NHL DFS Playbook November 17: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Welcome to Friday's two-game NHL Slate. Kyle Connor and Rasmus Dahlin 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, November 17th, 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
Winnipeg Jets Vs Eric Comrie (3.8)
Florida Panthers Vs. John Gibson (3.7)
Anaheim Ducks Vs. Anthony Stolarz (3.0)
Buffalo Sabres Vs. Connor Hellebuyck (2.9)
Buffalo Sabres Vs. Winnipeg Jets
Players to target: Dylan Cozens, Jeff Skinner, JJ Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin, Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey
It will be interesting to see how much offense the Sabres are able to generate with Tage Thompson out. They will rely on Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittlestadt to help create offense, and I wouldn't be surprised to see an uptick in shots from Jeff Skinner either. JJ Peterka should be a solid value as well today, as he should continue to see time on the Sabres top powerplay unit and he has points in three of his last five games. For the Jets, Kyle Connor has been red hot as of late. He has scored multiple goals in three of his last four games and he will face a Sabres team that is giving up nearly four goals per game over the last two weeks. Other Jets forwards that should be worth a look are Cole Perfetti, and Nikolaj Ehlers who both have three points in the last two games and should come at a modest price.
On the backend, Josh Morrissey and Rasmus Dahlin are both players who can get points, but neither player comes with a really solid floor as they don't shoot the puck in large volumes or block many shots. If you're looking for a safer floor I would look to Mattias Samuelsson who has blocked three shots or more in three of his last five games.
Connor Hellebuyck makes a lot of sense as a goalie to target today. While he hasn't played great this year, he hasn't given up more than three goals in any of his last five starts, and with the Jets being the favorites in this game, that adds to his value substantially. Eric Comrie is expected to get the start for the Sabres. As a value-priced goalie, he could be worth working into a GPP lineup or two, as the Sabres could look to play a more defensive style with Thompson out.
Florida Panthers Vs. Anaheim Ducks
Players to target: Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Brandon Montour, Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Frank Vatrano, Pavel Mintyukov
Florida's offence has been humming along as of late. Sam Reinhart has nine points in his last four games, and Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, and Aleksander all have six in that same stretch. All of which are worthy of consideration today. For the Ducks, they have been getting most of their production from the trio of Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Frank Vatrano. McTavish and Vatrano are of particular interest as they shoot the puck substantially more than Carlsson has so far this season.
On the blueline, we will really need to pay attention to news leading up to game time, as it is possible that Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad return today for the Panthers. If they are unavailable then look for Oliver Ekman-Larsson to continue to get the bulk of the powerplay time and continue to be a target. Anaheim's situation is more stable. Pavel Mintyukov seems to have solidified himself as the defenceman on Anaheim's powerplay. However, you can also look at Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin as strong options to get blocked shots, especially against a Panthers team that is consistently among the league leaders in shots per game.
In goal, we are expecting a matchup of Anthony Stolarz for the Panthers against John Gibson of the Ducks. Stolarz has been average at best in his career, and while the Panthers are the favorites in this one, I am not sure he is worth trusting. Gibson however has been really good in his last four games, and it looks like he might have brought some life back into his career. In Gibson's last four games, he has save percentages that are no worse than 0.935. Gibson should also see lots of shots today which only helps his value.
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Player News
The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports that the Nationals offered the interim manager job to Miguel Cairo.
Cairo was hired before the 2024 season as Dave Martinez’s bench coach, so he has allegedly told the Nationals that he needs time to consider the offer after Martinez was fired yesterday. Cairo was 18-16 as an interim manager for the Chicago White Sox back in 2022 after Tony La Russa was fired. Perhaps that’s not a situation he wants to enter again. If Cairo does turn down the offer, Ghiroli reports that Nationals Triple-A manager Matt LeCroy “would appear to be the guy.”
Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love were traded to the Jazz along with a second-round pick as part of a three-team deal that sent Norman Powell to the Heat and John Collins to the Clippers.
Anderson played a limited role between the Warriors and Heat last season, and Love’s role was even more limited. Love is headed into his 18th season and could be moved again before the season starts. Anderson doesn’t fit with Utah’s current timeline either, so he could be on the move too. If either player remains with the Jazz, they will likely be culture veterans rather than real threats for playing time.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that John Collins has been traded to the Clippers as part of a three-team deal with the Jazz and Heat.
Collins opted into the final year of his contract, and he’ll head to the Clippers on an expiring deal. The Heat will get Norman Powell, and Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson will land in Utah along with a 2027 second-round pick. Collins should immediately slot into LA’s starting five alongside Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac. In Utah, Collins’ departure opens the door for Taylor Hendricks (assuming he’s ready to go for the start of the season) and Kyle Filipowski to see additional playing time.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Norman Powell has been dealt to the Heat as part of a three-team deal.
The deal also sends John Collins to the Clippers, and a package of Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 second-round pick to the Jazz. Powell averaged a career-best 21.8 points and 3.0 triples per game last season, and he should enjoy a significant role in Miami’s rotation in 2025-26.
Cardinals RHP prospect Michael McGreevy allowed eight runs on seven hits in three innings for Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.
With Miles Mikolas and Erick Fedde struggling in the MLB rotation, McGreevy could be pushing for another opportunity, so this was a poor time to have a really bad start. The right-hander gave up two home runs on the day, but still has a 3.21 ERA in 70 innings at Triple-A this season. He’ll get a shot at some point.
Jack Suwinski went 4-for-4 with a walk, a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored for Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.
The 26-year-old is hitting .280/.382/.544 in 53 games at Triple-A this season with 12 home runs, 48 RBI, six steals, and a 63/28 K/BB ratio. With Tommy Pham’s name swirling in trade rumors, it’s possible that Suwinski gets another shot at the MLB level this summer.