NHL DFS Playbook December 3: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
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 |
Stacks
| Rangers | Vincent Trocheck | Alexis Lafreniere | Adam Fox |
 DraftKings | 6000 | 4600 | 5300 |
| Fanduel | 6200 | 5500 | 6900 |
| Avalanche | Cale Makar | Valeri Nichushkin | Nathan MacKinnon |
| DraftKings | 8200 | 6700 | 9600 |
| Fanduel | 8300 | 7400 | 10300 |
Player News
Nationals signed C Francisco Mejia to a minor league contract.
Mejia was hitting .341/.363/.526 in 48 games as the primary catcher for the Diablos Rojos of Mexico this year, but it appears he asked for his release to try to make it back to the majors. The 29-year-old last saw action with the Rays in 2023. He’s a lifetime .239/.284/.394 hitter in 1,098 major league plate appearances. For what it’s worth, it appears this signing actually happened before Mike Rizzo was fired Sunday, so this wouldn’t seem to be a case of the new guy, Mike DeBartolo, looking to make a change.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson have “resumed talks” in recent weeks.
Hendrickson “wants more long-term security” from the Bengals per Fowler, who also notes that Hendrickson is “dug in” and “prepared to miss time.” It’s good news for Bengals fans that the sides are at least talking again, but it sure sounds like the Bengals are going to have to give Hendrickson more than their recent offers have been to get him into training camp.
Braves released RHP Dylan Covey.
Covey allowed only an unearned run over 7 1/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett, but he last pitched on May 6 and had been on the IL. The veteran right-hander was signed to a minor league deal by the Braves in February after an odd sequence of events saw the Mets give him a one-year deal extremely early in free agency, outright him prior to spring training and then had him declare for free agency after he cleared waivers. Covey last pitched in the majors in 2023 before dealing with shoulder problems last year.
The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy believes a Jameson Williams trade “could be on the horizon in 2026" if the sides can’t agree on an extension.
This subplot had a brief little surge ahead of the draft that led nowhere, but the Lions did trade up to take Isaac TeSlaa in the third round of the draft. While the team has publicly prioritized extensions for Aidan Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph, GM Brad Holmes has been more muted while talking about Williams. Williams is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract ahead of his fifth-year option. The actions here are speaking loudly to the idea of dealing Williams after getting one more productive year out of him. It should be said, none of this speculation impacts Williams’ fantasy value this season, and coaches have raved about him all offseason in John Morton’s more downfield-focused attack. But the Lions have not appeared to prioritize a Williams extension and this could shape up to be the last dance for him in Detroit.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina.
Davis suffered the detached retina last season, according to Charania. After undergoing the procedure, Davis is expected to be healthy for training camp. The oft-injured power forward exited the Mavericks regular season finale early with a noticeable limp. Davis is in line to be the Mavericks’ centerpiece with Kyrie Irving sidelined to begin next season.
White Sox sent INF Vinny Capra outright to Triple-A Charlotte.
It’s Capra’s first outright, so he’ll have to accept the assignment. The 29-year-old hit .190/.205/.238 in 46 plate appearances during his month and a half in the majors with the White Sox.