NHL DFS Tournament Picks and Strategy | Snipes, Grinders, and Hard Passes Projections for Fanduel and Draftkings 1/13/22

DFS NHL is a volatile sport centering around correlation, stacking and game theory.  Learning how to win cash games and tournaments requires nailing those great upside plays/stacks, grabbing obvious value, and making the proper fades that sink everyone else’s ships.  Let’s look through today’s slate and identify those winning picks in “Snipes, Grinders, and Hard Passes!”

All of my plays make sense for the entire DFS industry; however, if there is an egregious discrepancy in player salary between sites, I will mention it in my briefing.

Snipe = Good Play
Grinder = Value Plays (Grinders are Valuable)
Hard-Pass = I’m fading in tournaments

DFS NHL Slate Overview:

In an 11 game slate, there are tons of possibilities, and ownership should be low across the board. There is no overwhelming chalk on this slate either, so roster your stacks knowing that you probably have made a unique lineup that is most likely not chopping with anyone; simply put, just trust your gut and pick the best plays.

Snipes and Hard Passes for Tonight

Correlated Snipe #1

Ryan O’Reilly – Ivan Barbashev – Pavel Buchnevich

The emergence of Barbashev and Buchnevich have made the Blues a legit Stanley Cup contender. Their roster is deep throughout, with a tough blue-line, and a goalie that has shown the capability of getting hot in the playoffs. With all of that being said, does that make going on the road to St Louis an ideal situation for the lowly Kraken on a frosty Thursday night? Probably not, which is why I am taking the Blues top line, with the killer B’s (Buchnevich/Barbashev), headlining the first powerplay unit. Welcome to the NHL Kraken, enjoy a traveling weekday game in an extremely tough environment to play in with an inferior roster.

Correlated Snipe #2

Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Terraveinen – Andrei Svechnikov

Sure, on 5 on 5 hockey, Svechnikov isn’t on the Aho/Terraveinen line; oh well. You know what unit he is on? That’s right, the powerplay. Also Svechnikov is also fairly cheap across the board (which makes him a cash game plug for me), and he peppers the net with pucks on net (check out our research station and check out his consistency rating). In  any case, I just like plugging him in, as well as possibly some unique Carolina stacks; because, the Blue Jackets are both hot garbage in general and on the road. The Blue Jackets blue-line is an inexperienced and undersized mess, and the goalie situation is even worse. Korpisalo is terrible, and he is the only goalie that has played since before the Covid shutdown. So, the Canes are either facing horrible Korpisalo, rusty as hell Merzlikins, or they may just wheel out young Tarasov out there on one leg (injured). As a Blue Jackets fan I will not even be hate-watching this game; just watching my Canes players scores go up in fantasy.

If you want to freshen up your 2021-22 cash and tourney strategy skills, read “How to Win DFS NHL in 2022.”

Hard Pass #1

The NYI/NJ game

Without even looking, this looked like the grossest gamer on the slate to me, and after looking, I am an absolute genius and by some glorious miracle I was in fact correct. This game has the lowest team totals and over/under on the slate of 4.5. The Islanders are the oldest and slowest team in the league; and one of those is an opinion and one of those is a fact. Mix that with the Devils who only excite me if the matchup is undoubtedly good, and I will pass on this game. There are 11 to pick from, why chase points here?

Side note: I didn’t fully write up the Jets/Red Wings game, but that one has the highest team totals and over/under; and, if I was stacking one side, it’d be Winnipeg on the road.

Save research time with our easy-to-read NHL Cheatsheets! Core plays, tourney leverage, correlated stacks, and extreme goalie plays set up your night differently than your competition.

NHL Grinder Value Plays

Grinder#1

Jakub Galvas – Hardcore NHL fans like myself don’t even know who this guy is. Seriously who is he? Did someone create him in NHL22 and poof? No? Ok. Anyways, Seth Jones is out with Covid, and this creature has emerged out of the nether realm and is taking over the top powerplay unit for the Blackhawks. Also, he is on their second D-pairing.

Grinder#2

Phillip Danault – How is this guy so cheap? Like, he is actually a popular and established NHL player. Oh well, he is cheap, so why question it. He has 5 points in his last 4 games and is averaging over 3 shots on net per game in those games.

Grinder #3

Oliver Wahlstrom – I know I just talked about why you should fade the NYI/NJ game in general. However, Wahlstrom is one of the Islanders only bright young players, and if you need to jam in a cheap guy, he is not a bad way to go. At home vs a bad Devils defense is a decent spot to be. Wahlstrom hasn’t played for a while, so the risk is there; but, if he returns, I expect him to play an important role for the Islanders. Keep an eye out on that news if considering him.

Good luck, I hope you all come in 2nd.  😉

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