Welcome to Daily Faceoff’s NHL DFS Value Plays, where five days a week from Monday to Friday, I break down hockey’s main slate, looking for the top value plays. This value sheet includes salaries, projections for DraftKings and FanDuel for the top forward and defensemen values, as well as honourable mention forwards and three punt options for blue liners. While the main value plays look at spots to get different and their upside, the others revolve around their ability to produce peripheral points by taking shots and blocking them. These players are always live for the bonus on DraftKings, where all the value plays are directed for.



These projections don’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. One game samples have too much randomness to pin down exact predictions. Instead, the projections represent a player’s average performance if that matchup was played repeatedly. There is a wide range of possible outcomes, and the projections represent each player’s average of those possibilities.<div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="161"></div>



Patrik Laine (W, MTL2, PP1) – (DK-$4,500 / FD $5,600) Projected points: DK – 11.1 / FD – 13.2



So… Patrik Laine, hey? In his return to the Montreal Canadiens’ lineup, he scored a big goal against the Islanders, adding a pair of shots and a block, en route to a 2-1 Habs win. He totalled 12.8 DraftKings points, and at $4,500, he looks to be great value again tonight. It wouldn’t surprise me if he his salary climbs quickly.



Jack Drury (C, CAR2, PP2) — ($2,900 / $4,600) Projected points: 6.4 / 7.9



Finding cheap centers can be a problem in the NHL DFS world, but Drury appears to be a solid one tonight. He doesn’t have strong individual offensive rates, but in a game against the Avalanche earlier this year, Drury had a goal and three shots on goal. Scott Wedgewood gets the start for Colorado, but I’m not convinced he’s going to give them what they need in the crease. <div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="162"></div>



Darnell Nurse (D, EDM-2, PP2) — ($4,400 / $5,800) Projected points: 10.8 / 11.5



Darnell Nurse is quietly having a very productive season. He’s generating offence at a fair clip, with 0.4 goals per hour and 1.3 points per hour of ice time, but his peripheral numbers have been tremendous, with 7.6 shots on goal per hour and 5.4 blocked shots per hour. His combined rate of the latter is the third most among any defenceman on the slate tonight, behind just Mackenzie Weegar and Calvin de Haan. 



Phillip Broberg (D, STL-1, PP2) — ($3,200 / $4,500) Projected points: 8.5 / 9.5



From a current Oiler to a former one, Phillip Broberg’s start to his time in St. Louis has been excellent. While he missed time due to a knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of November, he’s returned for two games since, with a 4.5 and 9.1 DK point performances. He’s had one assist, four shots on goal and two blocks, and he’s simply too cheap right now.<div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="173"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honourable-mention-forwards">Honourable mention forwards</h3>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (W, EDM1, PP1) — ($4,200/$4,900) — Projected points: DK – 10.3 / FD – 13.1</li>



<li>Joel Farabee (W, PHI1, PP2) — ($2,800/$4,000) — 7.8 / 9.5</li>



<li>Yegor Sharangovich (W, CGY2, PP1) — ($4,300/$6,000) — 10.2 / 12.3</li>
</ol>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-punt-defensemen">Top Punt Defensemen</h3>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Mario Ferraro (SJS-2) — ($2,700/$3,800) — Projected points: DK – 7.7 / FD – 7.8</li>



<li>Bowen Byram (BUF-2, PP2) — ($3,300/$4,600) — 7.8 / 9.2</li>



<li>Calvin de Haan (COL-3) — ($2,500/$3,700) — 5.8 / 5.9</li>
</ol>



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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist and makes up one half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.



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