NHL DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Primer: Tuesday (1/31)

The 2023 NHL All-Star Game will be attended by players this weekend in Miami, Florida, which is why the NHL schedule is so light ahead of the final two pre-ASG matchups scheduled for Wednesday night. The league is offering us three games on Tuesday’s slate, which means it’ll be tougher to find good value but easier to identify the high-upside prospects when constructing DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. Columbus is a +170 underdog at home hosting Washington, Los Angeles continues its East Coast road trip with a pit stop in Carolina, and the final game features a rematch between Ottawa and Montreal.

Friday’s recommended prospects fared well overall, with Claude Giroux (RW – Senators) winding up yielding a two-point outing against Toronto, including a goal, to emerge as the top prospect among the six skaters I recommended adding to lineups. Boone Jenner (C – Blue Jackets), John Tavares (C – Maple Leafs), and Patrik Laine (RW – Blue Jackets) all netted an assist for their team, while Drew Doughty (D – Kings) and Aaron Ekblad (D – Panthers) wound up without a point as both of my recommended defensemen. Martin Jones (G – Kraken) surrendered five goals, while Frederik Andersen (G – Hurricanes) did not start in the crease, rendering both goaltending prospects null and void in terms of production. It wasn’t the best slate in production, but it’s far from the worst that has ever been logged, so we’ll take what we can get.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into the top prospects I’ve identified on Tuesday’s three-game slate and cash some contests!

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Recommended Plays: DraftKings

DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000

Sebastian Aho (C – Hurricanes): $6,900
Carolina is among the best teams in a loaded Eastern Conference this season and a lot of it can be attributed to Sebastian Aho’s performances on the ice. The 25-year-old center has an intact four-game point streak entering Tuesday’s home game against the Kings, scoring multiple goals during two previous matchups against the Islanders and Sharks. Los Angeles allows 3.4 goals per game, ranked 23rd in the league, creating ample opportunity for Aho to extend his goal-scoring streak to five games against Pheonix Copley (G – Kings) in the net, who wins games but has allowed three goals in each of his previous two starts. Fire up Aho at under a $7K salary on DraftKings.

Alex DeBrincat (LW – Senators): $7,100
Ottawa gets a juicy matchup against the spiraling Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. The Canadiens rank 28th in goals allowed per game at 3.7, 28th in shots on goal per game with 34.1, and are also a bottom-five team creating offense on the other end of the rink. It all plays into the upside for Alex DeBrincat, who has been quiet lately but netted a goal against Montreal in their previous matchup on Saturday night. We’re not getting a monster ceiling but the floor is intact against a bad team with DeBrincat averaging four shots on goal to stabilize his value in lineups.

Brady Skjei (D – Hurricanes): $4,800
Defensemen typically aren’t going to light the lamp too often, so going for one on a good team with usage in the offensive zone is all we can ask for. Brady Skjei is available to roster at a discounted rate because he hasn’t netted a point since a multi-point outing against Minnesota back on January 19th. While Los Angeles is a decent team overall, they are middle of the pack in save percentage, have difficulty stopping power plays, and surrender enough goals per game to be ranked in the bottom ten of the league. Skjei has upside and isn’t going to cost much, so he’s worth rostering on a lighter slate such as the one we’re getting on Tuesday night.

Anton Forsberg (G – Senators): $8,000
Anton Forsberg is one of my favorite netminders on the slate. The 30-year-old goaltender is 10-10 and has recorded two shutouts this season, one of which came against Montreal over the weekend during a 5-0 rout. Forsberg is 2-0 in his previous starts against the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, showing that he can handle any offensive attack. Take advantage of his high-caliber play in the net, especially against the struggling Montreal Canadiens.

Recommended Plays: FanDuel

FanDuel maximum salary is set at $55,000

Nicklas Backstrom (C – Capitals): $5,000
Washington is still getting solid production from 35-year-old veteran Nicklas Backstrom. He logs over 14 minutes ATOI and attempts two to three shots on goal while collecting assists fairly easily. Backstrom has only been back in the lineup for nine games in January after returning from a hip injury. He will face Columbus netminder Joonas Korpisalo (G – Blue Jackets), who has allowed four or more goals in two of his previous three starts. I’m playing the matchup here and taking advantage of an experienced talent such as Backstrom who is relatively fresh with back-to-back points against Pittsburgh and Toronto entering Tuesday’s road game against the Blue Jackets. At $5,000, Backstrom is an absolute steal

Claude Giroux (RW – Senators): $7,100
Ottawa has begun to play a lot better recently and Claude Giroux has been at the center of the scoring frenzy. The 35-year-old veteran has a four-game point streak intact ahead of a rematch against Montreal on Tuesday night, where he last scored two goals and an assist on Saturday night. Giroux has three consecutive multi-point outings with at least one goal in each matchup, so he’s a smash play once again on the road against the lowly Canadiens, who will deploy Jake Allen (G – Canadiens) in the crease, who is averaging 3.53 GAA in 26 starts this season.

Thomas Chabot (D – Senators): $6,700
High-volume defensemen are hard to find but Thomas Chabot fits the criteria. The 26-year-old earns over 23 minutes ATOI and while he only has one point logged in his previous five games, Ottawa’s defenseman has attempted four to six shots on goal recently and also racks up a blocked shot or two in the defensive zone. He’s got a soft matchup against Montreal, so I’m investing a bit more capital into defense than I typically recommend but it’ll be worth it once Tuesday’s slate concludes.

Darcy Kuemper (G – Capitals): $8,400
One of the big free agent contracts awarded this past offseason was Washington signing Darcy Kuemper after helping Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022. Kuemper has been good but not great, sporting a 2.62 GAA with five shutouts to boost his stats. Kuemper is 1-3 in his last four starts in the net but he’ll face Columbus on Tuesday night, who rank 29th in goals scored (2.5), 29th in shots on goal (28.7), and 32nd in power-play goals (0.4) this season. Kuemper is in a good bounce-back spot after surrendering four goals to Toronto on Sunday, so pay up to anchor your FanDuel lineups.