Daily Faceoff NHL DFS Value Plays — January 3rd
Welcome to Daily Faceoff’s NHL DFS Value Plays, where five days a week from Monday to Friday, I break down hockey’s main slate, looking for the top value plays.
This value sheet includes salaries, projections for DraftKings and FanDuel for the top forward and defensemen values, as well as honourable mention forwards and three punt options for blue liners. While the main value plays look at spots to get different and their upside, the others revolve around their ability to produce peripheral points by taking shots and blocking them. These players are always live for the bonus on DraftKings, where all the value plays are directed for.
These projections don’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. One game samples have too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Instead, the projections represent a player’s average performance if that matchup was played repeatedly. There is a wide range of possible outcomes, and the projections represent each player’s average of those possibilities.
Viktor Arvidsson (W, EDM2) – (DK-$3,800 / FD $4,400)
Projected points: DK – 8.9 / FD – 10.2
The Viktor Arvidsson of old has returned, as the winger is finally healthy after dealing with a lower-body injury earlier this season. It forced him out of the lineup for over a dozen games, but in six games since returning, he’s scored two goals, four points and taken 16 shots on goal, averaging 9.4 DraftKings points per game.
Brendan Gallagher (W, MTL3, PP2) — ($3,000 / $4,400)
Projected points: 6.5 / 7.9
Gallagher is a bit snakebitten right now, scoring just 0.7 goals per hour over his last 20 games, while generating 1.3 expected goals per hour, despite taking 7.4 shots per hour. Going up against a Chicago team that’s bleeding goals against, he’s a prime candidate to generate some offence in a low-owned spot.
Cam Fowler (D, STL-1, PP1) — ($3,600 / $4,600)
Projected points: 7.2 / 8.5
Talk about a resurgence. Cam Fowler has looked tremendous since joining the St. Louis Blues, scoring three goals and seven points in nine games with them, averaging a stunning 11.5 DKFPPG. With the Blues red hot under Jim Montgomery, Fowler continues to be solid value.
Tyler Myers (D, VAN-1, PP1) — ($3,300 / $4,000)
Projected points: 7.0 / 8.3
Tyler Myers… top pairing defenceman? That’s the world the Vancouver Canucks are living in with Quinn Hughes dealing with a lower-body injury. A late scratch of Erik Brannstrom Thursday night saw Myers take over power play duties, scoring a goal, taking five shots and blocking another pair for 21.6 DraftKings points. I’m not saying he’s going to put those numbers up moving forward, but opporutnity is everything, and he has it here.
Honourable mention forwards
- Tyler Bertuzzi (W, CHI1, PP1) — ($3,300/$5,000) — Projected points: DK – 8.3 / FD – 10.2
- Dylan Holloway (W, STL2, PP2) — ($4,500/$5,900) — 8.9 / 10.7
- Mason McTavish (C, ANA2, PP2) — ($3,600/$5,300) — 6.9 / 8.4
Top Punt Defensemen
- Radko Gudas (ANA-1) — ($2,800/$4,200) — Projected points: DK – 6.8 / FD – 7.4
- Wyatt Kaiser (CHI-1) — ($2,500/$3,800) — 5.5 / 6.0
- Alexandre Carrier (MTL-2) — ($2,700/$4,000) — 6.1 / 6.6
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Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.