Fantasy picks: Jason Zucker making most of minutes

Each day this season, NHL.com's fantasy staff will provide daily picks for DraftKings NHL contests. This list of targets includes expensive and value options at each position to help you build a winning roster.
C - Alex Galchenyuk, MTL ($7,200)
Galchenyuk has been much more impressive at home (17 points in 14 games) than on the road (five in nine), but he's still one of the most consistent point producers in the NHL this season and the best center option Friday by a good margin. He has at least a point in 17 of 23 games, tied for the most such games in the League. He has thrived with proper usage this season with defenseman Shea Weber on the Montreal Canadiens first power-play unit and Alexander Radulov at even strength.

C - Joe Thornton, SJS ($5,200)
Thornton, 37, is slowing down considerably after 82 points in 82 games last season; he has none in his past five games, two in his past 10 and 13 in 24 games. That said, the San Jose Sharks centers (Thornton, Logan Couture) have a clear advantage over the Canadiens centers (Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec), leaving the opportunity for the veteran to break out of his slump. Thornton's price has dropped to its lowest point of the season, so take advantage of the discount on home ice.

W - Brendan Gallagher, MTL ($5,900)
Gallagher has been strong on the road this season with seven points in nine games, an average of 3.4 DraftKings points per game. He's priced sixth among wings and offers exposure to Montreal's other scoring line in case its top unit gets shut down in San Jose. Nailing one of the few players who produce a multipoint game could be the difference on what could be a stingy offensive slate. Gallagher has points in three straight with nine SOG in the span.
W - Jason Zucker, MIN ($4,400)
Zucker, one of the Wild's many dangerous secondary scorers, has points in four straight games, totaling a goal, four assists, four blocks and nine SOG in the span. Zucker is skating with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund, and has nine points in 12 road games this season. His average ice time is limited (12:46 per game), but he makes his minutes count with an average of 2.56 points per 60 minutes (T-42nd in NHL; minimum 20 games). Also make room for low-priced Wild forward Nino Niederreiter (W, $4,200); he plays on a separate line from Zucker and has 14 points in 22 games this season (nine in 12 road games).

D - Brent Burns, SJS ($8,400)
If the strong goalies on this slate hold serve, you'll need a player who can score three or four DraftKings points off of SOG and blocks alone. Burns is one of the few DFS assets that can provide that. He leads the NHL with 99 SOG (13 more than second-place Alex Ovechkin entering Thursday) and has added 43 blocks in addition to being nearly a point-per-game player (21 points in 24 games). He has 10 points in 11 home games and has been as stable as ever with at least 2.5 DraftKings points in nine of his past 10 games.
D - Jonas Brodin, MIN ($3,800)
Brodin logs major minutes (20:02) for the Wild and has 10 points (three on power play), 37 blocks and 32 SOG in 22 games. He has been held without a point in each of his past two games, but had a strong stretch of points in four of five games prior to that, including a three-assist game Nov. 25 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Offering that much exposure to the three major DraftKings categories at a price below $4,000 is something that must be taken advantage of on a night where you need to spend up for the limited scoring options at each position.
G - Devan Dubnyk, MIN ($7,800)
This is an intriguing two-game slate featuring four teams with strong goalies on at least one day of rest who also don't play the following day. The Minnesota, San Jose and Montreal offenses instill much more confidence than Calgary's, so a logical strategy is to roll with Dubnyk and load up on skaters from the teams you trust. Dubnyk is 3-3-2 with a 1.75 goals-against average, .949 save percentage and two shutouts on the road, and is 11-6-3 with a 2.15 GAA, .924 SV% and two SO in his career against the Flames.
Value Play - Kevin Labanc, SJS ($3,300)
Labanc is skating on the Sharks second line with Logan Couture at even strength of late, and has become more productive with each passing game since being recalled by the Sharks on Nov. 7. He was held without a point in six of his first seven NHL games, but has responded with points in three of his past four, including a goal Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. Slot him into your UTIL spot in DFS and spend more freely elsewhere.
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