NHL DFS Playbook December 9: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Published: Dec 09, 2023
Saturday's 9-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers featuring a great matchups! 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 9th
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
- Thatcher Demko vs Carolina Hurricanes
- Kevin Lankinen vs Toronto Maple Leafs
- Alex Lyon vs Ottawa Senators
Best Odds for a Win
- Ivan Prosvetov vs Philadelphia Flyers
- Igor Shesterkin vs Washington Capitals
- Devon Levi vs Montreal Canadiens
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
- Cam Talbot, G, Los Angeles Kings
- Ivan Prosvetov, G, Colorado Avalanche
- Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers
Recommended DFS Skaters
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
- Nikita Kucherov, W Tampa Bay Lightning
- Jeff Skinner, W Buffalo Sabres
- Dylan Larkin, C Detroit Red Wings
- Nick Suzuki, C Montreal Canadiens
- Rasmus Dahlin, D Buffalo Sabres
- Jakob Chychrun, D Ottawa Senators
- Mikhail Sergachev, D Tampa Bay Lightning
Please use Player Pool with Core Stacks to assist in your lineup builds!
Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | D |
---|---|---|---|
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Medium | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Low | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Stacks
Lightning | Brayden Point | Victor Hedman | Nikita Kucherov |
![]() | 7500 | 5700 | 9500 |
![]() | 7700 | 6800 | 10400 |
Sabres | Dylan Cozens | Rasmus Dahlin | Tage Thompson |
![]() | 4100 | 6100 | 7300 |
![]() | 5000 | 7400 | 7800 |
Kings | Trevor Moore | Anze Kopitar | Quinton Byfield |
![]() | 6100 | 6400 | 4600 |
![]() | 7600 | 7500 | 5900 |
Player News
Max Muncy homered twice and drove in a whopping seven runs on Sunday, propelling the Dodgers to a 13-7 victory over the Nationals.
Muncy didn’t do anything in the game until the sixth inning when he greeted Jose Ferrer with a 383-foot (103.7 mph EV) grand slam that turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 advantage for the Dodgers. He then capped off a seven-run uprising in the next inning with a 412-foot (106.2 mph EV) three-run shot off of Cole Henry that increased the Dodgers’ advantage to 13-7. Muncy had another seven RBI game against the Yankees just 22 days ago, making him the first player since Ralph Kiner in 1951 to have to games with seven or more RBI in that short of a span. On the season, he’s now slashing .242/.373/.442 with 11 long balls and 45 RBI.
Ben Casparius notched his sixth victory of the season on Sunday, holding the Nationals to three runs on five hits over his five frames.
The 26-year-old right-hander walked one and struck out two opposing hitters on the day. He entered after Shohei Ohtani worked a scoreless first inning as an opener. The only damage done against him came on a three-run blast off the bat of Nathaniel Lowe in the third inning. Aside from that though, Casparius was terrific. He got eight whiffs on 77 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 21 percent. He now holds a 3.25 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a 50/11 K/BB ratio over 52 2/3 innings on the season. Look for him to work in a similar setup behind Ohtani on Saturday against the Royals in Kansas City.
Shohei Ohtani recorded a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless inning of work against the Nationals on Sunday.
The 30-year-old right-hander looked much sharper in his second appearance of the season. He got C.J. Abrams on a ground out to first base to start the inning. Then after James Wood reached on an error by Mookie Betts, Ohtani stepped up and punched out Luis Garcia Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe in succession, each on swinging third strikes. Ohtani threw 12 of his 18 pitches for strikes in the ballgame while averaging 97.9 mph on his fastball. Oh, he also went 2-for-5 with a homer, triple, three runs scored and five RBI to help pace the Dodgers’ offense in a lopsided victory. We are witnessing greatness here.
Nathaniel Lowe homered and drove in four runs on Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t close to being enough to lead the Nationals past the Dodgers.
Lowe got the scoring started in this one with a 384-foot (102.6 mph EV) three-run blast off of right-hander Ben Casparius in the third inning. The 29-year-old first baseman tacked on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, but the game was long out of hand at that point. He finished the afternoon 1-for-3 plus a walk and is now hitting .229/.296/.403 with 13 homers and 51 RBI in his first season with the Nationals.
Michael Soroka racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings of three-run baseball in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon.
The 27-year-old right-hander allowed just two hits and two walks on the afternoon. He shut out the Dodgers through the first five innings, then loaded the bases with a double, walk, hit by pitch combo with one out in the sixth before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Jose Ferrer came on and immediately served up a grand slam to Max Muncy that allowed all of his inherited runs to score. Soroka got 15 whiffs on 85 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 29 percent. He has now matched or exceeded his career high in strikeouts in each of his last two starts, he’ll see if he can do it again when he brings a 5.06 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 59/14 K/BB ratio (53 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Angels in Los Angeles.
Tyrese Haliburton (calf) is available for Sunday’s Game 7 against the Thunder.
Haliburton played through the injury in Indiana’s decisive Game 6 victory, and there was never much of a doubt that he’d gut it out to play in the winner-take-all Game 7.