NHL DFS Playbook November 5: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Welcome to Sunday's two-game NHL Slate. Timo Meier and Connor Bedard 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 Sunday, November 5th, 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
New Jersey Devils Vs Arvid Soderblom (4.0)
Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Lukas Dostal (3.8)
Anaheim Ducks Vs. Logan Thompson (2.9)
Chicago Blackhawks Vs. Vitek Vanacek (2.7)
New Jersey Devils Vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Players to target: Dawson Mercer, Tyler Toffoli, Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, Vitek Vanecek, Connor Bedard, Seth Jones, Connor Murphy
It will be interesting to see how the Devils react today without Jack Hughes. It looks like Dawson Mercer (he is listed on the W however if you are looking) will take over the top-line center duties, as Nico Hischier is also out. Mercer is well-positioned to be a nice value today, as he will be playing between Timo Meier and Tyler Toffoli and he is likely to take on the top powerplay duties as well. For Chicago, I think you are going to look to Connor Bedard and Bedard only in this matchup. He has scored in three straight games and four of his last five games. His shots have gone down since his first few games, but with the Devil's injuries we could see a big performance from the star rookies today.
On the backend, we saw Luke Hughes' point streak come to an end as he put up a DFS donut on Friday failing to block a shot or put a shot on goal. He will continue to get a look at the top powerplay which makes him worth his price, especially in a matchup like this one, but be aware that there isn't much of a floor there with him. On the flip side, Dougie Hamilton is much more expensive, but he is a consistent shot producer and his ceiling is sky-high because of those shots. Chicago has the better floor players in this matchup. Connor Murphy is among the league leaders in blocked shots, and he has blocked three shots or more in four of his last five games. Seth Jones is also worth looking at, as he has a better chance to get you points, and he will shoot the puck at high volumes as well.
The Devils are likely to go back to Vitek Vanecek today. While Vanecek hasn't been spectacular this season he has won four of his last five starts, and in the DFS game, that is worth something. He is likely to face Arvid Soderblom of Chicago. Soderblom hasn't been good this season, and even with Hughes out, I think the Devils should still be able to score goals without too much issue.
Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Anaheim Ducks
Players to target: Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore, Logan Thompson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, Pavel Mintyukov, Lukas Dostal
Vegas is a big favourite today. The defending champs haven't skipped a beat coming into this season and they are facing a Ducks team that is still struggling to find an identity. Look for all of their top players to be in play, but also don't be surprised if there is a bit of a letdown after a 7-0 drubbing of Colorado last night. I would want to have some shares of Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel as those two players put the most shots on goal, but I also don't mind a player like William Karlsson, who has been red hot lately with points in five straight games, and goals in three of those games as well. For Anaheim, we have been seeing Mason McTavish start to break out. He has six points in his last three games and 12 points on the year so far. He can be paired with either Frank Vatrano or Ryan Strome. Vatrano has more upside as he shoots more, but Strome is much less expensive and he has six points in his last three games. Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson are also worth a look. Terry is coming off a four-point, six-shot game, and Carlsson is inexpensive while playing lots of minutes.
On the blueline, Shea Theodore will get lots of attention. He is playing at a near point-per-game pace, and he is a player who can get to all three bonus types for Vegas. Brayden McNabb is also of interest as he is among the top shot blockers in the league, however, I would likely look elsewhere for blocked shots today as the Ducks are near the bottom of the league in total shots. For the Ducks, similar issues exist. Ilya Lyubushkin blocks lots of shots, but Vegas only puts 27.5 shots on goal per game on average so his opportunities are likely to be limited. You can take a look at Pavel Mintyukov. He has three points in his last two games, and he will shoot the puck and block shots as well as being on the Ducks top powerplay.
Logan Thompson is the obvious choice to use today. He has been fantastic for the Golden Knights this season, and while the Ducks have been a top ten offence over the last two weeks, I would wonder how long that offence will last. Lukas Dostal has played great for the Ducks this season. He has won five of his six starts this season while posting a save percentage of 0.920, and a goals saved above average of 3.1. He won't be a popular choice, but if you're looking for a contrarian play, he isn't a bad choice and he comes at an inexpensive price as well.
Player News
Dodgers recalled RHP Alexis DÃaz from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
DÃaz returns to the majors for the first time since late April. The hard-throwing 28-year-old former closer fell out of favor in Cincinnati after six abysmal appearances to open the year after battling injuries and mechanical issues during spring training. He hasn’t pitched a ton at Triple-A Oklahoma City since being traded to Los Angeles, but the club is ready to give him a look, presumably in low-leverage spots.
Dodgers optioned LHP Julian Fernández to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Fernández returns to the minors after tossing two innings on Monday in his Dodgers debut. The 29-year-old lefty figures to rejoin Los Angeles’ ever-changing relief mix at some point later this month.
Rangers signed RHP Dany Jiménez to a minor league contract.
Jiménez augments Texas’ organizational relief depth after spending the last few months in the independent Mexican League. The 31-year-old righty was in camp this spring with Atlanta and didn’t make the club’s season-opening roster. He was a key component of the Athletics’ relief mix the previous three seasons, recording 13 saves to accompany a respectable 3.89 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 80/51 K/BB ratio across 83 1/3 innings (84 appearances), before being non-tendered last offseason.
Luis Gil (lat) threw a 42-pitch live batting practice session on Tuesday at Double-A Somerset.
Gil will make his first minor league rehab start on Sunday at Double-A Somerset. The 27-year-old reigning American League Rookie of the Year will need a handful of tune-up outings before he rejoins New York’s rotation. He figures to be ready to go at some point in early August.
Pirates recalled OF Jack Suwinski from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The story largely remains the same for Suwinski. He boasts impressive raw power potential, but continues to strike out at astronomical rates, which eliminates any shot of him emerging as an everyday player at the highest level. The 26-year-old slugging outfielder joins Pittsburgh’s bench mx ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Royals after putting up 12 homers in 53 games this season at the Triple-A level. He’ll continue to get chances, but he’ll need to cut back on the strikeouts to make it in the big leagues.
Padres placed RHP Chase Shugart on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation.
No word yet on how much time Shugart is going to miss. The 28-year-old righty has registered a solid 3.69 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 22/15 K/BB ratio across 39 innings (32 appearances) this season in his Pirates debut.