Welcome to Sunday’s four-game NHL Slate. We have a short slate with a ton of great players to choose from, so we need to make sure we are making the correct choices. There are also some pretty good goalie matchups, so we can’t get that part wrong if we want to cash our GPPs. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Sunday, December 17th, 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 look closer at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS Showdown slate.

 

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

There are some high-flying offences on tonight’s four-game slate. New Jersey, Colorado and Las Vegas are all teams to target, but we need to also look for value. Some mid-range players need to be considered if we’re going to try to pay up for Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Hughes. The goalie matchups are also pretty good, but that doesn’t mean that they are worth paying for. Let’s take a look at which skates we need to keep our eyes on.

 

Recommended DFS Starting Goalies

Top Options for Saves

John Gibson Vs. Vegas Golden Knights

MacKenzie Blackwood Vs. Colorado Avalanche

Pyotr Kochetkov Vs. Washington Capitals

Best Odds for a Win

Vitek Vanecek Vs. Anaheim Ducks

Alexandar Georgiev Vs. San Jose Sharks

Pyotr Kochetkov Vs. Washington Capitals

 

Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups

Logan Thompson, G, Vegas Golden Knights

If you’re going to pay up for a goalie, it starts with Logan Thompson. The Ottawa Senators are in shambles and it’s not going to get any better tonight. They can’t score goals or generate offence, so this is a great spot for Thompson to go off and exceed value.

Alexandar Georgiev, G, Colorado Avalanche

I hate Alexandar Georgiev and everything associated with him. I don’t love his price tag and I think he’s a tad overrated this season. That being said, Colorado is a better team than San Jose and they are heavy favorites to win. They are playing the tail end of a back-to-back, so this could all go south real quick. I get wanting to play any goalie against the Sharks, but please, don’t force it.

Vitek Vanecek, G, New Jersey Devils

The Devils have really struggled with goaltending this season, but their matchup against Anaheim is elite. They are also playing the tail end of a back-to-back, so like Georgiev, Vitek Vanecek feels like a safe play but one that could explode in our faces. The Devils have enough offensive firepower to win this game, so if anything, you’re chasing the win.

Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes

It’s been a tough season for Carolina’s goalies. Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to get the start and he’s been much better in his last two starts. He still has a SV% below .900, but Washington doesn’t score many goals and I like that the Hurricanes are at home. Out of all the goalies mentioned above, he’s my second favorite behind Thompson.

 

Recommended DFS Skaters

Highest Expected Goal Totals 

Colorado Avalanche Vs MacKenzie Blackwood (4.3)

New Jersey Devils Vs. John Gibson (4.1)

Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Joonas Korpisalo (3.9)

 

Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups

Jack Hughes, C, New Jersey Devils

If you’re going to pay up for an elite centre, it has to be Jack Hughes. He scored three goals yesterday on three shots and he could do even more tonight. He’s a shooting machine on a team that can generate a ton of offence. The Ducks are a below-average team with bad goaltending.

Jack Eichel, C, Vegas Golden Knights

Jack Eichel is elite and his matchup against Ottawa is even better. He scored a goal and added eight shots on Friday against Buffalo. We know he can shoot the puck and it’s nice to see him getting that kind of volume. He’s expensive, but still $1000 less than Hughes on DraftKings.

Valeri Nichushkin, W, Colorado Avalanche

I left Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen out by design, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good options for tonight. Both players are elite, but if you’re focused on getting the best value, Valeri Nichushkin is the way to go. Not only does he have five points in the last three games, but he also has 14 shots on goal in that span. He’s shooting the puck a ton and that is keeping his floor extremely high. He’s also just $6400, which feels like a steal.

Ivan Barbashev, W, Vegas Golden Knights

Ivan Barbashev continues to skate on the top line and has goals in his last two games. He’s got another great matchup on paper against Ottawa and could easily hit value. The best part is he’s $3600 tonight. That kind of value is hard to pass up.

Devon Toews, D, Colorado Avalanche

This only works if Cale Makar is out of the lineup. He didn’t play yesterday, so there is a chance that he will miss his second game in a row. Devon Toews would move into the top spot and is a cool $4700 tonight. He played 24 minutes yesterday but didn’t really do much. If he sees the same amount of ice time in this game, I’m expecting a better result.

Nicolas Hague, D, Vegas Golden Knights

Ottawa is a team that can shoot the puck, they just don’t score goals. Nicolas Hague is playing over 20 minutes a night and has blocked three shots in each of the last two games. He’s also mixed in six shots on goal in that span, so he’s doing more than enough to exceed value. He’s a cheap defenceman with upside that allows you to possibility to pay up for another superstar.

 

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