NHL Daily Fantasy Picks and Helper: Wednesday 1/17/24

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

Alex Lyon, Red Wings ($7,600)

Since we are now down to two games, we have just four goalies to choose from. Alex Lyon ($7,600) is on one of the underdogs tonight but has some interesting things going in his favor.

Lyon has been by far the best goalie out of the three the Detroit Red Wings have used this season. He has saved .539 goals above expected per 60 minutes, the eighth-best rate in the league, according to Moneypuck.

It will not be easy for him tonight against the Florida Panthers. However, Florida will be without Aleksander Barkov, arguably their best player. They still have dangerous players, but the absence of Barkov definitely hurts.

Lyon is a bit under the radar tonight, but with how well he's played and his relatively low salary, he's interesting for tournaments. He helped save the Panthers' season last year and got them to the playoffs, and they unceremoniously dumped him in the summer. That could have revenge on his mind.

Even if he's not in revenge mode, I like using Lyon as a contrarian option.

Stacks

New Jersey Devils

It's definitely not as fun to stack the New Jersey Devils without Jack Hughes, but they still have a line we can stack.

Nico Hischier ($6,800) has slid into Hughes' role on the top line and top power play. He's fourth on the team with 0.73 points per game. He gets to play with Jesper Bratt ($8,700) and Tyler Toffoli ($6,400), the two players tied for the most goals on the team.

The Devils will play the Montreal Canadiens at home tonight. Montreal allows the fifth-most expected goals and fifth-most high-danger chances per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.

New Jersey's implied team total is a healthy 3.64 goals, and this line gets full correlation on the power play. With the total salary on this stack not being too high, they would be in consideration as a stack on a larger slate. On this small slate, they are close to a no-brainer.

Detroit Red Wings

Again, we'll take the chance to be a bit different and go with the Red Wings here instead of the more popular Panthers.

What Detroit's first line offers compared to any of Florida's lines is full correlation on the power play. That's key on a small slate like this, where a few goals from the same line could get you on your way to winning a tournament.

Dylan Larkin ($9,200) is centering the top line and leads the team in points per game with 1.03. He's playing with Lucas Raymond ($6,000) and David Perron ($4,700). Raymond is third on the team in goals and points. Perron is at the tail end of his career but is still capable of scoring goals in this role.

While Florida isn't the easiest team to score on, they did just allow five goals to the lowly Anaheim Ducks on Monday. I like taking chances on this line with the hopes they can combine for multiple goals with all three players involved in some capacity.

Value Skaters

Eetu Luostarinen, W, Panthers ($3,600)

Now getting a chance to play with the top line, Eetu Luostarinen ($3,600) is one of the best values on the slate.

Luostarinen isn't having the best year but did pot 17 goals and 43 points for the Panthers last season. He's mostly been in a bottom-six role this season, so his production has been down, but now with his chance to play with a guy as hot as Sam Reinhart has been, he should be able to put up some points.

Juraj Slafkovsky, W, Canadiens ($3,800)

The number one overall pick in 2022, Juraj Slafkovsky ($3,800) has been getting a chance on Montreal's top line for a while now. The production hasn't been great, but he did score on Monday and hasn't played fewer than 17 minutes in his last 10 games.

Slafkovsky gets to play with Montreal's best forwards in Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line and power play. Against a Devils team that allows the fifth-most goals per game, you could do worse than playing a talented player like Slafkovsky in this spot.

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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.