NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Wednesday Playbook
Published: Dec 18, 2024
Welcome back for another NHL Playbook! We have a short five game slate with some good matchups to target. On a shorter slate, it’s important that we find good value so we can afford the elite players.
We don’t have a ton of goalies to choose from, but there are some that we need to consider. The matchups may not be the best, but that can help us get them at low ownership.
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, December 18th
Before we get into DFS, let’s make some pick’em picks for the night over on Sleeper Fantasy.
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 Sleeper With Promo Code VAULT3
- Lukas Dostal O/27.5 SV
- Marc-Andre Fleury O/23.5 SV
- Travis Konecny O/0.5 PPP
The Winnipeg Jets may be playing their second game in as many nights, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that the Anaheim Ducks are terrible. They allow a ton of shots against per game, so Lukas Dostal should be VERY busy tonight. The only thing that can derail us is if he doesn’t finish the game.
Sleeper has given us a discount on Marc-Andre Fleury’s total saves, and we are going to take it. The Panthers have struggled to score goals on their road trip, but it’s not due to a lack of effort. Even if Aleksander Barkov doesn’t play, Florida has enough offensive firepower to generate scoring chances.
I know the Flyers’ power play isn’t anything special, but the Red Wings’ penalty kill is truly awful. They are operating under 70% for the season, so if we’re going to take a swing, this is the spot to do so. Travis Konecy is a great offensive threat to score any game, and he is on the top power play unit. We need Philadelphia to draw penalties and for Konecny to capitalize on one.
Wednesday Salary Cap DFS Picks
Goalie Of The Day: Marc-Andre Fleury - MIN
There’s no question that Eric Comrie is the best goalie option on the slate, but I don’t think he offers the best value. Florida has scored eight goals on their current road trip, six of which came last game against Edmonton. They have been shut out twice and Barkov is questionable to play. There is enough upside here for Fleury to go off.
Play Of The Day: Kyle Connor - WPG
Kyle Connor scored two goals and racked up NINE shots on goal yesterday against San Jose and now has four goals and 23 shots on goal in his last five. Did I mention the Jets face the Duck? There is no reason Connor can’t go off tonight against one of the worst team in the league.
Value Play Of The Day: Gabriel Vilardi - WPG
DraftKings has given us a free square tonight with Gabriel Vilardi. He finished yesterday’s game with three assists and now has seven points in the last four games. I know the Jets are going to be popular on this slate, but we can’t pass up that kind of value, not in this economy.
Stack Of The Day - PHI PP1 (Matvei Michkov - Travis Konecny - Jamie Drysdale)
We have already established that the Red Wings are a mess on the penalty kill, so it would be foolish not to have one PHI power play stack. I would have liked to see Travis Sanheim on the top unit, but John Tortorella hates fun. Regardless, the stack above provides good value and gets you exposure to the top two lines five-on-five.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Auston Matthews  $9,800 |  Kirill Kaprizov $9,500 |  Quinn Hughes $7,400 |  Eric Comrie $8,400 |
| William Nylander $8,300 | Josh Morrissey $6,300 |  Jake Oettinger $8,200 | ||
| Medium | Matt Duchene $5,800 |  Travis Konecny $7,200 | Neal Pionk $5,100 | Marc-Andre Fleury $7,900 |
 J.T. Miller $5,700 |  Clayton Keller $6,500 | Mikhail Sergachev $5,500 | Thatcher Demko $7,600 | |
| Wyatt Johnston $5,600 |  Moritz Seider $5,700 | |||
| Low | Marco Rossi $4,700 | Nikita Chibrikov $2,900 | Christopher Tanev $0 | Samuel Ersson $7,400 |
 Morgan Frost $4,400 | Matvei Michkov $5,100 | Jamie Drysdale $3,100 |  Lukas Dostal $7,000 | |
| Jackson LaCombe $3,300 |
Stacks
| Jets | Gabriel Vilardi | Kyle Connor | Josh Morrissey |
| DraftKings | 4500 | 8700 | 6300 |
 Fanduel | 6400 | 8300 | 7000 |
| Wild | Brock Faber | Kirill Kaprizov | Matt Boldy |
| DraftKings | 4100 | 9500 | 7100 |
| Fanduel | 5200 | 8800 | 7300 |
| Canucks | J.T. Miller | Brock Boeser | Quinn Hughes |
| DraftKings | 5700 | 5800 | 7400 |
| Fanduel | 6500 | 6100 | 7100 |
| Jets | Gabriel Vilardi | Kyle Connor | Josh Morrissey |
| DraftKings | 4500 | 8700 | 6300 |
| Fanduel | 6400 | 8300 | 7000 |
| Wild | Brock Faber | Kirill Kaprizov | Matt Boldy |
| DraftKings | 4100 | 9500 | 7100 |
| Fanduel | 5200 | 8800 | 7300 |
| Canucks | J.T. Miller | Brock Boeser | Quinn Hughes |
| DraftKings | 5700 | 5800 | 7400 |
| Fanduel | 6500 | 6100 | 7100 |
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.