NHL DFS Playbook October 27: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks

Published: Oct 27, 2023
Welcome to Friday’s five-game NHL Slate. There are a handful of elite options to choose from, including Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild, but we will need to dig deep to find value plays. There are some good options, but which ones should you be targeting? You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Friday, October 27th, 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.
NHL DFS Playbook October 27th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
It’s not hard to decide which elite players to go with, but the question is always: which value plays do we target? There’s always the question of playing up for a goalie, but do we go that high against San Jose? Can the Los Angeles Kings continue their hot scoring? Your lineup will probably need to include pieces from multiple games to make sure you maximize value.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Kaap Kahkonen Vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Karel Vejmelka Vs. Los Angeles Kings
Vitek Vanecek Vs. Buffalo Sabres
Marc-Andre Fleury Vs. Washington Capitals
Best Odds for a Win
Antti Raanta Vs. San Jose Sharks
Thatcher Demko Vs. St. Louis Blues
Vitek Vanecek Vs. Buffalo Sabres
Pheonix Copley Vs. Arizona Coyotes
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Antti Raanta, G, Carolina Hurricanes
It doesn’t take a University diploma to figure out that starting a goalie against San Jose is a smart idea. The Sharks are miserable and are coming off a 6-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. I usually worry about the goalie being able to hit value, but there’s a real chance here that San Jose doesn’t score a single goal.
Thatcher Demko, G, Vancouver Canucks
I love this spot for Thatcher Demko. The Blues are a decent team, but they can’t score goals or shoot the puck. It might be hard for Demko to hit value, but he’s got a great chance of picking up the win.
Karel Vejmelka, G, Arizona Coyotes
Say what you want about Karel Vejmelka, but he’s been great to start the season. Los Angeles is averaging 4.50 goals per game, so there’s some risk here, but if he’s on his game, then your GPP team is heading to the top of the leaderboard.
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are last in goals against per game, so why am I talking about MArc-Andre Fleury here? Well, the Capitals are 31st in goals per game, ahead of only the Sharks. Teams that are bad at scoring goals are going to struggle even against a bad defence. I think the Wild are still trying to figure their game out, so I’ll gladly take my chances with Fleury here.
Phoenix Copley, G, Los Angeles Kings
Pheonix Copley looks like the new Martin Jones: terrible numbers but he finds a way to pick up the win. His team is giving him a ton of goal support, so if he can pick up the win, he should be able to get close to value. Just be ready to be disappointed by him.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Carolina Hurricanes Vs Kaapo Kahkonen (4.4)
New Jersey Devils Vs. Eric Comrie (4.1)
Vancouver Canucks Vs. Jordan Binnington (3.8)
Los Angeles Kings Vs Karel Vejmelka (3.5)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Jack Hughes, C, New Jersey Devils
Wash, rinse and repeat for Jack Hughes. The kid is elite and is worth every penny you spend. He’s going to need a big night to justify his salary, but he’s averaging 27.2 fantasy points on DraftKings. No one is close to him tonight.
Pierre Luc Dubois, C, Los Angeles Kings
As mentioned earlier, the Kings are scoring goals and Pierre Luc Dubois is $5500. That’s some pretty good value if you ask me. He has three goals in six games and could add another to his total.
Kirill Kaprizov, W, Minnesota Wild
Kirill Kaprizov has nine points in seven games and is seeing over 20 minutes of ice time on average in his last five games. He’s been on the ice a ton and that has led to a very steady production of points. He’s in a great spot to produce tonight.
Tyler Toffoli, W, New Jersey Devils
Tyler Toffoli has six goals in the last three games, including a hat trick against the Canadiens. We knew he was going to score goals when he came over to New Jersey and he is doing just that. If you can’t afford Kaprizov, he’s the next-best option.
Alex Laferriere, W, Los Angeles Kings
We need some cheap exposure to the Kings and Alex Laferriere is the easiest way to get it. He’s skating on the second line with Dubois and Kevin Fiala, but the points just haven't been there. He played only ten minutes last game, so the ice time is certainly a concern. All that being said, he’s cheap and has upside so we just need him to get one point tonight to come close to value.
Mario Ferraro, D, San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are bad but Mario Ferraro is finding ways to hit value. He’s been shooting the puck a decent amount and is also blocking shots. His $3400 price tag is also quite appealing, so don’t fear getting him into your lineup.
Sean Durzi, D, Arizona Coyotes
SEAN DURZI REVENGE GAME! He’s making his return to LA and you know he’s got some money on the board. He’s been great to start the season and he can stuff multiple categories.
Martin Fehervary, D, Washington Capitals
We’re looking for three blocked shots with Martin Fehervary. He had four last game against New Jersey and is in a very good spot tonight. Rasmus Sandin is a game-time decision for this game, which could give Fehervary a slight boost if he doesn’t play. If you pair him and Ferraro together, you have the upside and a ton of salary to spend up on elite forwards.
Check out our list of the best, and most trusted sports betting and fantasy sports promo codes from the top legal sites in your state.
Dominate your NHL DFS contests today with our DFS Playbook, Player Projections, Lineup Generator & DFS
Player Pool
$ Tier | C | W | D |
---|---|---|---|
High | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ||
Medium | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
![]() | |||
Low | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ||
![]() |
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.