NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Predictions Today: Friday Playbook

Published: Nov 15, 2024
Welcome back for another Playbook and today's NHL DFS picks! We have a nice, crisp five-game slate to tackle. I love these smaller slates because they force you to really dig deep for value. Picking an elite player is easy, but finding a value play that hits? Now that’s a task.
As always, we must ensure we are getting our goalie pick correct. On a small slate, there is no room for error. We need to get it right so we can have a chance of sniffing a GPP win.
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, November 14th
Before we get into DFS, let’s make some pick’em picks for the night over on Underdog.
There are lots of ways we try to fill your wallet over here at Fantasy Alarm and this is just another option.
NHL DFS Pick'em Picks On Underdog Fantasy
- Cale Makar O/0.5 PPP
- Sidney Crosby O/0.5 A
- Sean Monahan O/0.5 PTS
The Colorado Avalanche are dominant on the power play and they are getting Valeri Nichushkin back tonight, making them an even bigger threat. The Capitals are a very good team, but Colorado on the power play can’t be stopped. Makar is quarterbacking that top unit and is in a great spot to pick up a power play point.
Sidney Crosby continues to show everyone that he still has. In a league with so many skilled rookies, the veteran continues to put together a fantastic season. He’s elite at setting his teammates up and that should be on display tonight against a below-average Columbus team.
Speaking of below-average, the Penguins still don’t have a goalie with an SV% above .900. Columbus has lost five games in a row, but they are returning home and poised to end their losing streak. Sean Monahan is a good veteran player, and he is averaging a point-per-game on home ice. I like his chances of finding the scoresheet in this one.
NHL DFS Lineup Picks Today, 11/14
Goalie Of The Day: Justus Annunen - COL
I hate this play, but we can’t ignore the fact that Colorado is going to be a massively improved team tonight. Justus Annunen has had some good moments this season, but paying $8200 for him on DraftKings is a choice. I trust the Avalanche as a team more than him, so we just need them to pick up the win and everything is chill.
Play Of The Day: Nathan MacKinnon
We know that Nathan MacKinnon is elite, but on home ice, he takes that to another level. 25 of his 33 points have come at home and he has a whopping 21 points in the last ten games. He can’t be stopped. I know $10K is asking a lot for him on a short slate, but if you’re going to spend up, he’s the player to target.
Value Play Of The Day: Trevor Zegras - ANA
To say Trevor Zegras is having a down season would be QUITE an understatement. He has three points in 15 games, but he is skating on the top line and top power play unit. The kid is too good to be this bad. Detroit is in town, and they aren’t an elite hockey team. I don’t love Zegras’ price tag but on a short slate, if you have the salary left over, I will take my chances tonight.
Stack Of The Day - VGK PP1 (Nicolas Roy - Tomas Hertl - Jack Eichel)
The Vegas Golden Knights have the second-best power play in the NHL while the Utah Hockey Team are in the bottom half of the standings. We still don’t know if Mark Stone will be able to play, so we need to monitor that, but even if he doesn’t, Nicolas Roy, Tomas Hertl and Jack Eichel is a great bang for your buck.
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | D | G |
---|---|---|---|---|
High | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Medium | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Low | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Stacks
Avalanche | Cale Makar | Valeri Nichushkin | Nathan MacKinnon |
![]() | 8300 | 7000 | 10000 |
![]() | 7700 | - | 9000 |
Red Wings | Alex DeBrincat | Dylan Larkin | Lucas Raymond |
![]() | 6400 | 6800 | 4600 |
![]() | 6700 | 6800 | 6200 |
Penguins | Erik Karlsson | Sidney Crosby | Evgeni Malkin |
![]() | 5500 | 8000 | 7000 |
![]() | 5900 | 7000 | 6600 |
Avalanche | Cale Makar | Valeri Nichushkin | Nathan MacKinnon |
![]() | 8300 | 7000 | 10000 |
![]() | 7700 | - | 9000 |
Red Wings | Alex DeBrincat | Dylan Larkin | Lucas Raymond |
![]() | 6400 | 6800 | 4600 |
![]() | 6700 | 6800 | 6200 |
Penguins | Erik Karlsson | Sidney Crosby | Evgeni Malkin |
![]() | 5500 | 8000 | 7000 |
![]() | 5900 | 7000 | 6600 |
Player News
The Athletic’s Vic Tafur believes Jacob Cowing “could take a lot of the departed Deebo Samuel’s gadget plays” this season.
Cowing boasts 4.3 speed and reportedly added weight in the offseason after weighing in at 168 pounds as a rookie. With Samuel now in Washington and Aiyuk (knee) a candidate to open the season on the PUP list, it’s easy to see an early path for Cowing to earn more opportunities this season. Last year’s first-rounder, Ricky Pearsall, is also expected to see an uptick in targets and Jauan Jennings is coming off a breakout season (77-975-6), but Cowing makes for an interesting late-round target in deeper leagues given the current state of the Niners’ receiving room. Cowing caught 316 passes for 4,477 yards and 33 touchdowns during five college seasons while averaging a solid 6.3 YAC/REC.
The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt said “it would not shock me if the Jets went from last to first in terms of rushing attempts” this season.
In addition to his belief that the Jets could lead the league in rush attempts, Rosenblatt also adds that Braelon Allen will “have plenty of opportunities” to make an impact this season as Breece Hall enters the final year of his rookie deal. Allen was selected 134th overall last season and finished his rookie year with 92 carries for 334 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 3.6 YPC. According to Rosenblatt, head coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand are hoping to model their offense after the one Ben Johnson ran in Detroit, with Breece Hall playing the “Jahmyr Gibbs role” and Allen playing the “David Montgomery role.” Should this come to fruition, Allen could have tons of late-round fantasy value for those willing to take shots on him.
Shane McClanahan (triceps) allowed one run on four hits in 1 2/3 innings for Triple-A Durham on Sunday.
The left-hander also struck out three and didn’t walk anybody while throwing 23 of his 36 pitches for strikes. The command is the biggest thing here, and McClanahan seemed to be more than able to fill up the zone. His breaking pitches had plenty of movement and generated a handful of swings and misses, which is also nice to see. His fastball sat just 94 mph, but this was his first rehab appearance, so we assume that number will tick up as he continues to ramp up. We’d expect a few more starts for McClanahan at Triple-A, with an early August return looking likely. It’s probably time ot stash him in leagues where he was dropped.
Kyle Harrison threw 3 2/3 shutout innings for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, walking three and striking out five.
Harrison needed 92 pitches to get 11 outs, throwing 54 of those pitches for strikes while allowing four hits. Harrison threw primarily fastballs and got eight of his nine whiffs on his four-seam. He also threw 22 curves and mixed in 15 of his new cutters. Patience is required when making changes to an approach and pitch mix. Given the Red Sox’s success with their pitchers at the minor league level, it’s reasonable to assume Harrison will work out the kinks. But with Tanner Houck also nearing a return from the IL, they may not need to rush Harrison up to the big leagues.
Yankees OF prospect Spencer Jones went 1-for-4 with a solo home run for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre on Sunday.
The 24-year-old is now hitting .362/.426/.776 in 14 games at Triple-A with seven home runs, 15 RBI, and six steals. He has some very loud raw tools that hint at stardom, but he also has 20 strikeouts in those 14 Triple-A games with just a 64 percent overall contact rate and a nearly 19 percent swinging strike rate. He had just a 58 percent contact rate and an 18.5 percent swinging strike rate at Double-A before his promotion. It’s rare for a player with such a poor contact profile to succeed at the big league level with any consistency.
Kyle Filipowski accumulated 21 points (9-of-21 FGs, 2-of-4 FTs), six rebounds, one assist, one block and one three-pointer in Sunday’s loss to the Warriors.
Two days removed from putting on a show with a 32-point effort against the Hornets, Filipowski was not as effective on Sunday. He still surpassed 20 points, but sometimes the Jazz forward/center was not as decisive as he needed to be offensively. Instead of making quick moves to take advantage of mismatches, Filipowski was too deliberate at times, thus eliminating whatever advantage he had. With Utah trading John Collins, there’s an opening in the starting lineup. While Filipowski may be a candidate, the same can be said for Brice Sensabaugh, who played so well in Salt Lake City that the Jazz shut him down before arriving in Las Vegas.