NHL DFS Playbook December 28: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Dec 28, 2023
Welcome to Thursday’s 4-game NHL Slate. We have a massive slate with a ton of good options to choose from. If you’re rocking with just one lineup, you’ll have to make some choices. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Thursday, December 28th, 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 28th
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Cayden Primeau vs Carolina Hurricanes
Kaapo Kahkonen vs Edmonton Oilers
Carter Hart/Philadelphia Flyers vs Vancouver Canucks
Best Odds for a Win
Stuart Skinner vs San Jose Sharks
Antti Raanta vs Montreal Canadiens
Thatcher Demko vs Philadelphia Flyers
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Thatcher Demko, G, Vancouver Canucks
The odds to win this one are very good for the Canucks as they get a Flyers team that is shooting the puck over 33 times per game over the last month. That makes the floor higher than normal for a heavy chalk money line goaltender and he's no slouch either with a 2.46 GAA and 17 wins on the season.
Cam Talbot, G, Los Angeles Kings
The matchup between the Kings and Golden Knights is the prime matchup of the night in the NHL tonight and one that should be tight and competitive. I do see it being lower scoring though and that's big for the goalies, Cam Talbot especially. I will lean on his 2.06 GAA and 14 wins on the season as he is a stud.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Implied Goal Totals
Edmonton Oilers vs San Jose Sharks (4.2)
Carolina Hurricanes vs Montreal Canadiens (3.82)
Vegas Golden Knights vs Los Angeles Kings (3.64)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
I feel like an explanation isn't fully needed here as the Oilers take on the Sharks. Sharks allow the 4th most DFS point to centers this season and McDavid has 16 points over the last 10 games. Sharks defense has been better lately but the Oilers offense is fully back, beware fading them.
Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes
He is a roller coaster kind of player in DFS but the highs are oh so high this season and he has potential to drop 25+ at anytime with a multipoint game and a myriad of shots on goal. The matchup tonight is a good one too as the Habs allow the 5th most DFS points to centers this season.
Zach Hyman, W, Edmonton Oilers
More Oilers love here as the matchup is a massive one and the Sharks allow the MOST DFS points per game to right wingers on the season. Hyman has 19 goals already this season, I would bet he adds to that total tonight.
Andrei Kuzmenko, W, Vancouver Canucks
The price on some of these Canucks wingers always has them in play for me and while the Flyers play good defense the Vancouver offense pushes the agenda every game. Kuz is coming off of a 2 goal game, let's keep him hot.
Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina Hurricanes
The Canadiens and Hurricanes play the blueliners pretty well this season but I think there's going to be goals aplenty and those points will trickle down to the defenseman tonight. Slavin is interchangeable with many others but I like his big minutes this season and a nice game tonight.
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | F | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Connor McDavid  $10,200 | Zach Hyman $9,500 |  Quinn Hughes $7,700 | |
| Elias Pettersson $9,100 | Brock Boeser $8,700 | Evan Bouchard $8,100 | ||
| Medium |  Sebastian Aho $8,000 |  Mike Matheson $7,300 | ||
| Leon Draisaitl $9,200 | ||||
| Cole Caufield $6,800 | ||||
| Evander Kane $7,100 | ||||
| Low | Jesperi Kotkaniemi $5,000 | Jaccob Slavin $5,700 | ||
| Andrei Svechnikov $5,000 | ||||
 Andrei Kuzmenko $4,600 |
Stacks
| Hurricanes | Jaccob Slavin | Sebastian Aho | Andrei Svechnikov |
 DraftKings | 4600 | 7200 | 4900 |
| Fanduel | 5700 | 8000 | 5000 |
| Oilers | Connor McDavid | Evan Bouchard | Zach Hyman |
| DraftKings | 9500 | 6900 | 7700 |
| Fanduel | 10200 | 8100 | 9500 |
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.