NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Predictions Today: Tuesday Playbook
Published: Oct 08, 2024
Our NHL DFS picks are back now that the season is here! It’s been a minute since we’ve had some meaningful hockey games, but all that returns tonight.
The quest for Lord Stanley starts right now, with all 32 teams having a chance to win (not you, San Jose or Chicago). Let’s not waste any more time and get right into tonight’s slate as we break down various NHL DFS projections.
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, October 8th
As of this exact moment, the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers are expected to play their game despite Hurricane Helene expecting to make landfall. You’ll need to monitor this situation closely before making any NHL DFS picks as we approach puck drop.
In all honesty, this game shouldn’t happen, but we’ll see. We will have some exposure to this game, but it’s risky.
NHL Pick 'Em At PrizePicks Today
Before we get into our actual NHL DFS picks, let’s make some pick’ em picks for the night over on PrizePicks. There are lots of ways we try to fill your wallet over here at Fantasy Alarm and this is just another option!
If you don’t have an account – no worries, click here to get started and use PrizePicks promo code ALARM for a sweet $50 guaranteed signup bonus.
PrizePicks NHL Picks, Tuesday, October 8th:
- David Pastrnak O3.5 Shots On Goal
- Aleksander Barkov O10 Faceoffs Won
- Connor Bedard O0.5 Points
There’s no reason to get cute at PrizePicks on the first slate of the night.
David Pastrnak at 3.5 is just too low of a number. He’s going to be counted on to score goals and he is a shooting machine.
Connor Bedard is talented, and everyone is expecting him to have a big year. He has more support around him this season, so hopefully, that leads to more points.
Aleksander Barkov takes so many faceoffs because he’s always on the ice. He takes the most important draws and that trend should continue.
Today’s NHL DFS Lineup Optimizer & Generator
This Playbook is your essential resource for selecting great NHL DFS picks. Explore our expert advice and recommendations, and don’t forget to check today’s NHL DFS projections and our special NHL lineups page!
You can easily use all this information with the NHL DFS Lineup Generator to finalize your Core Plays and create successful lineups quickly! Here’s a sample lineup for today’s games:
NHL DFS Lineups Today, 10/8
Goalie Of The Day: Connor Ingram - UTA
It’s the first NHL game for the new team on the block and you know they are going to come out with a ton of energy. Connor Ingram is expected to get the start, and he has a great matchup against Chicago.
The Blackhawks have more skill in their lineup, but they will still struggle to score goals. He’s the most expensive goalie on DraftKings, but he’s the best goalie by a wide margin.
Play Of The Day: David Pastrnak - BOS
You know exactly what you’re getting when you roster David Pastrnak. He’s elite and loves to shoot the puck.
I know it’s a road game against a very good Florida team, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to get his chances. He needs to score a goal to hit value, but if anyone can do it tonight, it’s him.
Value Play Of The Day: Barrett Hayton - UTA
Utah has the highest implied total at 3.4 and Barrett Hayton is skating on the top line and top power play unit.
He’s only $3,200 on DK, which is a bargain considering how much upside he has. A couple of shots on goal and a point would be more than enough for him to hit value for our NHL DFS picks today.
Stack Of The Day - UTA L1 (Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, Nick Schmaltz)
This top line is going to be very popular tonight and for good reason. Hayton is cheap, Keller is a stud, and Schmaltz is a very good overall forward.
All three also play together on the top power play unit. If you’re looking to build a winning GPP lineup, you’ll want to either stack the full line or get two pieces of it.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Connor Bedard  $7,800 |  David Pastrnak $8,800 | Charlie McAvoy $6,500 |
 Aleksander Barkov $7,900 | Sam Reinhart $8,100 | ||
| Medium |  Pavel Buchnevich $6,300 | Carter Verhaeghe $7,700 | Seth Jones $6,100 |
 Clayton Keller $7,000 | Mikhail Sergachev $6,400 | ||
| Low |  Matty Beniers $4,900 | Jordan Eberle $5,200 | TJ Brodie $0 |
| Evan Rodrigues $4,400 | Justin Faulk $5,800 |
Stacks
| Hockey Club | Clayton Keller | Nick Schmaltz | Barrett Hayton |
 DraftKings | 7400 | 5700 | 3200 |
| Fanduel | 7000 | 6000 | 4000 |
| Bruins | David Pastrnak | Elias Lindholm | Pavel Zacha |
| DraftKings | 8800 | 5500 | 4600 |
| Fanduel | 8800 | 6400 | 5200 |
| Blues | Jordan Kyrou | Pavel Buchnevich | Alexandre Texier |
| DraftKings | 6800 | 5600 | 2500 |
| Fanduel | 6100 | 6300 | 3900 |
Player News
Yankees added RHP Rico Garcia to the active roster.
Garcia was claimed off waivers from the Mets on Monday after throwing two scoreless innings with the other New York team. He’ll now join the Yankees bullpen with Clayton Beeter being sent back to the minors.
Justin Verlander will start on Friday against the Blue Jays.
The rest of the Giants’ starting rotation for that first series after the All-Star break has not been confirmed, but we know Verlander will get the ball on Friday, which sets him up for a Wednesday start next week against the Braves.
Mike Williams retired after eight seasons in the NFL.
The Chargers drafted Williams with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent his first seven seasons with the team before being released during the 2024 offseason. He had torn an ACL six months earlier, in September 2023. Williams spent the 2024 season playing for the Jets and later the Steelers, before ultimately finding his way back to the Chargers this offseason. He retires having caught 330-of-524 targets for 5,104 yards and 32 touchdowns. Williams was known as one of the NFL’s premier jump-ball wide receivers in his prime.
JP Sears will start on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Athletics will then follow with Luis Severino on Saturday and Jeffrey Springs on Sunday, which means Jacob Lopez will start on Monday against the Rangers. The Guardians are a platoon-heavy team, so getting two left-handed starters on the weekend means hitters like Nolan Jones and Kyle Manzardo are likely to be on the bench.
Rays added RHP reliever Joey Gerber to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Triple-A Durham.
This is a procedural move since Gerber has already thrown 26 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season, but he was not on the 40-man roster and had an opt-out. The Rays have now added him to the 40-man and moved Hunter Bigge from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to make space.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Yandy Díaz will “almost certainly” remain with the Rays through the trade deadline.
Rosenthal says that Rays are reluctant to trade players who signed team-friendly extensions, which includes Díaz, who has a $12 million option exercised for 2026 and also has a $10 million club option for 2027. It would be far more likely that the Rays trade Brandon Lowe or Pete Fairbanks, who only have one year of a club option remaining on their respective deals.