NHL DFS Playbook January 7: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Welcome to Sunday's two-game NHL Slate. Patrick Kane and Frank Vatrano are looking to lead their teams to victory and both players should be quite popular on this slate. We still need to dig deep and find value to allow us to pay up for both superstars, so let’s take a look at some options. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Friday, December 1st, 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 now take a closer look at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS Showdown slate.
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Detroit Red Wings Vs John Gibson (3.7)
Winnipeg Jets Vs. Karel Vejmelka (3.1)
Anaheim Ducks Vs. Alex Lyon (3.0)
Arizona Coyotes Vs. Connor Hellebuyck (2.2)
Winnipeg Jets Vs. Arizona Coyotes
Players to target: Alexander Kerfoot, Sean Durzi, Clayton Keller, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Cole Perfetti, Josh Morrissey, Vladislav Namestnikov, Connor Hellebuyck
With there not expected to be a lot of goals scored in this game, making sure that we get shots from forwards will be important. Nikolaj Ehlers should be a solid play today. He has led the Jets in shots over the last four games, and you should be able to pair him with Vladislav Namestnikov, who leads the Jets in points over that four-game stretch, for the start of a reasonable stack. I think the combination of Scheifele and Perfetti is also worth consideration, however, they have not had the same production as of late. Looking at the Coyotes, I think the most reasonable plays are going to be Alex Kerfoot and Clayton Keller.
There won't be too much to feast on with these two team's defencemen. Josh Morrissey is easily the most reliable point-getter, and we have seen Neal Pionk put up points recently as well for the Jets. When it comes to the Coyotes, I think Sean Durzi is the only one worth consideration as we haven't seen any real production from J.J. Moser as of late.
In goal, Karel Vejmelka is likely to be the better GPP play. He is likely to see around 30 shots, and if he has a strong game he can be a good value, and he is likely to be fairly low-owned. Connor Hellebuyck is a sensible play in cash games, he doesn't offer much upside in GPP's as the Coyotes are in the bottom third of the league in shots taken.
Detroit Red Wings Vs. Anaheim Ducks
Players to target: Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Frank Vatrano, Mason McTavish, John Gibson
It is this forward group that is the most likely to produce a big night. I think a lot of people will lean on Detroit today, with their stars, Patrick Kane, Alex Debrincat, and Dylan Larkin all capable of big games. However, we shouldn't look past how poor Detroit has been defensively in the last two weeks giving up 4.2 goals per game on average in that time frame. With that, I wouldn't shy away from stacking Mason McTavish with Frank Vetrano, or Adam Henrique with Trevor Zegras.
On the blueline, Moritz Seider is a player who offers everything you want in DFS, as he gets top minutes, he takes shots and he blocks shots as well. Jake Walman of Detroit also has three straight games with three blocked shots or more. Jamie Drysdale could be a solid play with his offence, and Ilya Lyubushkin is one of the top shot blockers in the league and has blocked three or more in three of his last four games.
In this matchup, I would be willing to use John Gibson in a GPP. He likely won't see a lot of ownership, and this is a game the Ducks could win at home. While Alex Lyon has won three of his last four games, he has played well in just one of those games and he is the most expensive goalie on the slate.
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Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.