NHL DFS Playbook December 31: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Dec 31, 2023
Sunday's 7-game NHL New Year's Eve slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring a great matchup as Jake Guentzel and the Pittsburgh Penguins face Bo Horvat and the New York Islanders. 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 31st
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
Today is one of the more difficult slates in recent memory, as there are expected to be many lopsided matchups. With the Montreal Canadiens facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers taking on the Anaheim Ducks, the Colorado Avalanche are home to the San Jose Sharks, and the Dallas Stars are home to the Chicago Blackhawks. All of these create great DFS matchups and should lead to high-scoring games. With this we will need to find some nice values, so that we can get as many of the top players today, such as Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, and Jason Robertson, into our lineups.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies,
Top Options for Saves
Anton Forsberg vs Buffalo Sabres
Best Odds for a Win
Alexandar Georgiev vs San Jose Sharks
Scott Wedgewood vs Chicago Blackhawks
Calvin Pickard vs Anaheim Ducks
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Scott Wedgewood, G, Dallas Stars
While Wedgewood wasn't great against Chicago in his last start, he still got the win, and that is really what you're paying for here. You want Wedgewood because of the high likelihood of the Stars getting the win. I would also expect the Stars to play better in this game as well at home, and they were given a scare by Chicago taking them to overtime.
Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders
The last time the Islanders faced the Penguins they were embarrassed losing 7-0. I don't expect the Islanders to get embarrassed again today, and Sorokin played well in his last start as well. Look for Sorokin to have a big game today.
Carter Hart G, Philadelphia Flyers
Hart was a tough-luck loser in his last start giving up just 2 goals and losing in overtime. Hart hasn't lost in regulation in any of his last five appearances, and while Calgary is starting to play better, I like the price of Hart in GPP's and he should see lots of shots which gives him upside.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Colorado Avalanche vs Kaapo Kahkonen (4.5)
Dallas Stars vs Petr Mrazek (4.5)
Edmonton Oilers vs John Gibson (4.0)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
In a matchup against the Sharks, it is hard to not want to play one of the NHL leaders in shots on goal. The only thing that could limit MacKinnon today would be a big early lead limiting his ice time, but I think almost all of the top players available today have the same risk.
Jake Guentzel, W, Pittsburgh Penguins
Guentzel has five points in his last two games and he is coming off of a nine-shot game as well. Guentzel doesn't get the credit he deserves for being one of the best-scoring wingers in the league, but he could be in for another big night today.
Jonathan Drouin, W, Colorado Avalanche
With the Avalanche expected to score a lot of goals (4.5 is about as high of an expected goal total as you will find), getting Drouin who plays on the top line, and top powerplay at his price makes him nearly a must-play.
Mattias Samuelsson D, Buffalo Sabres
When the Sabres play teams that shoot a lot, Samuelsson blocks a lot of shots. The Senators are a team that will shoot a lot, and Samuelsson has twelve blocked shots in his last three games.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | F | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Nathan MacKinnon  $10,400 |  Jason Robertson $8,200 |  Evan Bouchard $8,400 | Scott Wedgewood $8,600 | |
| Medium | Matt Duchene $7,300 |  Claude Giroux $7,100 | Miro Heiskanen $5,900 |  Ilya Sorokin $7,800 | |
| Low |  Trevor Zegras $4,100 | Jonathan Drouin $4,600 |  Owen Power $4,500 | Carter Hart $7,200 |
Stacks
| Avalanche | Cale Makar | Jonathan Drouin | Nathan MacKinnon |
 DraftKings | 8200 | 3300 | 9900 |
| Fanduel | 9000 | 4600 | 10400 |
| Lightning | Brayden Point | Victor Hedman | Nikita Kucherov |
| DraftKings | 7200 | 5800 | 9800 |
| Fanduel | 8100 | 7100 | 10500 |
| Sabres | Owen Power | Casey Mittelstadt | Tage Thompson |
| DraftKings | 3600 | 4600 | 7500 |
| Fanduel | 4500 | 5500 | 7000 |
| Stars | Roope Hintz | Jason Robertson | Miro Heiskanen |
| DraftKings | 6400 | 7000 | 5600 |
| Fanduel | 7100 | 8200 | 5900 |
Player News
José Buttó (illness) fired a scoreless inning on Tuesday during a minor league rehab appearance in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.
Buttó landed on the injured list earlier this month with an undisclosed illness. The 27-year-old righty, who has posted a strong 2.47 ERA across 43 2/3 innings (31 appearances) this season, figures to be ready to rejoin New York’s relief corps shortly after the All-Star break.
Bills placed EDGE Landon Jackson on the PUP list.
Jackson will be able to be activated off the PUP list at any time during training camp, but apparently will not be ready as camp starts. If he remains on the PUP list through the 53-man roster deadline, he’ll be locked into missing a few weeks at the beginning of the season.
Falcons OC Zac Robinson said Michael Penix Jr. “opens up a different avenue within the offense.”
This is in the context of stretching the field a little more than the Falcons did in 2024, something they struggled to do at times with Kirk Cousins under center. The Athletic’s Josh Kendall also adds “The coaching staff won’t ask Penix to curtail his aggressiveness. In fact, it’s the trait they are most excited about.” A more balanced offensive approach could raise all ships in Atlanta — and it’s something that might be necessary for them as they try to stave off regression with almost no new players added to the room.
The Athletic’s Daniel Popper believes if Najee Harris misses time in training camp, the possibility of Omarion Hampton becoming the lead back is “even more likely.”
“Hampton has a chance to be an immediate difference-maker in the run game, a player with the explosiveness to score anytime he touches the ball. And he could be getting the bulk of the first-team work early in camp,” Popper continues. This is hardly an endorsement that Hampton is going to be RB1 in Los Angeles from Week 1, but Harris’ eye injury has at least complicated things early in training camp. There’s a non-zero chance that Hampton takes the baton and runs with it before Harris is ready to come back.
Oshae Brissett signed a two-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Brissett, who most recently played for the 76ers, will head overseas to join the EuroLeague team that is based in Israel. Brissett ended last season on a 10-day deal with Philadelphia after previous stops with the Celtics, Pacers and Raptors.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reports Hornets waived Josh Okogie.
Okogie was dealt to Charlotte in January after spending time with the seasons. The Hornets made a handful of perimeter acquisitions this offseason, including Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley and Collin Sexton, that made Okogie expendable. He’s an impactful defender that should be able to find a spot on a new team.