NHL DFS Playbook October 18: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Welcome to Wednesday’s two-game NHL Slate. Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby find themselves together on a slate and are looking to help propel their team to victory. Those two are going to be popular, but there are lots of great value options to target. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Wednesday, October 18th, 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
Ottawa Senators Vs Darcy Kuemper (3.7)
Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. Ville Husso (3.5)
Detroit Red Wings Vs. Tristan Jarry (3.8)
Washington Capitals Vs Anton Forsberg (3.4)
Washington Capitals Vs. Ottawa Senators
Players to target: Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Alex Ovechkin, Vladimir Tarasenko, Matthew Philipps, John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson, Martin Fehervary, Anton Forsberg
It’s hard to think about stacking against the Washington Capitals, but their offence outside of Alex Ovechkin is #NotGood. Ottawa has a ton of great options to choose from and some that you need to keep an eye on.
Josh Norris is expected to make his season debut and skate on the third line but on the top power play unit. At $3100 on DraftKings, that is hard value to pass up on. He’s got skill, but the problem has always been staying healthy. He’s back in the lineup, so let’s take advantage of it. You’d best pair him with Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson to complete the three-man top power play stack.
For Washington, Alex Ovechkin is a no brainer because of the number of shots he’s going to take. If you want another cheap forward, Matthew Philipps is skating on the third line and scored a goal last game. He’s going to get some looks, but he’s mostly a salary relief option. The real value is on the blue line. Martin Fehervary can block shots and the Senators love to shoot the puck. You can pay up for John Carlson if you want, but I think we can find better value elsewhere.
Anton Forsberg is confirmed to start for Ottawa and he’s got a decent chance of winning this game. As mentioned earlier, the Capitals aren’t that scary, so all he has to do is be decent and he picks up the win. I don’t like his price tag, but it’s a short slate with few options.
Pittsburgh Penguins Vs. Detroit Red Wings
Players to target: Sidney Crosby, Dylan Larkin, Jake Guentzle, Alex DeBrincat, Reilly Smith, Lucas Raymond, Erik Karlsson, Moritz Seider, Jake Walman, Ryan Graves,
Let’s get the goaltending out of the way quickly between these two teams. I can’t for the life of me trust Tristan Jarry tonight and I don’t want to go down the Ville Husso route. If you want to take the risk on either one, be my guest, but be prepared to be disappointed.
Shifting the focus to the forward, Pittsburgh has no shortage of elite options to consider. Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzle are great options but don’t hesitate to scroll down and target Reilly Smith. If you want to really go all out, Erik Karlsson is in a great spot because we know he loves to shoot the puck. If you want to look at a cheaper defenceman, Ryan Graves has 11 blocked shots in three games this season and is $3700 on DK. He’s going to flirt with the blocked shots bonus.
For Detroit, Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Moritz Seider is the main three-man stack I’d be considering. Again, Tristan Jarry can be hot-or-miss, and tonight, I think he’s a miss. He’s been decent this season, but I’m just not buying his 4-0 shutout against Washington. Lucas Raymond is definitely the way to go if you need another affordable forward.
I’ll throw Jake Walman’s name in here too because he’s another defenceman who can provide some offence but is a great shot blocker. If you pair him and Graves together and fill the UTIL spot with someone like Karlsson/Seider, you should be able to still afford some high-priced forwards. There’s nothing wrong with going with three defencemen on this slate.
Player News
Brice Sensabaugh lit up the 76ers with 19 points (7-of-13 FGs), seven rebounds, one assist, two blocks, five three-pointers and five turnovers on Saturday.
Third-year NBA players should dominate Summer League if they play in it. Sensabaugh wasn’t flawless, but the 76ers didn’t really have an answer for him. The turnovers weren’t pretty, but he was a one-man wrecking crew at times as a scorer. It wouldn’t be shocking if he didn’t play much more this summer.
Kyle Filipowski led the Jazz with 22 points (8-of-11 FGs), six rebounds, two assists, one block and two three-pointers against the 76ers on Saturday.
It wasn’t a perfect performance from Filipowski, but he certainly was a beast on the offensive end, which helped Utah secure the win to kick off the Salt Lake City Summer League for the home team. He has a lot to clean up on the defensive end, but the offensive production should be there for the rest of the summer and into next season.
Cody Williams posted a full line on Saturday with 14 points (5-of-12 FGs), five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and two three-pointers against the 76ers.
Williams was drafted with the No. 10 pick in 2024 as a raw prospect, which led to a terrible rookie year. However, his first game of this summer was an encouraging one. He is nowhere near a finished product, but he was productive. He’s certainly a player to keep tabs on this summer, especially for dynasty managers.
Walter Clayton Jr. finished with nine points (3-of-8 FGs), three rebounds, six assists, one block and two three-pointers against the 76ers on Saturday.
Utah traded up to add Clayton Jr. with the No. 18 pick of last month’s draft, and his debut for them was solid. He showcased both his floor spacing ability and his passing ability; both are qualities that helped him lead Florida to a national championship and end up as a first-round pick. Clayton Jr. should continue to play a lot of minutes this summer as he competes with Isaiah Collier for point guard minutes this season.
Isaiah Collier contributed seven points (1-of-7 FGs, 5-of-8 FTs), five rebounds and five assists against the 76ers on Saturday.
Collier struggled to score on Saturday, which isn’t ideal for a second-year player, but it isn’t that surprising. It certainly wasn’t his strength during his rookie season. However, he was still able to be a solid playmaking option. With Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson gone, Collier should be the favorite to start the year as the starting point guard for Utah, which is a role that he held for much of last season.
Ace Bailey finished with eight points (3-of-13 FGs), seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and one three-pointer against the 76ers on Saturday.
The No. 5 overall pick’s Summer League debut certainly wasn’t flawless, but it was a positive step. He spent most of his time off the ball, which is a role he can be effective in immediately. He also showcased his shot-blocking ability. Even if it wasn’t the best shooting night for him, it was good to see Bailey out on the floor in a Jazz uniform and playing a role that will maximize him early on. The shots will start to fall.