NHL DFS Playbook December 3: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Vincent Trocheck #16 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal during the first period against the Dallas Stars

Published: Dec 03, 2023

Sunday's four-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring a great matchup as Vincent Trocheck and the New York Rangers face Mikael Granlund and the San Jose Sharks. We should expect lots of tight games with some great matchups out there, but expect some of the top scorers to shine through still. So, be sure to check in with our NHL DFS Tools, with the daily NHL projections, and our NHL lineup generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

NHL DFS Playbook December 1st

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

With the makeup of the four games today, there are going to be some very different strategies between cash and GPP games. In both cases expect ownership for New York Ranger's players to be very high. While the Sharks have shown at times to be capable of beating good teams (much like they did on Friday against the Devils), in cash games I would still recommend a healthy dose of the Rangers top players. In GPP's however, I would want to avoid the Rangers and invest in some of the other teams like the Bruins, Sabres, Predators, Kings and Avalanche.

Recommended DFS Starting Goalies,

Top Options for Saves

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen vs Nashville Predators

Mackenzie Blackwood vs New York Rangers

Alexandar Georgiev vs Los Angeles Kings

Best Odds for a Win

Jonathan Quick vs San Jose Sharks

Jeremy Swayman vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Cam Talbot vs Colorado Avalanche

Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, Buffalo Sabres

Luukkonen laid an egg in his last start, there is no denying that. However, in his three starts before that, he was very good. This is a game the Sabres can win at home against the Predators, and statistically speaking he has a good chance to face the most shots of any goalie today.

Jonathan Quick, G, New York Rangers

Quick is yet to lose a game in regulation time this season. His numbers at home haven't been as good on the road, but he offers you pretty safe play in your cash games. I would avoid him in GPP's however, as his ownership could be high, and he likely doesn't face a lot of shots either.

Mackenzie Blackwood, G, San Jose Sharks

For how bad as the Sharks have been their goalies at times have been nothing short of spectacular. Blackwood in his last three games has had a save percentage that was no worse than 0.917 and when you factor in that he could see more than 35 shots tonight, which offers a significant upside in your GPP for a very low cost.

Recommended DFS Skaters

Highest Expected Goal Totals

New York Rangers vs Mackenzie Blackwood (4.3)

Boston Bruins vs Spencer Martin (4.2)

Buffalo Sabres vs Juuse Saros (3.5)

Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups

Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche

The Vegas numbers say that Colorado won't have a great time in LA today. However, one stat that tells me otherwise is the while Cam Talbot's numbers have been good, his numbers at home haven't been. In his seven home starts, he has a 0.902 save percentage and when you're facing a team like the Avs who have this much firepower that could mean 4 goals or more.

Vincent Trocheck, C, New York Rangers

Trocheck has four points in his last two games for the Rangers, and his line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere has been really good recently. If this game gets out of hand his minutes might go down a bit, but he should be a player who can get to or exceed value today.

JJ Peterka, W, Buffalo Sabres

You buy into Peterka because the shots should be there. He has five shots or more in two of his last three games, and he has shown the ability to score goals this season with 10 in 24 games.

Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators

Today seems like a good day to buy into Josi's upside. he is coming off a game where he scored a goal and had seven shots and four blocked shots. He will face a Sabres team that played yesterday, so the points could be there for him as well as the shots.

Player Pool

$ Tier	C	W	D	G
High	Nathan MacKinnon $10,300	David Pastrnak $10,200	Roman Josi $7,600	Jonathan Quick $8,600
Medium	Vincent Trocheck $6,200	JJ Peterka $6,200	Adam Fox $6,900	Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen $7,600
Low		Alexis Lafreniere $5,500	Mario Ferraro $4,800	Mackenzie Blackwood $6,900