NHL DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Thursday, January 16

NHL DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Thursday, January 16

This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.

Thursday has 13 games scheduled, including six in the 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET window, four beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET, two starting in the 9:00-9:30 p.m. ET slot and one getting underway at 10:00 p.m. ET. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. 

SLATE PREVIEW 

Tampa Bay (vs. Anaheim), Dallas (vs. Montreal), Nashville (vs. Chicago), Florida (vs. Detroit), Winnipeg (vs. Seattle) and Columbus (vs. San Jose) are the biggest favorites on the Moneyline. The over/under for the Sharks-Blue Jackets matchup is 6.5 goals. The Ducks-Lightning, Red Wings-Panthers, Blackhawks-Predators, Rangers-Hockey Club and Oilers-Avalanche contests anticipate 6.0 goals, while the rest expect 5.5 goals. 

GOALIES 

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL vs. ANA ($8,500): Vasilevskiy has struggled in his past two starts, surrendering seven goals on 48 shots, but he has plenty of bounce-back appeal for Thursday's slate. Anaheim has two goals or fewer in four of their last five games going into Thursday's meeting with the Lightning. Vasilevskiy has a 6-1-0 record with a 2.13 GAA and a .928 save percentage in eight appearances versus the Ducks.

Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. SEA ($8,300): Hellebuyck has stopped 71 out of 74 shots during his three-game winning streak. He earned his league-leading sixth shutout during that stretch. Hellebuyck stopped 29 shots in a 4-3 overtime win over Seattle on Oct. 24. 

Logan Thompson, WSH at OTT ($7,400): Thompson has a 7-0-1 record with a 1.69 GAA and a .943 save percentage since late December. He's won his last two outings, turning aside 51 out of 52 shots. Thompson has a 3-0-1 record with a 2.53 GAA and a .929 save percentage in four previous meetings versus Ottawa. 

VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS 

Sam Reinhart, FLA vs. DET ($8,200): Reinhart has five goals on 23 shots and one assist in his last six outings. He has two power-play tallies and a short-handed marker during that stretch. Reinhart has two goals and one helper in his past three outings versus Detroit. 

Adam Fantilli, CBJ vs. SJS ($4,700): Fantilli has three goals and four assists during his six-game point streak. He has been productive since being promoted to Columbus' top line and offers plenty of bang for the buck upside. 

William Eklund, SJS at CBJ ($3,700): Eklund has accounted for five goals on 24 shots and four assists in his past eight contests. He has three power-play points (two goals, one assist) and one short-handed assist during that period. 

FORWARD LINE STACKS 

Predators vs. Blackhawks 

Filip Forsberg (W - $7,000), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $5,800), Steven Stamkos (C - $5,100) 

Forsberg has three goals on 15 shots and four assists during his five-game point streak. Marchessault has been held off the scoresheet once in his last 15 outings, amassing nine goals and 19 points. He has one goal and five helpers during a six-game point spree entering Thursday night's action. Stamkos has five goals on 13 shots and nine points in his past nine appearances. 

Nashville's top line has plenty of upside and affordable cap hits. They combined for three goals and three assists in Tuesday's 5-3 win over Vegas. The trio should remain productive versus the Blackhawks. Chicago has allowed the third-most goals per game (3.45) and the fifth-most shots per game (30.5) in 2024-25. 

Jets vs. Kraken 

Kyle Connor (W - $9,400), Mark Scheifele (C - $7,500), Gabriel Vilardi (W - $5,300) 

Connor has four goals on 13 shots and three assists during his four-game point spree. Scheifele has four goals, four assists and 14 shots over his six-game point streak. Vilardi has one goal on six shots and five helpers in his past six outings. 

Winnipeg's top line has been outstanding this season and should be a handful for Seattle. The trio combined for four goals and five assists in Tuesday's 6-1 victory over Vancouver. 

DEFENSEMEN 

Victor Hedman, TBL vs. ANA ($6,700): Hedman has two goals and three assists during his four-game point streak. He has one power-play helper, 10 shots and three blocks during that span. 

Lane Hutson, MTL at DAL ($4,300): Hutson has one goal and eight assists during his five-game point streak. He has three power-play helpers, six shots and seven blocks over his five-game point streak. 

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. Corey Abbott plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: armchair_gm, DraftKings: thenext1, Yahoo: Why.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Corey Abbott
Corey Abbott is an avid sports fan who has been writing fantasy hockey for 15-plus years.
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