NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Saturday Playbook
Published: Dec 21, 2024
Welcome back for another NHL Playbook! We have a fantastic eight-game slate with some high-scoring teams in action. There is also some really good value which will allow us to pay up for the superstars.
As always, your goalie will make or break your entire roster. There are some very average goalies with high price tags, but are they worth it? Let’s dive into the numbers and build some winning lineups!
NHL Pick 'Em At Sleeper Today
Before we get into DFS, let’s make some pick’em picks for the night over on Sleeper There are lots of ways we try to fill your wallet over here at Fantasy Alarm and this is just another option.
Sleeper NHL Picks, Saturday, December 21st:
- Matvei Michkov O/2.5 SOG
- Patrik Laine O/0.5 PPP
- Samuel Ersson O/0.5 P
The Flyers got throttled on home ice by the Los Angeles Kings and that caused Matvei Michkov to play just over 12 minutes. It wasn’t a great performance by anyone, but the rookie is still having a fantastic first season and he’s going to get his chances to shoot the puck tonight. I like the over here.
This is what I wrote yesterday about Patrik Laine:
“There has been no player hotter over the last few games than Patrik Laine. He has six goals in seven games this season, all of which have come on the power play. Detroit’s penalty kill is operating at 67.5%. See what I’m getting at here? If anyone is going to rock another goal on the man advantage for Montreal, it’s him.”
Everything remains true today. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?
Sticking with the Flyers, Samuel Ersson is confirmed to get the start and it could be a VERY long game for him. The Blue Jackets may not win many games, but they love shooting the puck. They play a fast-paced hockey brand, so Ersson will be busy. The only thing that stops us here is if John Tortorella yanks him after a couple of early goals.
SALARY CAP DFS
Goalie Of The Day: Joonas Korpisalo - BOS
I did not have Joonas Korpisalo ever being a Goalie of The Day, but here we are. The veteran netminder has put up very respectable numbers this season and he gets the Buffalo Sabres-- who have lost 12 games in a row-- on the tail end of a back-to-back. If you’re not taking advantage of this situation, you just don’t like winning money.
Play Of The Day: David Pastrnak - BOS
Let’s stay with the Bruins and talk about David Pastrnak and how he is going to *maybe* break the slate tonight. Buffalo can’t defend and they give up too many scoring chances. There are lots of elite players to choose from, but Pastrnak’s matchup is off the charts. He’s going to get so many quality chances that one has to find the back of the net, right? Lock him in and move on to something else.
Value Play Of The Day: David Kampf - TOR
Auston Matthews is out of the lineup for tonight’s game against the Islanders and it looks like David Kampf is going to centre the top line. Do I love it? Absolutely not. Is there value in playing him? Very much so. He’s $2500 on DraftKings and should see a slight bump in his ice time. He’s probably best used in GPP lineups as a single-bullet.
Stack Of The Day - MTL PP1 (Patrik Laine - Cole Caufield - Lane Hutson)
I know, I’m repeating myself again, but if it works, why change it? Montreal’s power play is on a whole other level since Patrik Laine joined it. There is no stopping him. The Red Wings' abysmal penalty kill wasn’t able to do it yesterday, so do you think they will today? LMAO! Lock this trio in and don’t look back.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Jack Hughes  $9,000 |  Kirill Kaprizov $9,600 |  Zach Werenski $8,000 |  Ilya Samsonov $8,400 |
| Jack Eichel $8,500 |  William Nylander $8,500 |  Rasmus Dahlin $7,300 | Jacob Markstrom $8,300 | |
 Quinn Hughes $7,100 | ||||
| Medium | John Tavares $7,500 |  Travis Konecny $7,000 |  Noah Dobson $6,000 |  Connor Hellebuyck $7,900 |
| Sean Monahan $6,000 |  Patrik Laine $6,100 |  Moritz Seider $5,800 | Cayden Primeau $7,600 | |
 J.T. Miller $5,500 | Timo Meier $6,500 | |||
| Low |  Elias Lindholm $4,700 | Morgan Geekie $3,300 | Lane Hutson $4,200 | Ilya Sorokin $7,300 |
| Adam Fantilli $3,400 | Kent Johnson $4,600 | Charlie McAvoy $4,600 |  Joey Daccord $7,000 |
Stacks
| Bruins | David Pastrnak | Charlie McAvoy | Elias Lindholm |
| DraftKings | 8400 | 4600 | 4700 |
 Fanduel | 7800 | 5500 | 5100 |
| Blue Jackets | Kent Johnson | Sean Monahan | Zach Werenski |
| DraftKings | 4600 | 6000 | 8000 |
| Fanduel | 7100 | 6500 | 7300 |
| Senators | Brady Tkachuk | Tim Stutzle | Drake Batherson |
| DraftKings | 8800 | 6800 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | 8000 | 6900 | 7100 |
| Devils | Jack Hughes | Jesper Bratt | Timo Meier |
| DraftKings | 9000 | 7600 | 6500 |
| Fanduel | 8100 | 7500 | 6100 |
| Bruins | David Pastrnak | Charlie McAvoy | Elias Lindholm |
| DraftKings | 8400 | 4600 | 4700 |
| Fanduel | 7800 | 5500 | 5100 |
| Blue Jackets | Kent Johnson | Sean Monahan | Zach Werenski |
| DraftKings | 4600 | 6000 | 8000 |
| Fanduel | 7100 | 6500 | 7300 |
| Senators | Brady Tkachuk | Tim Stutzle | Drake Batherson |
| DraftKings | 8800 | 6800 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | 8000 | 6900 | 7100 |
| Devils | Jack Hughes | Jesper Bratt | Timo Meier |
| DraftKings | 9000 | 7600 | 6500 |
| Fanduel | 8100 | 7500 | 6100 |
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.