NHL DFS Playbook October 22: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Welcome to Sunday's two-game NHL Slate. Dylan Larkin and Elias Lindholm 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, October 22nd, 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
Boston Bruins Vs John Gibson (4.1)
Calgary Flames Vs. James Reimer (3.5)
Detroit Red Wings Vs. Jacob Markstrom (3.1)
Anaheim Ducks Vs Linus Ullmark (2.5)
Calgary Flames Vs. Detroit Red Wings
Players to target: Elias Lindholm, Jonathan Huberdeau, Noah Hanifin, Adam Ruzicka, Jacob Markstrom, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Moritz Seider, Andrew Copp
The Red Wings are coming off a big win against a division rival yesterday, and they will look to avoid a letdown today against the Flames.
Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat have been among the best players in hockey through the first couple of weeks and I would look to lean on them again today, especially as home underdogs. Larkin has 19 shots in his first four games, while Debrincat has four goals and seven points in his last four games. If you're looking for more of a value play you can look to either Andrew Copp or Lucas Raymond who have both been putting plenty of shots on goal recently. With Calgary, Elias Lindholm has been their safest commodity. He has six points in five games, and he should be dangerous again today. If you're looking to stack the Flames, I would look to pair Jonathan Huberdeau, with him and Noah Hanifin with the Rasmus Andersson suspension.
On the backend, Moritz Seider is the obvious choice for the Red Wings. He has four points in his last five games, and he has blocked three shots or more in four of his last five games as well. With that said I would want to lose track of how productive Shayne Gostisbehere has been and he is also on the top powerplay unit. With Rasmus Andersson out, Noah Hanifan becomes the best play on defence for the Flames. he should take over the top powerplay, and Mackenzie Weegar could be useful as well as he has been blocking lots of shots recently.
When it comes to goalies today, I would likely try to steer away from this matchup. The Red Wings are expected to go to James Reimer. While Reimer got a shutout in his first start this season, I wouldn't expect that to be something we expect from him on a regular basis. With the Flames it seems that Markstrom has lost a step as he continues to struggle to regain the form he has had in years past, and with Detroit scoring more than 5 goals per game over the last week, it makes playing either Markstrom or Daniel Vladar a real risk.
Boston Bruins Vs. Anaheim Ducks
Players to target: David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha, Leo Carlsson, Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Linus Ullmark
It is hard to see this game as being anything other than a Bruins win, especially with Linus Ullmark expected to get the start.
I think you can get some value from some of the Ducks top players. Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras have shown that they can score goals, and Leo Carlsson could be a nice value play to put with one of them. With the Bruins, we should see high ownership of David Pastrnak, and rightly so. He has six points in his last three games and he is averaging five shots per game as well. Brad Marchand should also be a solid secondary play, but with him playing on a different line than Pastrnak it makes me hesitant to stack them. Lastly, James van Riemsdyk has also been a solid value play as of late. The shots are there, but he has been scoring goals.
This isn't a good matchup to use defensemen. Yes, you could use Charlie McAvoy, or Pavel Mintyukov as they will be on the top powerplay units, but neither as players you can count on for any sort of performance.
In goal, Linus Ullmark should be a target today. He is going to be pricy, but he is easily the safest commodity on today's slate and he certainly has the potential to get you a shutout. John Gibson is expected to start for the Ducks, but his usage should only be for those who are willing to embrace high amounts of risk.
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.