NHL DFS Playbook November 12: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Nov 12, 2023
Welcome to Sunday’s four-game NHL Slate. There are some elite options to choose from, like Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks and Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, but we still need to find value elsewhere. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Sunday, November 12th, 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 November 12th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
We have a short four-game slate but there are some really good options to choose from. There are some superstars worth paying up for, but we need to pick the right ones. We also need to find value plays that have high floors. A couple of teams are playing on back-to-back nights, so there should be no shortage of scoring chances in a few games.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Jake Oettinger Vs. Minnesota Wild
Jake Allen Vs. Vancouver Canucks
MacKenzie Blackwood Vs. Anaheim Ducks
Best Odds for a Win
Casey DeSmith Vs. Montreal Canadiens
Jonathan Quick Vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Lukas Dostal Vs. San Jose Sharks
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Jonathan Quick, G, New York Rangers
The fact that Jonathan Quick is still relevant in 2023 makes me want to vomit. He’s 3-0-1 on the season with a 1.77 GAA and a .936 SV%, yet I don’t trust him out bit. His matchup against Columbus is elite, but I’m just waiting for him to let me down.
Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim Ducks
I want to see Lukas Dostal in goal tonight. We can move on from John Gibson because he’s not that guy anymore. Dostal has been good this season, sporting a 5-2-0 record with a .911 SV%. His 3.15 GAA may not be sexy, but we don’t have to worry about that since the San Jose Sharks can’t score goals.
Jake Oettinger, G, Dallas Stars
This is a tough spot for Jake Oettinger. He’s playing the tail end of a back-to-back but he’s an elite goalie. He’s got a 6-2-1 record with a 2.10 GAA and a .933 SV%. Minnesota has some offensive punch to their game, but they are still giving up way too many goals. I think the value on Oettinger is good enough to consider him in all formats.
Casey DeSmith, G, Vancouver Canucks
I don’t love Casey DeSmith tonight or his price tag, but maybe you do. He’s been good this season but I’m not ready to trust the small sample size. Montreal gave it all yesterday against the Bruins, so maybe they just run out of gas here. Regardless, DeSmith is a risky play with minimal upside, but he’s got more upside than Jake Allen.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
New York Rangers Vs Elvis MErzlikins (4.2)
Anaheim Ducks Vs. MacKenzie Blackwood(3.9)
Vancouver Canucks Vs. Jake Allen (3.7)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks
Not many of us had Elias Pettersson leading the NHL in points, but here we are. If his name was McDavid, he’d be $9500-plus every night, but we continue to EP40 at a discount. His shot volume isn’t elite but he’s just so hot and can really rack up the points.
Mason McTavish, C, Anaheim Ducks
Mason McTavish has 14 points on the year and has finished with four or more shots in three of the last five games. He’s a big reason why the Ducks have been good this season and he’s a fantastic play tonight.
Artemi Panarin, W, New York Rangers
There’s a ton of value with the Rangers tonight, but Artemi Panarin takes the cake. In the past, his shot volume was inconsistent, but this season, he’s been shooting the puck a lot more and that has added more goals to his total. He’s still passing the puck at a high level, so he’s just a well-rounded player with a pretty high floor.
Jason Robertson, W, Dallas Stars
I get that it’s been a slow start to the season for Jason Robertson--having scored just 3 goals in 13 games-- but $6500 on DraftKings for him against a Minnesota team allowing 3.93 goals per game is just too cheap. We can’t pass that value up. The kid is too good to not score goals. He’s going to get his chances tonight and I expect one to find the back of the net.
Erik Gustafsson, D, New York Rangers
Erik Gustafsson has been on the top power play unit since Adam Fox went down and he has taken advantage of the opportunity. He has five points in the last three games and is only $4200. It’s more than I’d like to spend on him, but it’s good value.
Mario Ferraro, D, San Jose Sharks
It’s wash, rinse and repeat with Mario Ferraro. He’s $4500--which is more than I want to spend for a defenceman who blocks shots--but we can’t deny that he is elite at it. The Ducks shoot the puck a decent amount, but it’s nothing to write home about. This may feel like a long shot, but it’s not. Ferraro is good and we should continue to get him at low-ownership.
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Elias Pettersson  $8,300 |  Kirill Kaprizov $8,500 | Quinn Hughes $7,100 |
 J.T. Miller $7,400 | Artemi Panarin $7,800 |  Mike Matheson $6,900 | |
| Medium |  Mason McTavish $6,400 |  Jason Robertson $6,500 | Miro Heiskanen $5,700 |
| Roope Hintz $6,800 | Chris Kreider $6,400 | Jacob Trouba $5,400 | |
| Low | Vincent Trocheck $5,300 |  Fabian Zetterlund $3,700 |  K'Andre Miller $3,300 |
| Leo Carlsson $4,800 | Alexis Lafreniere $4,000 |  Erik Gudbranson $3,600 | |
| Adam Fantilli $4,700 | Alex Newhook $3,200 |  Justin Barron $3,200 |
Stacks
| Canucks | Elias Pettersson | J.T. Miller | Quinn Hughes |
| DraftKings | 8300 | 7400 | 7100 |
 Fanduel | 9800 | 9100 | 7300 |
| Stars | Roope Hintz | Jason Robertson | Miro Heiskanen |
| DraftKings | 6800 | 6500 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Rangers | Artemi Panarin | Chris Kreider | Jacob Trouba |
| DraftKings | 7800 | 6400 | 5400 |
| Fanduel | 9300 | 7400 | 5200 |
| Canucks | Elias Pettersson | J.T. Miller | Quinn Hughes |
| DraftKings | 8300 | 7400 | 7100 |
| Fanduel | 9800 | 9100 | 7300 |
| Stars | Roope Hintz | Jason Robertson | Miro Heiskanen |
| DraftKings | 6800 | 6500 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Rangers | Artemi Panarin | Chris Kreider | Jacob Trouba |
| DraftKings | 7800 | 6400 | 5400 |
| Fanduel | 9300 | 7400 | 5200 |
| Canucks | Elias Pettersson | J.T. Miller | Quinn Hughes |
| DraftKings | 8300 | 7400 | 7100 |
| Fanduel | 9800 | 9100 | 7300 |
| Stars | Roope Hintz | Jason Robertson | Miro Heiskanen |
| DraftKings | 6800 | 6500 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Rangers | Artemi Panarin | Chris Kreider | Jacob Trouba |
| DraftKings | 7800 | 6400 | 5400 |
| Fanduel | 9300 | 7400 | 5200 |
Player News
Bucks re-signed Chris Livingston to a one-year, $2.3 million deal.
Milwaukee waived Livingston early this month, and now they’ll bring him back on a fully-guaranteed deal. The 2023 second-round pick hasn’t carved out a role with Milwaukee through his first two seasons, but he has been producing at a high level during summer league.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports Dylan Harper is being shut down for the remainder of summer league.
Harper only appeared in two games after dealing with a groin injury, and he played a total of 42 minutes across his appearances. He clearly didn’t need to be out there, and the Spurs decided it wasn’t worth risking further injury. David Jones-Garcia should return to the starting lineup as he continued to make a case of Summer League MVP.
Chargers LB Daiyan Henley said he has fully recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.
Henley played through a torn labrum for four months while breaking out in his second NFL season last year. The 25-year-old totaled 92 tackles, 13 quarterback pressures, six pass breakups and one interception. He now has ample time to ramp up ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports Bradley Beal has agreed to a contract buyout with the Suns and intends to sign a two-year, $11 million contract with the Clippers.
Beal will have a player option for the second season of his deal with the Clippers, so if he has a bounce-back year, he could certainly decline the option and sign a larger deal next summer, which makes this a great scenario for him. Beal should start at shooting guard, likely alongside James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins and Ivica Zubac, making this one of the best lineups in the league in 2021. How well will it work next season? That’s on coach Tyronn Lue to figure out. This is certainly a fun collection of talent. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kris Dunn will likely lose out on minutes with Beal in the mix.
The Athletic’s Joe Vardon and Dan Woike report LeBron James hasn’t had any buyout or trade discussions with the Lakers.
The expectation is that LeBron will be with the Lakers for training camp. If you follow every single rumor that happens during the NBA offseason and read between the lines, you can see that LeBron has been pulling some stunts to create some drama. But if you look at the bigger picture, there isn’t really a move that makes sense for both the Lakers and another team that LeBron will also agree to, since he has a no-trade clause. The reality is that LeBron will be a Laker next year in what could be his final NBA season.
Royals acquired INF/OF Adam Frazier from the Pirates for INF Cam Devanney.
Frazier is officially back with the Royals after playing for the club last season. The 33-year-old batted .255/.318/.336 with three homers, 21 RBI and seven steals across 78 games with the Pirates. He figures to serve as a left-handed bat off the bench while seeing playing time across multiple positions.