NHL DFS Playbook March 9: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Mar 09, 2024
Welcome to Saturday’s 8-game NHL Slate. This slate has some solid games with lots of decent value and top-salary options. The biggest favorites on the board are the Washington Capitals who host the Chicago Blackhawks. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Thursday, December 21st, 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 look closer at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS Showdown slate.
NHL DFS Playbook March 9th
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Sam Montembeault Vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
James Reimer Vs. Vegas Golden Knights
Petr Mrazek Vs. Washington Capitals
Best Odds for a Win
Charlie Lindgren Vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Igor Shesterkin Vs. St. Louis Blues
Ilya Samsonov Vs. Montreal Canadiens
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers
Igor Shesterkin has had some rocky starts this season, but those seem to be behind him at this point. Over his last 10 games, he’s 7-2-1 while holding an impressive .935 SV% and 2.21 GAA. He’s on home ice for this game against the St. Louis Blues who rank 26th in goals per game. Shesterkin did drop his only start against the Blues this year, but that was 2 months ago and he’s playing on another level right now. They are one of those teams that can surprise you with offensive bursts but Shesterkin is my favorite goalie on the slate.
Thatcher Demko, G, Vancouver Canucks
I am a little hesitant to roster any goalie matched up against Connor Hellebuyck, but Thatcher Demko has the home ice and has been great this season. He holds a .916 SV% and 2.49 GAA and is coming off two straight games allowing only 1 goal. Scoring in this game should be on the lower side and you can probably get away with using either goalie, but favoring the home team usually works, and Demko’s .920 SV% and 2.42 GAA at home is hard to argue with.
Adin Hill, G, Vegas Golden Knights
Adin Hill has cooled off following an amazing start and multiple injury stints, but he’s interesting in this spot. He’s given up five goals in two of his last three starts but he still holds a .920 SV% and 2.51 GAA on the year. Detroit is a good team, don’t get me wrong, but they are on their third straight road game and back-to-back. The Red Wings are without Dylan Larkin and have been shut out in two of their last three games.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Toronto Maple Leafs Vs Sam Montembeault (3.9)
Ottawa Senators Vs. Magnus Chrona (3.9)
Vegas Golden Knights Vs. James Reimer (3.8)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
If Auston Matthews is on the slate, you should play him. He has 54 goals through 62 games and threatens to pick up the shot bonus on a nightly basis. We already saw Auston put up a hat trick against Montreal on opening night and I’m not saying he will repeat that, but I don’t think it would surprise anyone if he has another multi-goal game here.
Shane Pinto, C, Ottawa Senators
Down in the mid-tier, Shane Pinto is in an interesting spot against the San Jose Sharks. I am not a huge fan of Ottawa as they constantly let me down, but the Sharks allow the most shots and goals per game in the league so there’s instant value in the Senators. Pinto is skating the top line and power play with Brady Tkachuk and has points in three of his last five games, while also hitting the shot bonus three times.
Brady Tkachuk, W, Ottawa Senators
Just like Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk draws immediate interest while matched up against the awful San Jose Sharks. He’s scored two goals over his last five games and the Sharks are expected to start Magnus Chrona in net, who has an abysmal .830 SV% in his four appearances this season. Tkachuk is at his lowest price of the season which is very appealing in a potential ceiling game.
Tyler Bertuzzi, W, Toronto Maple Leafs
With Mitch Marner out of the lineup for Toronto, Tyler Bertuzzi is expected to skate the top line and power play alongside Auston Matthews. Bertuzzi has largely had a quiet and disappointing season for the Leafs, but he has five goals in his last 10 games and has ceiling potential when skating on that top line. His price tag also allows us to get away with a Toronto stack while still having decent salary options at other positions.
Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Rielly will give you a handful of shots and blocks in a soft matchup against Montreal. He’s recorded an assist in three of his last four games and can easily be stacked with Auston Matthews. He will share a lot of ice time with Toronto’s offensive weapons but we will likely need him to at least grab an assist in this game to pay off the price tag.
Cam York, D, Philadelphia Flyers
Cam York is in a great spot here against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s skating on the top pair, power play, and penalty kill, and has recorded double-digit fantasy points in four of his last five games. Over his last five games, he has blocked an insane 20 shots and Tampa loves to shoot so he could be in line to pick up that block bonus again, at a very fair price tag.
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | G | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Auston Matthews  $10,200 |  Igor Shesterkin $8,400 |  Nikita Kucherov $10,100 | Morgan Rielly $6,400 |
 Jack Eichel $9,000 | Artemi Panarin $9,700 | Shea Theodore $6,800 | ||
 Kyle Connor $8,400 | ||||
| Medium | John Tavares $7,100 | Adin Hill $8,300 |  Travis Konecny $7,200 |  Jake Sanderson $5,500 |
| Shane Pinto $6,700 | Brady Tkachuk $8,000 | Noah Hanifin $5,800 | ||
| Mark Scheifele $7,500 |  Jonathan Marchessault $7,800 | |||
| Low |  Mikael Granlund $6,100 |  Thatcher Demko $8,100 | Fabian Zetterlund $4,900 | Cam York $4,700 |
| Sean Couturier $5,500 | Connor Hellebuyck $7,900 |  Tyler Bertuzzi $4,200 | Artem Zub $4,300 | |
 Tom Wilson $4,500 |
Stacks
| Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Morgan Rielly | Tyler Bertuzzi |
 DraftKings | 9800 | 5900 | 4900 |
| Fanduel | 10200 | 6400 | 4200 |
| Flyers | Cam York | Sean Couturier | Travis Konecny |
| DraftKings | 4000 | 4300 | 6500 |
| Fanduel | 4700 | 5500 | 7200 |
| Senators | Shane Pinto | Jake Sanderson | Brady Tkachuk |
| DraftKings | 5900 | 4600 | 7300 |
| Fanduel | 6700 | 5500 | 8000 |
| Golden Knights | Shea Theodore | Jack Eichel | Jonathan Marchessault |
| DraftKings | 6300 | 7900 | 6400 |
| Fanduel | 6800 | 9000 | 7800 |
| Sharks | Fabian Zetterlund | Thomas Bordeleau | Mikael Granlund |
| DraftKings | 4400 | 3000 | 4600 |
| Fanduel | 4900 | 3500 | 6100 |
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.