NHL Daily Plays: Sunday, January 4th
We have an exciting 7-game slate today (2 early games) and with all of the NFL contests locked in, we may see more action than normal. The NBA contests will lock an hour before NHL, so the degenerates will have no choice but to get their feet wet in NHL.
Hope everybody had a good weekend watching football playoffs and started it off watching the Buckeyes beat Alabama. That must have been the thing that changed my luck around, and hopefully my picks will help turn your luck around, as well.
Let’s get to it.
Goaltenders
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to game time.
Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders – The Oilers are just a dumpster fire and any time they are playing you can look to the goalie against them for both cash games and GPPs. Edmonton recently traded one of their best players in David Perron and the team is all in on “Mission McDavid” (the projected top pick in the draft). Halak enters this game with a .918 save percentage and a stellar 2.11 goals allowed per game. Halak should be as safe as they come for the win as EDM has only one win in their last 12 games.
Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning – After his abysmal performance Friday night in Pittsburgh. Bishop was taken out of the game after allowing 3 goals in just 13 minutes. Tampa is certainly a different team on the road this season, but I believe that the recent line changes will help their play away from home. Bishop should get plenty of support for the crucial points awarded for the win.
Others To Target – Corey Crawford, Sergei Bobrovsky
Centers
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks – Toews’ price is very affordable right now at $5,700 on DraftKings and $7,300 on FanDuel. I am more inclined to play him on DraftKings because of the price, but it won’t stop me on FanDuel either. Dallas is ranked 28th in the league in goals against and can’t seem to stop anyone from scoring. Toews is a fairly consistent player and very rarely will let you down for your cash games. This price is simply too good to pass on tonight.
Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets – Dubinsky is quietly having a great start to his injury shortened season. He comes into this game with 13 points in just 10 games and really goes under the radar. It may scare some players off of him because he is listed on the 2nd power play unit, but don’t let that fool you. The Blue Jackets split their ice time between power play units very evenly and there is no top unit. Dubinsky is a great two-way forward, so he will be on the ice for penalty kill and end of the game empty net situations, which is never a bad thing.
Others To Target – John Tavares, Tyler Johnson
Wingers
Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks – While it is very difficult to take anyone against Pekka Rinne, Perry’s price is just a steal on DraftKings at $6,100. With Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau getting the last line changes, Perry should see a lot less of Shae Weber than the Predators would like. There is just too much talent at this price tag to pass on in a shortened slate. Don’t let the matchup scare you away.
Josh Bailey, New York Islanders – Bailey will provide us the salary relief we need to fit in some of the big guns today. Bailey is skating on the top line with Tavares and Okposo and stacking all 3 of them for a GPP is a strategy I would recommend. The only concern with Bailey is that he does not see the ice on the power play, but with the his bargain price, I am still fine with the play.
Others To Target – Patrick Marron (check status), Gabriel Landeskog
Defense
Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche – While Johnson’s price tag is a bit high right now, he is certainly producing like a top priced play. He was held pointless in the last 3 games, which will steer many players away from him, but in the 6 games prior to that he had 7 points. Columbus is really struggling on the penalty kill this season and Johnson is on the point of a very talented power play unit including Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nathan MacKinnon. I expect this unit to produce a goal or two as Columbus is having a hard time staying out of the penalty box lately.
Others To Target – Lubomir Visnovsky, Matthew Carle