NHL Daily Fantasy - January 9th, 2018 picks and analysis

If you're familiar with daily fantasy sports, I'm sure you know the drill. However, if you haven't played before, here's a quick rundown. The basic idea is to select a team from that day's slate of games, and they have to fit under a salary cap that's usually specific to each site. Each day it starts over so you're drafting a new team from scratch - to me it's much more engaging than the usual season long league.

For these guides I'll be using cryptofantasysports.com (CFS) as a guide for salaries and scoring, though the salaries also fit with DraftKings (DK). I used to play hockey on both DK and FanDuel (FD), however I've moved to CFS for a few reasons. First and foremost, the rake on CFS is 2.5% for Head to Head matches, and 5% for guaranteed tournaments. Compare this to DK at 10% for H2H, and 17.6% for most guaranteed tournaments and you'll see very quickly how this can affect your bottom line bankroll if you're playing every day like myself and many others.

Another huge benefit to CFS over the other sites I've used is the ability to fund your account in a variety of ways. The site works using No Limit Coin (NLC2), which has been specifically designed for use in these applications. You can purchase NLC2 either on exchanges such as YoBit and Cryptopia, or many will opt to buy directly from the website using Visa/MC ($500 weekly limit), or with Bitcoin. If you're like me and just want to poke around before depositing, they offer 10 free coins to anyone who signs up. Aside from that, they offer a free contest every day that you can actually win real money from.

There's multiple strategies that can be used to build successful lineups, which I'll go over eventually in these guides. No matter how you build your lineup, I'll share individual picks that can fit into just about any strategy. It can be a grind to research such a large player pool EVERY DAY, so the idea here is to cherry pick some of the best plays of the day and save you some time (to work on your NBA lineups, of course).

I hope you enjoyed Sunday's guide, which actually did include quite a few hidden gems.

Tonight's games start at 7PM Eastern, and the slate features 7 games. Not a particularly late night though, with the final set of games starting at 8PM Eastern. Only the Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs played last night, and neither are on the slate today so no back to back match-ups to exploit. Bummer, gotta actually do some work today...

Center

**Top Tier ($6500+)**

While I can never recommend against picking Connor McDavid (EDM) - $7500, or Steven Stamkos (TB) - $7700 on any given night, I believe money is better spent elsewhere. The Oilers are in a woeful goal drought, posting only 3 in 4 games in the new calendar year. While things are rolling like a well-oiled machine in Tampa Bay, the contributions are coming from all lines and the offense isn't as dependent on mega-star Stamkos as they usually are.

**Mid Tier ($5000 - $6400)**

Jonathan Toews (CHI) - $6300 is on a mini hot-streak, averaging just over 7 fantasy PPG in his last 4 games. Nicklas Backstrom (WAS) - $6200 is my first LOCK of the night facing Vancouver at home. Since the beginning of December, the Canucks have allowed 4 goals per game to opponents, and it doesn't look like it'll get any they run into the Capitals buzzsaw offense. Backstrom also has 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 3 games, so is on a mini heater to start 2k18.

**Low Tier (Under $5000)**

Bryan Little (WAS) - $4900
Vince Hinostroza (CHI) - $4000
Alex Killorn (TB) - $3600
Ryan Dzingel (OTT) - $3400
Matt Hendricks (WPG) - $2900

Left Wing

**Top Tier ($6500+)**

Remember that money we didn't spend on a top-tier Center? We're gonna plop down $7900 for LOCK #2 Alexander Ovechkin (WAS) - $7900 who is averaging 8 fantasy PPG in his last 4 games. Not much else needs to be said about the 32 year old star, who will be closing in on 600 career goals sometime in February. As an aside, he's listed at 239 lbs now? Get this man some pads - the Skins need a TE.

**Mid Tier ($5000 - $6400)**

Brandon Saad (CHI) - $5300 is riding a nice 4 game hot streak, which has seen him get tons of shots on net (4.0 per game), and rack up 2 goals, 4 assists and a plus/minus of +7 in that span. He's been a little slow to get going in his 2nd tour with the Blackhawks, but he's starting to get a better trajectory towards his 3rd consecutive 50 point season.

**Low Tier (Under $5000)**

Alexander Steen (STL) - $4400
Micheal Ferland (CGY) - $4300
Yanni Gourde (TB) - $4000
Ivan Barbashev (STL) - $3200

Right Wing

**Top Tier ($6500+)**

Blake Wheeler (WPG) - $7600 is on a 6 game point streak and has a wonderful matchup tonight vs the Sabres. Cracking the 50 point mark already at about the halfway point of the season, Wheeler is that perfect combo of an elite player also on a nice streak. Don't overlook his teammate Patrik Laine (WPG) - $7200 who just potted his 50th career goal before his 20th birthday. Make no doubt, he's no kid though, and has hat-trick potential every night. Possibly a little riskier move than Wheeler but the payoff potential is huge.

**Mid Tier ($5000 - $6400)**

Mark Stone (OTT) - $5400 When this guy gets hot, watch out. It looked like an error but he really did put up the same line two nights in a row his last two times out - 1 goal, 2 assists, +2. Both were good enough for a double digit fantasy point night.

**Low Tier (Under $5000)**

Ryan Hartman (CHI) - $3700
Devante Smith-Pelly (WAS) - $3500
Joel Armia (WPG) - $3300

Defense

**Top Tier ($5500+)**

I think tonight might not be a bad night to pay up for Carlson...or Karlsson. John Carlson (WAS) - $6500 and Erik Karlsson (OTT) - $6400 are the two best options on the slate tonight, though I slightly prefer Erik just for his goal scoring ability. Both are assist factories as the QB of their team's power play and pretty safe options on any night. Mark Giordano (CGY) - $5600 is also a great option for his price.

**Mid Tier ($4000 - $5400)**

I really like Tyler Myers (WPG) - $4300 against his old team. It's been awhile but the Sabres fans treated him quite poorly as youngin' finding his way in the league and I have to think he might hold a little grudge. It's hard to believe but due to injuries and scheduling this is actually the first time he'll head back to Buffalo since he wore their uniform. Jordan Oesterle (CHI) - $4000 - if I'm honest I don't know much about this guy but he's been putting up serious numbers for a blueliner, and his AHL numbers were pretty decent. Probably worth a flyer at his price since he's seeing about 23-24 minutes of ice time a game and on the 2nd power play unit with the previously mentioned Saad and Hinostroza.

**Low Tier (Under $4000)**

TJ Brodie (CGY) - $3400
Dan Girardi (TB) - $3300
Jonas Brodin (MIN) - $3000
Troy Stecher (VAN) - $2900

Goaltenders

*PLEASE NOTE : Check closer to game time to make sure a goalie is starting, here is a good link. I write these guides in the morning and will do my best to update if I recommend a goalie and he doesn't start, but I can't guarantee this.

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB) - $8300 (CONFIRMED) is coming off a poor showing at Ottawa where he gave up 6 goals, but it's a very rare blemish on an otherwise outstanding resume this season. With a 15-1-1 home record and facing a Carolina team that has issues scoring on the road, he's a great option even at a relatively high salary.

2. Pekka Rinne (NSH) - $8100 (LIKELY) is a good option tonight going up against an Edmonton squad that's had serious problems putting the puck in the net, despite being led by wunderkid Connor McDavid. Rinne a seasoned vet at this point and has a 20-8-3 record on the year with a nice 2.47 GAA.

3. Phillip Grubauer (WAS) - $8000 (CONFIRMED)- The Caps backup goalie makes an interesting start, as he's put up a .962 SV% in his last 5 games. A little strange that Washington is playing him tonight since there's no back-to-back, but the Canucks coming to town aren't necessarily a fearsome matchup.

So now that you've made it this far, I've got a bonus...putting it all together, here's my free lineup for you. Feel free to use this if you're just starting out and don't know much, but I encourage you to build your own lineups off these recommendations - there are so many different combinations it's crazy!

That's it! Happy lineup building and feel free to leave me comments with any questions or comments. Feel free to tell me what you'd like to see in future versions of this guide, and if you need any help with signing up at cryptofantasysports.com I would be glad to help you.