NHL DFS Playbook October 28: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Oct 28, 2023
Welcome to Saturday's 7-game NHL Slate. There are a handful of elite options to choose from, including David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins and Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators, 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 Saturday, October 28th, 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 28th
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Tristan Jarry vs Ottawa Senators
Logan Thompson vs LA Kings
Juuse Saros vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Best Odds for a Win
Igor Shesterkin vs Vancouver Canucks
Jeremy Swayman \ Linus Ullmark vs Detroit Red Wings
Laurent Brossoit vs Montreal Canadiens
Tristan Jarry vs Ottawa Senators
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
At this time Shesterkin hasn't been confirmed to be the starter yet but between him or quick they are my favorite play for today. I don't love road goalies normally in DFS but the Canucks rank 5th to last in expected goals rate right now so a good performance in the crease would go a long way tonight with whoever starts.
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
I think I already hate myself for this suggestion but here we go… Jarry is coming off a shutout of the Colorado Avalanche and now has 2 already this season. He is highly inconsistent so it always scares me to play him but if he shows out it could very well be a 30+ saves game as the Senators like to shoot that puck.
Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
As usual the Islanders are one of the best teams on defense based on analytics and its not that surprising because that's what they are built to do. Sorokin is as steady as they come too and always has a nice safe floor. This season he has made 5 starts and has an average of 16.7 DFS points per game, always a must in the lineups.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Joonas Korpisalo (3.77)
Winnipeg Jets vs Jake Allen (3.66)
Boston Bruins vs Ville Husso (3.61)
New York Rangers vs Casey DeSmith (3.59)
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Tim Stutzle, C, Ottawa Senators
While I want to pump up Jarry in my GPPs tonight the Senators offense is just so strong and Stutzle is the centerpiece of that unit. Penguins allow the 5th most DFS points to centers this season and Stut is one of the best averaging 14.7 DFS PPG on DK.
Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets
The rebuild in Winnipeg has been great so far for the star center as he has 7 points in 7 games to start the season. Tonight they play the Habs who allow the 2nd most DFS points to centers on the season, wheels up for the Jets.
David Pastrnak, W, Boston Bruins
There are nights to fade the Pasta man but tonight will not be one of them. The Red Wings offense may be going big but the defense seems to be optional as they've allowed 9 goals over the past pair of games. I expect this one to be fast moving and that's perfect for a star winger in our lineups.
Artemi Panarin, W, New York Rangers
The Rangers are starting to roll right now with 3 straight wins heading into this game with the Canucks who are starting Casey DeSmith in net. That's all you really need to know to play some Rangers tonight but I will say that Panarin is posting some big numbers for this price in DFS, great add all around.
Nikolaj Ehlers, W, Winnipeg Jets
More attacking of the Montreal Canadiens here, sorry Chris Morais. Ehlers is on power play 1 and beyond that is coming off his best game of the season with a goal and 6 shots. Let's see the run continue tonight against another soft defensive team and bad penalty kill unit.
Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins
More Bruins is a big matchup against the Red Wings here. McAvoy has been so steady this season averaging 13.5 DFS points per game on DK and has 7 assists already this season. Detroit also always the 6th most points per game in DFS this season so far to blue liners.
Alec Martinez, D, Vegas Golden Knights
You know him, you love him the shot blocking king of Las Vegas! Seems very cheap at 4.3k on DK for a player average 11.4 DFS points per game and the Kings are allowing the MOST DFS points per game to defenseman this season
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Auston Matthews  $10,300 |  David Pastrnak $10,000 | Charlie McAvoy $6,400 |
 Tim Stutzle $7,800 |  Kyle Connor $7,100 |  Alex Pietrangelo $5,000 | |
 Sidney Crosby $7,700 | Brady Tkachuk $7,600 | ||
| Medium |  Mika Zibanejad $7,000 | Artemi Panarin $6,800 | Adam Fox $6,700 |
 Josh Norris $5,500 |  Jake DeBrusk $5,600 |  Ivan Provorov $4,500 | |
| Mark Scheifele $6,600 | |||
| Low | Sean Monahan $4,900 |  Kaapo Kakko $4,200 | Jake Sanderson $5,400 |
| Adam Fantilli $4,800 |  Tyler Bertuzzi $5,700 | Alec Martinez $5,300 |
Stacks
| Senators | Jake Sanderson | Brady Tkachuk | Tim Stutzle |
 DraftKings | 5400 | 8200 | 7800 |
| Fanduel | 5400 | 7600 | 7800 |
| Rangers | Artemi Panarin | Mika Zibanejad | Adam Fox |
| DraftKings | 6400 | 6600 | 5700 |
| Fanduel | 6800 | 7000 | 6700 |
| Bruins | David Pastrnak | Charlie McAvoy | Pavel Zacha |
| DraftKings | 9400 | 6600 | 5500 |
| Fanduel | 10000 | 6400 | 5200 |
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.