NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Friday Playbook
Published: Apr 11, 2025
Welcome to our Friday Playbook and NHL DFS picks today!
Despite only five games on the slate, there are several playoff implications tonight and it should bring us amazing NHL action.
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, April 11th
The high-scoring games continue across the league, and hopefully for our NHL DFS picks sake, that continues tonight for at least the players we are looking to roster.
NHL DFS Pick'em Picks on Sleeper Fantasy
- Matt Boldy More Than 2.5 Shots on Goal
- Evan Bouchard More Than 2.5 Shots on Goal
- Sidney Crosby More Than 0.5 Points
Matt Boldy and the Minnesota Wild still need to win in order to clinch a playoff spot, so let's stick with them. Over the last two weeks, the Wild have generated 61.16 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the 12th best in the league. Boldy has a very solid 31 shots on goal in his last 10 games, while seeing time on the second forward line and the first power-play unit.
Evan Bouchard and the Edmonton Oilers have clinched a playoff spot, but seeding is still up for grabs. This is clearly a very winnable matchup for them against the San Jose Sharks, so let's not overthink things. The Sharks have allowed 69.43 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations over the last two weeks, which is the second-worst in the league.
Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are eliminated from the playoffs, but they have an easy matchup against the New Jersey Devils tonight. The Devils have struggled on defense to close out the season and have allowed 3.18 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the ninth-worst in the league over the last two weeks. Crosby comes in with 14 points in his last 10 games, so let's trust one of the best players of all time to pick up a point.
Friday Salary Cap DFS Picks
Goalie Of The Day: Sam Montembeault - MON
Play Of The Day: Connor McDavid - EDM
Connor McDavid is back, and he didn't lose a step. Three points in his first game in over two weeks and that's the level of production we should expect from him tonight with the Oilers carrying a slate-high 4.5 implied goal total against the Sharks.
The Oilers have clinched a playoff spot, but their seeding is yet to be determined as they sit two points behind the Los Angeles Kings. Picking up a win tonight can go a long way in helping them chase down the Kings over the final few games.
That means pushing the offense forward against a bad defense in the Sharks is the clear goal tonight. Over the last two weeks, the Sharks have allowed 4.35 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the worst in the league.
Value Play Of The Day: Dawson Mercer - NJD
While the New Jersey Devils have clinched a spot, they're coming off a terrible loss to the Bruins the other night and need to right the ship as they head into the playoffs. Simply from a team morale perspective, putting up good games to end the season is always the goal.
Let's turn to Dawson Mercer, who is now on the second forward line and the first power-play unit, which is an awesome role for a player under $5K on DraftKings. A total of 23 shots on goal and 4 points in the last 10 games is a solid level of production at his salary.
Stack Of the Day: TB L1 (Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel)
The Tampa Bay Lightning have not looked good recently. Three losses in their last four games isn't the way you want to close out the season, especially when home ice in the first round is still up for grabs. Luckily for them, the Florida Panthers have also been struggling, and now Tampa is just one point ahead of them in the standings.
Tampa comes in with a big 4.2 implied goal total tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, a team whose season is all but over. An Oilers' stack is also in consideration tonight, so don't forget about them but I expect them to be more popular compared to Tampa.
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Connor McDavid  $8,800 |  Nikita Kucherov $8,900 | Evan Bouchard $6,600 | Calvin Pickard $8,200 |
| Brayden Point $8,200 |  Kirill Kaprizov $8,700 | Victor Hedman $6,500 | Andrei Vasilevskiy $8,000 | |
 Sidney Crosby $8,400 | Jake Guentzel $7,800 |  Lane Hutson $6,200 | ||
 Nico Hischier $8,000 | Matt Boldy $7,600 | |||
| Jesper Bratt $7,500 | ||||
| Medium | Anthony Cirelli $6,400 | Cole Caufield $6,800 | Luke Hughes $5,700 |  Linus Ullmark $7,700 |
| Nick Suzuki $7,700 |  Tyler Toffoli $6,800 | Darnell Nurse $5,600 | ||
| Tim Stutzle $6,600 | Zach Hyman $6,600 | Mike Matheson $0 | ||
| Joel Eriksson Ek $6,300 | Timo Meier $6,900 | |||
| Low | Nick Paul $0 | Dawson Mercer $4,800 | Brock Faber $5,300 | Sam Montembeault $7,200 |
| Yanni Gourde $4,900 | Viktor Arvidsson $5,400 | Kaiden Guhle $4,600 | ||
| Shane Pinto $5,300 | Jeff Skinner $5,200 | Brett Kulak $4,100 | ||
| Connor Brown $4,600 |
Stacks
| Lightning | Jake Guentzel | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
 DraftKings | 7900 | 7100 | 8900 |
| Fanduel | 7800 | 8200 | 8900 |
| Oilers | Jeff Skinner | Connor McDavid | Connor Brown |
| DraftKings | 5200 | 8800 | 3100 |
| Fanduel | 5200 | 8800 | 4600 |
| Lightning | Jake Guentzel | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| DraftKings | 7900 | 7100 | 8900 |
| Fanduel | 7800 | 8200 | 8900 |
| Oilers | Jeff Skinner | Connor McDavid | Connor Brown |
| DraftKings | 5200 | 8800 | 3100 |
| Fanduel | 5200 | 8800 | 4600 |
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.