NHL DFS Playbook December 2: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Dec 02, 2023
Welcome to Saturday’s 10-game NHL Slate. We have a ton of elite options to choose from, but we need to make sure that we are also targeting value. There are so many ways to build your lineup tonight, but targeting the right players is key. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Saturday, December 2nd, 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.
NHL DFS Playbook December 2nd
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Philipp Grubauer vs Ottawa Senators
Carter Hart vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Eric Comrie vs Carolina Hurricanes
John Gibson vs Colorado Avalanche
Best Odds for a Win
Antti Raanta vs Buffalo Sabres
Alexandar Georgiev vs Anaheim Ducks
Logan Thompson vs Washington Capitals
Tristan Jarry vs Philadelphia Flyers
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Logan Thompson, G, Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas is finally bouncing back from there slump last week and that is of course led by the defense first approach of the team. The matchup tonight is one that could be a shutout to be honest as the Capitals offense is slow and stale scoring just 2.54 goals per game and their xGF is not great either. Goaltenders are also scoring the 8th most points per game in DFS against Washington this season.
Connor Ingram, G, Arizona Coyotes
I really like this play for two reasons, the first of which is I dig the way the Coyotes are playing hockey right now with 3 straight wins over some big time teams. The other reason is that I think the Blues are so fake this season and its only a matter of time before they collapse. Ingram is 15+ DFS points in 3 straight games as well!
Tristan Jarry, G, Pittsburgh Penguins
While I can't guarantee a goal tonight for the Pens starting man I do see another good outing coming from him. He has allowed 2 goals or fewer in 4 straight starts now and the Flyers allow the most points to goalies in the NHL in DFS as they score just 2.91 goals per game.
Joseph Woll, G, Toronto Maple Leafs
Alright everyone its time for the “Catch the Falling Knife” play of the day for the goaltending position. The Bruins own the Leafs over the past decade we all know this but they seem to be slowing down and especially on offense. Boston has scored 14 goals over the past 5 games and Woll is coming off of two of his best starts of the season, I believe in the Leafs!
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Implied Goal Totals
Carolina Hurricanes Vs Eric Comrie (3.78)
Colorado Avalanche Vs. John Gibson (3.75)
Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. Carter Hart (3.73)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
We all know how Aaron Rodgers dubbed himself the daddy of the Chicago Bears well in the NHL world Crosby is father to the Flyers in a big way. Crosby has collected 53 goals and 124 point against the Flyers in 83 games in his career and don't be fooled by his age, he is still playing some elite level hockey with 14 goals this season.
Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes
The Sabres defense is just so bad right now and the Hurricanes have seemed to flip their identity as the offense is carrying the load right now. Aho also has 4 points in the last 3 games and the Sabres allow the 6th most DFS points to centers this season.
Alex DeBrincat, W, Detroit Red Wings
With Dylan Larkin now back for the Red Wings they should get back to firing up the offense and that means good things for DeBrincat of course. The matchup against Montreal is a good one too as its fully time to slander Jake Allen once again, don't at me Chris Morais!
Clayton Keller, W, Arizona Coyotes
Like I said with Ingram and the goalie section, I dig the Coyotes right now and the Blues are fake. Keller is 11+ DFS points in 3 straight games now and the Blues allow the MOST DFS points to left wingers on the season, pretty easy play for me here.
Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche
With slates this big I often try not to eat the chalk but Makar has simply been too good recently. He has 5 points over the last 3 games and 9 shots on goal on top of that! The Ducks matchup is an excellent one too as they allow the 5th most DFS points to blueliners this season.
Thomas Chabot, D, Ottawa Senators
I am honestly fine with any of the big names on the Ottawa blueline tonight but Chabot is the cheapest and plays just as much as anyone right now. He has a good floor of double digit scoring most nights too and the Kraken just aren't locked in as a team right now, should be plenty of chances for points here.
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Nathan MacKinnon  $9,600 |  Mikko Rantanen $8,500 |  Jakob Chychrun $6,100 |
 Dylan Larkin $8,100 | Alex DeBrincat $7,800 | Cale Makar $8,300 | |
 Sidney Crosby $7,500 |  Cole Caufield $7,100 | ||
| Medium |  Sebastian Aho $6,600 | Valeri Nichushkin $6,900 |  Sean Durzi $5,900 |
| Evgeni Malkin $6,300 | Clayton Keller $6,400 |  Filip Hronek $5,200 | |
 Drake Batherson $5,200 | |||
| Low | Jesperi Kotkaniemi $4,400 |  Andrei Kuzmenko $4,200 | Jaccob Slavin $4,500 |
| J.T. Compher $4,300 | Vladimir Tarasenko $4,500 |  Bowen Byram $3,400 |
Stacks
| Penguins | Erik Karlsson | Sidney Crosby | Bryan Rust |
| DraftKings | 6000 | 7500 | 6500 |
 Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Red Wings | Alex DeBrincat | Dylan Larkin | Moritz Seider |
| DraftKings | 7800 | 8100 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Avalanche | Cale Makar | Mikko Rantanen | Nathan MacKinnon |
| DraftKings | 8300 | 8500 | 9600 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
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.