NHL Daily Fantasy Picks and Helper: Tuesday 12/19/23

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

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning ($7,300)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

A year or two ago, we would probably lock in Andrei Vasilevskiy ($7,300) at this salary regardless of opponent. This season, it's a bit different. Vasilevskiy has returned from a preseason injury and has been up and down.

The former Conn Smythe winner has saved just 0.3 goals above expected this season in his 10 games. He's allowed as many as six goals in a game but also had shutouts. He's won four of his last six starts, so hopefully he's on the way up.

Tonight, he'll face the St. Louis Blues at home. The Blues are 23rd in goals per game, and their underlying numbers aren't too strong, either. They are 17th in expected goals and 22nd in high-danger chances on a per 60 minute basis, via Natural Stat Trick.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are -170 favorites in this game, so Vasilevskiy has a great chance of picking up the win for just $7,300.

Stacks

Los Angeles Kings

Most people think of the Los Angeles Kings as a defensive team and think that's why they are having success this season. That isn't incorrect; they have allowed the fewest goals per game in the league. However, their offense has also been humming along, as well.

The Kings are fourth in goals per game, which should shred their low-scoring reputation. They have a three-way tie for first in scoring with two of those players linking up on the top line.

Anze Kopitar ($7,300) and Adrian Kempe ($7,500) are that duo, and they each have 27 points in 27 games. Then add in Quinton Byfield ($5,900) and his 23 points, and you have a powerful trio that is fully correlated on the power play.

The Kings will face the San Jose Sharks on the road tonight. We shouldn't downgrade the Kings on the road when they are 12-1-1 away from home this season. That's without playing the division-rival Sharks, who are the worst team in the NHL.

San Jose ranks last in basically every defensive metric. That includes, shot-attempt rate, scoring-chance rate, high-danger-chance rate and expected goals against rate. They also allow the most goals per game (3.90).

For the level of production and correlation in this matchup, the Kings are clearly the best stack on the board at these salaries.

Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes are my favorite under-the-radar stack of the night. You can get them at an affordable total salary, and the matchup is good.

The Coyotes are still led by Clayton Keller ($6,900) on offense, as they have been for the past handful of seasons. He continues to play with Nick Schmaltz ($5,700) on both the first line and top power play. Newcomer Alexander Kerfoot ($4,300) is also on the first line and top power play now and is a great value at this salary.

We can target the Coyotes tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa allows the seventh-most goals per game due in large part to their goaltending. They have the fifth-worst team save percentage in the NHL.

If you stack the Coyotes, you might able to fit in some star duos like Connor McDavid ($10,000) and Zach Hyman ($9,400) or Nathan MacKinnon ($10,200) and Mikko Rantanen ($9,300)

Value Skaters

Zach Benson, W, Sabres ($3,700)

Another way to getting to those star duos would be plugging in someone like Zach Benson ($3,700).

Benson is an extremely talented 18-year-old rookie who has 10 points in 22 games. Most of that was before he got his current role on the top line and top power play.

The Buffalo Sabres have the third-highest implied team total at 3.66 goals tonight. To get a player in this role on a team expected to do this well tonight makes Benson a no-brainer as the top value winger on the slate.

Devon Toews, D, Avalanche ($5,000)

If Cale Makar is out tonight, Devon Toews ($5,000) makes for an excellent play at defense.

Toews is an offensively-gifted defenseman who has racked up points without getting a ton of power play time. In the 2021-22 season, he had 57 points in 66 games. Only 12 came with the man advantage.

The Colorado Avalanche have a great matchup tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks and carry the second-highest implied team total on the slate (3.90 goals). It's sometimes hard to fit a $5,000 defenseman into lineups, but if Makar does miss, he's the best overall defenseman to target in lineups tonight.

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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.