NHL DFS Playbook December 1: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Welcome to Friday's two-game NHL Slate. Kyle Connor and Rasmus Dahlin are looking to lead their teams to victory and both players should be quite popular on this slate. We still need to dig deep and find value to allow us to pay up for both superstars, so let’s take a look at some options. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Friday, December 1st, but before you build those NHL daily fantasy lineups, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS projections, the NHL Value Finder, and the NHL DFS lineup generator. Let's now take a closer look at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS Showdown slate.
Highest Expected Goal Totals
New Jersey Devils Vs Kaapo Kahkonen (4.5)
Ottawa Senators Vs. Elvis Merzlikins (3.6)
Columbus Blue Jackets Vs. Joonas Korpisalo (3.1)
San Jose Sharks Vs. Vitek Vanecek (2.2)
Columbus Blue Jackets Vs. Ottawa Senators
Players to target: Patrik Laine, Yegor Chinakhov, Zack Werenski, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Thomas Chabot, Joonas Korpisalo
It will be very tempting to start your build with Brady Tkachuk. He has seven shots or more in four straight games, and he should be able to produce points in this matchup as well. You can pair him with Josh Norris to build a stack that is both on the same line and the top powerplay. Tim Stutzle, and Drake Batherson are also of interest at their prices today as well. For Columbus, Patrik Laine has been taking lots of shots and he should see enough minutes to meet or exceed his value. If you are looking for a value player today Yegor Chinakhov is worth a look. He has three points in his last two games and he had five shots in this last game as well
On the backend, there is a lot to like about the value of Thomas Chabot. It looks like he will take back his spot on Ottawa's top powerplay, and he is a player who will block shots and get you shots on goal as well. I would also look to Zach Werenski. He is a player who will put a lot of shots on goal, and he is capable of scoring multiple goals.
Both Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo are both viable plays today. If you want to. I would give the edge to Korpisalo as he is at home, but they are both priced in a similar way so if you have a gut feeling one way or the other I would follow it.
New Jersey Devils Vs. San Jose Sharks
Players to target: Jack Hughes, Tyler Toffoli, Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, Fabian Zetterlund, Tomas Hertl, Mario Ferraro
There is no doubt that we are going to see a lot of Devils in people's lineups today. Jack Hughes has been on fire as of late with 31 shots in his last four games, and seven points Tyler Toffoli, and Dawson Mercer are also worth taking a look at, and if you want to find some deeper value on the Devils I would look at Alexander Holtz. Holtz has five shots or more in two of his last four games, and if the Devils get up early in this game, he could see more minutes in this game than he might regularly. For the Sharks, Tomas Hertl is the first player I would consider, after that, there is really only Fabian Zetterlund who is worth a look as Zetterlund has been shooting the puck and you can get him at a reasonable value.
On the blueline, you can look to Mario Ferraro of the Sharks. He is a shot blocker, and with how much the Devils shoot he should be able to get you lots of. blocked shots. For the Devils, I would look to Luke Hughes. He has the top powerplay with Dougie Hamilton out. He is coming off a game where he scored the game-winning goal and his price certainly won't break the bank.
Expect Vitek Vanecek to be highly owned today. The Sharks have a low expected goal total, and while Vanacek hasn't been good this year, its a game you would be surprised if he lost. Kaapo Kahkonen should only be used by the most brave. When he has played well this season, he has played really well, but when he isn't playing well he will give up five goals or more and that could really hurt you today.
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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.