NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 1/24/22

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Jan 24th, 2022
Nazem Kadri and the Avalanche are primed for a big offensive night against Chicago. Who else should you target tonight?

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 or 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 to take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.

Goalie to Target

Kaapo Kahkonen ($7,800): The Minnesota Wild find themselves as -350 home favorites against the Montreal Canadiens, giving them a high win expectation tonight. The Canadiens come into this game scoring 1.89 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the third-lowest in the league. We've been targeting the Habs all season -- since they are one of the worst teams in the league. When they are on their fifth straight road game, we going to stick to what has been working.

Kahkonen comes in with wins in five of his last six starts, allowing three goals or fewer in each game. Considering the Wild's offense is scoring 3.17 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, they are always primed to pick up the win.

High-Priced Skaters

Jason Robertson ($8,500): The Dallas Stars have a solid 3.27 implied goal total tonight and a strong matchup versus the Philadelphia Flyers. This season, the Flyers are in the bottom eight of the league in goals allowed, Corsi Against (Total Shot Attempts Allowed), and High-Danger-Scoring-Chances allowed, all per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations. To say they have a weak defense would be putting it nicely.

This is why we turn to the Stars tonight and their top-line player, Robertson. He comes in with 14 NHL points and 24 shots on goal over his last 10 games, making him one of the higher-upside options in their lineup. He also skates on the first power-play unit, giving him even more upside since the Flyers are in the bottom 10 of the league for the most time spent on the penalty kill per 60 minutes.

Nazem Kadri ($9,700): All the Colorado Avalanche do is score goals. They are the second-best in the league in goals scored (3.29) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations and have the second-most goals (165) overall. That's why it's not a surprise to see them coming in with a 3.71 implied goal total tonight. When their offense gets going, there are not many teams in the league that can match them, so you should always be looking to get exposure to their offense.

We turn to Kadri, who is on the second forward line and the second power-play unit, putting him in a spot to score every single night. Scoring every single night is essentially what Kadri has been doing this season, coming in with 51 NHL points in 36 games, along with 122 shots on goal -- good for over 3.0 shots per game.

Value Skaters

Matthew Boldy ($4,000): As noted above, the Wild are huge home favorites tonight and come in with a slate-high 4.10 implied goal total. Getting exposure to their offense is the right call tonight, but getting exposure to it on the cheap is even better. Boldy has recently been called up by the Wild and has only played in six games. He has 4 NHL points and 13 shots on goal in that time, but what's more interesting is his offensive role. They wasted no time and put the former first-round pick on the second forward line and the first power-play unit. He's had modest production so far, but a strong offensive role at a reasonable salary is always great.

Craig Smith ($4,500): Smith has been bumped up to the first forward line for the Boston Bruins, making him an obvious value option. Simply skating on the same line as Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand increases any player's potential for fantasy points, so we want to capture that via Smith. The Bruins have a 3.35 implied goal total tonight and face a league-average defense in the Anaheim Ducks. Smith's new role is valuable, and at under $5,000, he's worth a look tonight.