NHL DFS Picks: FanDuel Top Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, January 20

NHL DFS Picks: FanDuel Top Plays and Strategy for Tuesday, January 20

This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.

We have eight games ahead of us tonight, which is plenty of action, even if it is on a bit of the light end for a Tuesday. The earliest games will start at 7:00 p.m. EST with Minnesota at Montreal, San Jose at Tampa Bay and Ottawa at Columbus. From there, there is one match at 7:30 p.m. (Boston at Dallas), two at 8:00 p.m. (Buffalo at Nashville, St. Louis at Winnipeg) and two at 10:00 p.m. (New Jersey at Edmonton, the Rangers at Los Angeles).

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SLATE PREVIEW

Minnesota, San Jose, Buffalo, Winnipeg, New Jersey and the Rangers are all playing in the second half of a back-to-back, so exercise some caution with players on those squads because fatigue might be a factor. However, none of the 16 teams playing Tuesday have a game scheduled for Wednesday, so the teams that are rested going into tonight's action won't have to make any special lineup considerations to accommodate the upcoming schedule.

GOALIES

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL vs. SJS ($8,000): Vasilevskiy has a 9-0-1 record, 2.06 GAA and .914 save percentage across his past 10 outings. He's up to 20-7-3 with a 2.22 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 30 appearances this campaign. The Sharks are averaging 3.11 goals per game this season, so they're not the easiest of adversaries, but Vasilevskiy has been hot enough that he's still worth taking.

Tristan Jarry, EDM vs. NJD ($7,900): Jarry is coming off a 30-save shutout victory over Vancouver on Saturday. Granted, the 16-27-5 Canucks aren't the best of adversaries, but the Devils have been just 9-15-1 dating back to Nov. 29, and they're heading into this game tired after playing Monday, so this looks like another favorable matchup for Jarry.

Darcy Kuemper, LAK vs. NYR ($7,500): Kuemper has been solid this season with a 2.48 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 31 outings this season. He does have a rough 12-9-9 record due to a lack of offensive support, but the Rangers are 2-7-2 across their past 11 games and played Monday, so this is a winnable outing for the Kings.

VALUE PLAYS

Claude Giroux, OTT at CLM ($5,000): Giroux is having a strong campaign with nine goals and 34 points in 48 outings in 2025-26. He's continuing to produce with two goals and seven points across his past nine appearances.

Jack Quinn, BUF at NAS ($4,900): Quinn has contributed four goals and six points across his past six outings. He's enjoying one of the strongest stretches of the campaign, and it's brought him up to 11 goals and 28 points in 48 appearances this season.

Vladimir Tarasenko, MIN at MON ($4,700): Tarasenko will enter Tuesday's action amid a three-game scoring streak in which he's collected three goals and six points. It's been a mixed campaign for him overall -- he has 11 goals and 26 points in 43 outings -- but he's a nice grab while he's hot.

FORWARD LINE STACKS

Bruins at Stars

Elias Lindholm (C - $6,200), David Pastrnak (W - $7,900), Marat Khusnutdinov (W - $4,400)

Khusnutdinov has become a great value play as a member of the first line. Obviously, his four-goal, five-point game against the Rangers on Jan. 10 was an anomaly, but he's also found the back of the net in each of his past two outings. That's rounding out what was already a great line.

Pastrnak is the highlight of this trio, contributing five goals and 18 points across his past nine appearances. He's up to 20 goals and 59 points in 44 outings in 2025-26. Lindholm isn't at his level, but he's also having a solid campaign. After supplying two assists in his last game Saturday, Lindholm is up to eight goals and 32 points in 39 appearances this season.

Oilers vs. Devils

Connor McDavid (C - $8,500), Zach Hyman (W - $6,800), Vasily Podkolzin (W - $4,400)

McDavid saw his 20-game scoring streak come to an end Thursday, but he bounced right back by registering three assists across his past two outings. The superstar is up to 30 goals and 85 points in 50 outings as he battles with Nathan MacKinnon for this campaign's Art Ross Trophy.

Hyman has arguably been even hotter than McDavid recently, supplying six goals and eight points across his past five appearances. That gives Hyman 19 goals and 31 points in 31 outings this season.

Podkolzin isn't as impressive offensively as his linemates, but he does have two goals and three points in his last two games, so he's worth grabbing to round out the line.

DEFENSEMEN

Zach Werenski, CLM vs. OTT ($7,800): Werenski is one of the top offensive options among defensemen this season, providing 18 goals and 52 points through 44 outings. He's been held off the scoresheet just once in his past nine games, supplying four goals and 12 points over that stretch.

Rasmus Dahlin, BUF at NAS ($6,300): Dahlin is riding a five-game scoring streak in which he's collected three goals and six points. He's up to seven goals and 35 points in 44 outings in 2025-26, including four goals and 14 points with the man advantage.

Roman Josi, NAS vs. BUF ($6,300): Josi is one of the hottest defensemen in the league with three goals and 10 points across his past four appearances. That's propelled him to eight goals and 28 points in 36 outings in 2025-26.

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. Ryan Dadoun plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Terakai, DraftKings: BTerran, Yahoo: Ryan-SPJ9H.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan Dadoun
Ryan Dadoun is a veteran hockey analyst with roughly 15 years of experience in the field. He previously served as a writer and editor for the NHL Department of NBC Sports Edge.
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