Joel Dorcas | December 31st, 2019
Happy new year! Hopefully, 2019 has been profitable in the world of DFS. Let’s keep working on building winning lineups for 2020! New year’s eve has a good offering of games to choose from, finding players may be a bit of a chore as there are multiple ways to target this slate. My attention is focused on the red-hot St.Louis Blues in Arizona, Calgary hosting the Blackhawks, Tampa at Buffalo and the Panthers visiting the injury-riddled Blue Jackets. 2020 here we come! Let’s make some Ice Picks!
CORE MUST-HAVES ⭐
Jaden Schwartz W STL $5,100
Normally it’s best to steer clear of the defensively sound Arizona Coyotes. Tonight, however, they are taking on the league’s hottest club in the St.Louis Blues. St.Louis has reeled off eight straight while the Coyotes are trying to move forward without the services of star netminder, Darcy Kuemper. Since December 22nd the ‘Yotes are just 1-4 minus their number one goalkeeper. Meanwhile, the Blues have scored 33 goals during their win streak, a rate of 4.1 goals per game. Leading the charge is Jaden Schwartz. Schwartz has a team-high 10 points(4G, 6A) in his last five games.
Matthew Tkachuk W CGY $5,600
The Flames have been unspectacular this season as they have struggled to score at the same rate as last season. In the last 10 games, though, they have shown some improvement to the season-long rate of 2.6 goals per game. They are chiming in at exactly 3 per contest during the span. The Hawks and Flames have been equally average over their last 10, they are both 5-5. The Hawks are allowing 3.6 goals per game in their last 10. They are also allowing a league-high 36.1 shots per game for the entirety of the season to date. Matthew Tkachuk has stepped up in a big way for Calgary. He has a team-high 13 shots on target in his last five, he also leads the team during the stint with eight points (3G, 5A).
Jonathan Huberdeau W FLA $6,300
The walking wounded have just gotten more wounded. All-Star netminder, Joonas Korpisalo, will join a host of other prominent Blue Jackets on the injured list after going down with a knee injury Sunday. Korpisalo was hugely important in the Jackets playing above expectations during their recent 6-4 stretch. The reigns will be forwarded to rookie backup Elvis Merzlikins. He is winless on the season (0-4-3) with just a .884 save %. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers have reeled off two straight in which they netted 11 goals. They are averaging 3.8 goals per game over their last 10. Leading the charge is Jonathan Huberdeau. Huberdeau is ultra-productive right now. 19 points in his last 10 and 5G, 7A, and 17 shots in his last five.
VALUE PLAYS
Justin Faulk D STL $3,700
Faulk is slowly coming alive even though he isn’t registering many goals and assists. Faulk is firing pucks on goal on the regular as he has 22 in his last five contests, just one shy of D partner Alex Pietrangelo who holds the team lead with 23 during the span. Pietrangelo and Faulk are an elite D pair, in 187.7 minutes/37 games during 5on5 play they have produced 10 goals while allowing just five. Faulk offers a savings of 2K compared to Pietrangelo while still holding upside because of his high shot volume.
Andrew Mangiapane W CGY $3,600
We are digging a little bit deep in the value tier with Mangiapane. He gets little to no powerplay exposure but at least we can feel good about the 5 on 5 value he carries. The trio of Mangiapane, Tkachuk, and Lindholm has been the team’s best unit recently. Mangiapane has been good for five points in the last five games. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets some looks on the powerplay shortly. The Flames would do well to see what they have in the young winger. More minutes and points could be on the way.
Mikhail Sergachev D TB $3,900
Sergachev is one of my favorite value plays throughout the last two NHL seasons. Tonight is no different as the Lightning has had the edge on the Sabres for the 2019/2020 campaign. They have won all three games scoring 13 while allowing seven. Buffalo will be without the services of winger Jeff Skinner, they have just a single victory in their last seven games. Sergachev is averaging nearly 20 minutes per game(19.74) in his last 10 and has three points to go along with 10 shots and six blocks over his last five.
STACK ‘EM
- St.Louis Blues– Schenn(C), Schwartz(W), Perron(W), Pietrangelo(D)
- Calgary Flames– Tkachuk(W), Lindholm(C), Giordano(D), Mangiapane(W)
- Tampa Bay Lightning– Point(C), Kucherov(W), Stamkos(C), Hedman(D)
*All prices listed are from DraftKings*
Good luck to everyone tonight, keep grinding out those lineups!
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