NHL DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Friday, January 2

Stack Kirill Kaprizov and the rest of Minnesota's first line on your Friday FanDuel NHL DFS lineups.
NHL DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Friday, January 2

SLATE PREVIEW

There are four games in the NHL on Friday. St. Louis hosts Vegas, the New York Rangers plays at Florida in the Winter Classic, Minnesota travels to Anaheim and Vancouver hosts Seattle. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.

GOALIE

Carter Hart, VGK at STL ($7,500): Hart needs a bounceback performance after allowing 10 goals over his last two games. And that opportunity could come on Friday facing a Blues side ranked last in scoring averaging only 2.46 goals. 

VALUE PLAYS

Eeli Tolvanen, SEA at VAN ($5,000): Tolvanen saw his six-game scoring streak end on Monday where he accumulated three goals and seven assists to give him 25 points overall, including nine on the power play.

Mason McTavish, ANA vs. MIN ($5,500): McTavish has found the scoresheet in five of his last six outings. He's currently at 10 goals and 15 assists while centering Anaheim's second line and top man-advantage.

FORWARD LINE STACK

Wild at Ducks   

Kirill Kaprizov (W - $7,500), Danila Yurov (C - $4,300), Mats Zuccarello (W - $5,600)

The Wild are led by Kaprizov at 23 goals and 24 assists, where his 47 points put him in a tie for 10th in NHL scoring. Zuccarello endured a couple of injuries during the season, but has still produced 17 points across 21 appearances. Yurov was moved up to the first line and has responded with two goals and nine assists. His salary is also reasonable enough to allow you to spend elsewhere in DFS.

DEFENSEMEN 

Seth Jones, FLA vs. NYR ($5,800): Jones has been one of the hotter fantasy blueliners with 11 points through his last 13 games. He's racked up six goals and 18 assists on the campaign five and eight of those coming while up a man.

Zeev Buium, VAN vs. SEA ($4,300): Buium has a goal and two assists since joining Vancouver after 14 points with the Wild. He also averages 3:26 on the Canucks' first power play and could have a breakout performance on Friday against the Kraken and their 32nd-ranked penalty kill.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Michael Finewax plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: finny_flyers, DraftKings: michaelfinewa-19CVH.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Finewax is in his 18th NHL season covering fantasy hockey, spending the first 17 years as the senior hockey writer and editor at Rotoworld.com.
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