84 of the team's 168 goals this season.

The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche are off this unique, 10-game slate. I'm not sure how you start elsewhere.

Vancouver Canucks

We'll use one of the Presidents' Trophy favorites to test whether the Columbus Blue Jackets' 5-2 win in Calgary on Thursday said more about them or their opponents.

By and large, Columbus has improved considerably in the past 30 days to just allow 2.90 goals per 60 minutes, but their goaltending situation might be the worst in the league. Both Elvis Merzlikins (-3.67 GSAx) and Daniil Tarasov (-4.90 GSAx) have been bottom-10 goaltenders in the past 30 days.

While expecting the Vancouver Canucks' offense to regress at some point, it simply hasn't yet. Vancouver is sixth in the NHL in expected goals per 60 (3.28) over the past month of play.

As always with the 'Nucks, they use Elias Pettersson ($10,100) to buoy lesser skaters on the top line, so the entire second forward line -- J.T. Miller ($9,100), Brock Boeser ($8,000), and Pius Suter ($4,700) -- actually fully correlates to the power play with him. The tricky part is all but Boeser are listed centers on FanDuel, giving the flex spots a workout.

Calder contender Quinn Hughes ($8,400) joins these four from the blue line. There a few options to mix and match, but Boeser, projected by nF for 20.0 FanDuel points at his salary, is the spot I'd prioritize most.

Value Skaters

Leo Carlsson, C, Ducks ($5,200)

We'd be remiss to not target the worst goalie on the slate -- even if it comes in the form of the lowly Anaheim Ducks this evening.

The Minnesota Wild are still trying to iron out the kinks with Filip Gustavsson and recreate his postseason magic from last season, but it's not working. Gustavsson's -6.84 GSAx in the past month of play are the worst in all of hockey. With Minnesota's defense in the middle of the pack (2.90 expected goals per 60) in the same period, that's not great news.

Leo Carlsson ($5,200) centers Troy Terry ($5,900) on the first even-strength and power-play unit, but no other Duck teammates link up on the man advantage from the same line. If I would add to their mini-stack, it's likely Cam Fowler ($4,200) given the defensemen's absurd 25:53 TOI average in January.

Anaheim wasn't in the stacking section for multiple reasons, but don't be surprised if their best pieces sneak a goal or two past the struggling Gustavsson.

Jonathan Huberdeau, W, Flames ($4,800)

Calgary gets a second shout in the offensive section here, which is quite common when playing the worst team in the NHL.

In addition to a league-low 2.31 expected goals scored per 60 in the past month, Chicago is also ceding the seventh-most expected goals (3.20) per 60 in the same period. The problem with fully stacking against them is Petr Mrazek, who has posted a career year that's continued into the past 30 days (5.83 GSAx).

Therefore, while not falling over backward to get to the Flames' skaters, Jonathan Huberdeau ($4,800) just shouldn't carry this low of a salary on the top even-strength and man-advantage unit. Huberdeau's overall decline might be a key reason why Calgary is struggling, but he's still posted 10 points in his last 12 games in this role.

numberFire's slots "The Huberdude" as its 10th-best point-per-dollar option in NHL DFS today, expecting him to walk away with 11.3 FanDuel points tonight.

Looking to play some NHL Daily Fantasy? Check out the NHL DFS lobby on FanDuel.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.