NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Thursday Playbook
Published: Dec 12, 2024
What. A. Slate. There are a whopping 14 games on tonight' slate giving us nearly every player in the league to sort through.
From top-tier options to value plays, this slate offers everything we could want when it comes to building lineups, let's jump in!
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, December 12th
There are seven teams on tonight's slate with implied goal totals sitting at 3.4 or higher, which should set us up for an insanely high-scoring slate.
The schedule of games has been a bit weird this week, but we have a ton of options and are in for an awesome NHL slate of games.
NHL DFS Pick'em Picks On Sleeper Fantasy
- Sidney Crosby Over 0.5 Points
- Pierre-Luc Dubois Over 1.5 Shots on Goal
- Alex DeBrincat Over 2.5 Shots on Goal
With a juicy 6.5 over/under and two of the worst defenses in the league, it's all about scoring tonight between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens. Let's turn to Sidney Crosby to pick up a point, as he comes in with 8 over his last 10 games. The Canadiens allow 3.19 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations this season, which is the second-worst in the league.
Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Washington Capitals have one of the best matchups on the slate against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. PLD comes in with at least two shots on goal in three of his last four games, which he should be able to reach for against a defense that allows 58.41 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations.
Alex DeBrincat and the Detroit Red Wings might not be a high-flying offense but they have a solid matchup versus the Philadelphia Flyers tonight. DeBrincat is a high-volume shooter and comes in with 33 shots on goal over his last 10 games. With time on the first first forward line and the first power-play unit, he should have no issue pushing towards three shots tonight.
Thursday Salary Cap DFS Picks
Goalie Of The Day: Ilya Sorokin - NYI
Ilya Sorokin is one of the top goalies in the league and with a soft matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, we should look to him in all formats tonight.
While Sorokin has allowed at least two goals in five straight games, he's only allowed three or more twice. That's been the theme for the Islanders this season, who have been improving on defense in recent games.
Over the last two weeks, the Islanders have allowed 1.23 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the best in the league. Over that same time, the Blackhawks are only scoring 1.42 Goals in the same situations, which is the second-lowest in the league.
Sorokin may not have a massive amount of saves tonight, but holding Chicago to only one goal is fully on the table.
Play Of The Day: Auston Matthews - TOR
With a massive 4.1 implied goal total, the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking like one of the best options on the slate. The matchup against the Anaheim Ducks is one of the best you can find, as they have been a disaster on defense recently. Over their last five games, they've allowed at least three goals four times, presenting plenty of fantasy upside for the Maple Leafs tonight.
We turn to Auston Matthews, who has played six games since returning from an injury. Over those six games, he has 8 total points and 23 shots on goal. It's a solid level of production we can see ramped up tonight versus this terrible defense. Matthews and the top options from the Maple Leafs should be popular as they have clear multi-point potential tonight.
Value Play Of The Day: Jake Neighbours - STL
While the St. Louis Blues don't jump off the page as an elite offense, they have a great matchup tonight against the San Jose Sharks. Over the last two weeks, the Sharks have allowed 3.87 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the worst in the league. It's also worse than their full-season rate which is at 3.12 Goals.
Jake Neighbours is under $4K on DraftKings and comes in with 6 points, 23 shots on goal, and 7 blocked shots in his last 10 games. He's skating on the second forward line and the first power-play unit, making him a clear value option against the lowly Sharks.
Stack Of The Day: WAS PP1 (Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson, Connor McMichael, John Carlson)
The Washington Capitals have been cookin' on offense all season and have a super soft matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. A 3.7 implied goal total is a great spot to see the Capitals combined with the reasonable salaries for all of their skaters. They have a few players in the $6K range but no one is super expensive, which is always helpful in stacking.
As for the first power-play unit, really any three-player stack would work, adding in that fourth player simply comes down to your roster construction. All four of these players come in with at least 7 points in their last 10 games, and McMichael, Wilson, and Carlson all have at least 21 shots on goal over that time.
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Auston Matthews  $8,600 |  Kirill Kaprizov $8,900 |  Cale Makar $7,600 | Anthony Stolarz $8,700 |
 Connor McDavid $8,700 |  Mikko Rantanen $8,000 |  Zach Werenski $7,500 | Jake Oettinger $8,600 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon $8,800 |  Nikita Kucherov $9,000 |  Quinn Hughes $7,200 | ||
| Medium |  Jack Hughes $7,700 | Jesper Bratt $7,300 | Evan Bouchard $6,300 |  Jordan Binnington $8,200 |
| William Nylander $7,600 |  Connor McMichael $7,000 |  Brandon Montour $6,200 |  Ilya Sorokin $8,100 | |
| Nico Hischier $7,100 | Tom Wilson $6,200 | John Carlson $6,200 | ||
| Dylan Strome $6,900 |  Cole Caufield $6,700 | Jakob Chychrun $6,000 | ||
| John Tavares $6,800 | Patrik Laine $6,500 | |||
| Low | Brock Nelson $6,000 |  Owen Tippett $5,600 | Morgan Rielly $5,500 | Jacob Markstrom $8,000 |
| Marco Rossi $5,600 | Matthew Knies $5,500 |  Kris Letang $5,300 | Andrei Vasilevskiy $7,900 | |
| Pavel Buchnevich $5,500 | Zach Hyman $5,300 | Brock Faber $5,200 | ||
| Brayden Schenn $5,300 | Jake Neighbours $5,000 | Rasmus Sandin $5,100 | ||
| Pierre-Luc Dubois $5,300 |
Stacks
| Capitals | Connor McMichael | John Carlson | Dylan Strome | Tom Wilson |
 DraftKings | 6400 | 6300 | 6400 | 6000 |
| Fanduel | 7000 | 6200 | 6900 | 6200 |
| Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner | Matthew Knies |
| DraftKings | 9600 | 7400 | 4600 |
| Fanduel | 8600 | 7900 | 5500 |
| Blues | Jordan Kyrou | Pavel Buchnevich | Justin Faulk | Robert Thomas |
| DraftKings | 6500 | 4100 | 4300 | 6000 |
| Fanduel | 6300 | 5500 | 4900 | 6500 |
| Capitals | Connor McMichael | John Carlson | Dylan Strome | Tom Wilson |
| DraftKings | 6400 | 6300 | 6400 | 6000 |
| Fanduel | 7000 | 6200 | 6900 | 6200 |
| Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner | Matthew Knies |
| DraftKings | 9600 | 7400 | 4600 |
| Fanduel | 8600 | 7900 | 5500 |
| Blues | Jordan Kyrou | Pavel Buchnevich | Justin Faulk | Robert Thomas |
| DraftKings | 6500 | 4100 | 4300 | 6000 |
| Fanduel | 6300 | 5500 | 4900 | 6500 |
Player News
Twins placed OF Matt Wallner on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 16, with a left hamstring strain.
As anticipated, Wallner lands on the injured list after injuring his hamstring during Tuesday’s ballgame. There’s still no word on the severity of the strain or how much time Wallner stands to miss. Jonah Bride — who was acquired from the Marlins — was added to the Twins’ roster in a corresponding move on Thursday.
Wyatt Langford (oblique) will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Double-A Frisco on Thursday.
The 23-year-old budding superstar will serve as the designated hitter on Thursday night before easing his way back into the outfield. Langford wanted to skip the rehab assignment altogether, so as long as he shows that he’s ready to go, there’s a chance that the Rangers could bring him back at some point during their weekend series against the Dodgers.
Beat reporter Scott Bair reports that Bears DC Dennis Allen asked slot CB Kyler Gordon to learn a second position, either on the perimeter or at safety.
The Bears’ previous coaching staff spent two seasons trying this experiment before allowing Gordon to blossom in a full-time slot- and box-coverage role last season. Perhaps, Allen can succeed where others have failed. His intent is to “find some more playing time” for Gordon, which is understandable given Gordon’s significant on-field impact last year.
Kyle Schwarber went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs on Thursday afternoon, propelling the Phillies to a 6-4 victory over the visiting Giants.
Schwarber got the Phillies on the board with a go-ahead two-run single off of Jordan Hicks and then scored on a wild pitch as part of a five-run opening inning. He also reached on an infield single in the fifth inning but was left stranded there. The 32-year-old slugger is off to a strong start to the 2025 campaign, slashing .284/.435/.597 with six homers, 14 RBI and a stolen base in his first 85 plate appearances.
José Alvarado notched his fourth save of the season on Thursday, protecting a two-run advantage in the ninth inning against the Giants.
The 29-year-old left-hander came on with a three-run lead to protect, but things got a bit closer as he served up a one-out solo homer to Tyler Fitzgerald. After getting Wilmer Flores on a ground ball to shortstop, Alvarado walked Jung Hoo Lee to bring the tying run to the plate before retiring Christian Koss on a fielder’s choice to end it. He appears to be locked in as the preferred ninth inning option for manager Rob Thomson and should continue to provide plenty of fantasy value for as long as he remains healthy and stationed there.
Cristopher Sanchez picked up his second victory of the season on Thursday, racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts over seven innings against the Giants.
The 28-year-old southpaw allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and one walk. The Giants scratched out a run against him in the first inning on a two-out RBI single by Matt Chapman. Sanchez then served up a two-run homer to Chapman in the sixth after Heliot Ramos had reached on an error. He got a whopping 24 swings and misses on 97 pitches in the ballgame — 22 of those on his changeup alone — while posting an elite CSW of 40 percent. Now 2-0 on the season, Sanchez will carry a 2.96 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 31/6 K/BB ratio (24 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s showdown against the Mets in New York.