Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon and I write both The First-Serve and The Kick-Off for Tennis and Soccer respectively. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL season which means it's time to sharpen our MLB skills and partake in NHL DFS! As always, I'll give you the best tools to succeed and the info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel Thursday, 15th, 2022 at 7:00 PM EST. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets!
If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 12/15/22
The wild outcomes continue to flood each slate leading up to the holiday roster freeze. As we approach Christmas, teams will be upset and many will use their current success and failure as a measuring point for their next steps after the freeze is over. This includes roster moves up to the hour prior to puck drop if the player is close enough and it requires Daily Fantasy Players to be more mindful of last-minute news. Tonight we will continue with yet another 12-game slate with a plethora of good matchups. There will be just one team playing on a back-to-back, Montreal. The currently live top-3 highest implied team totals are: Tampa Bay with 4.3, Vegas with 3.9 and New Jersey with 3.9 goals. I will do my best in guiding you through this twelve-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.
DISCLOSURE: Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk
NHL DFS Goalies
Tristan Jarry- DK $7.8K || FD $8.5K
Opponent - Florida Panthers
There are plenty of options at the goalie position tonight and especially in good spots, however, Jarry is in great form right now and he is in line to possibly see a ceiling game. The netminder has won his last five starts and if you date it back further, he has won 9 of his last 10 starts with his only loss a 3-2 loss in overtime to the Hurricanes. That is an impressive resume for someone who struggled after such a hot start to the season. Unsurprisingly, this has also sparked confidence in the rest of the team to finally hit their stride. A confident Jarry and a confident Penguins team – despite the injuries – is a dangerous duo and it is yet to be known if the Panthers can string multiple games of success together.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Ullmark (DK $8.4K || FD $8.8K), Hellebuyck (DK $8.1K || FD $8.7K)
Centers
Connor McDavid-DK $9.2K || FD $10.9K
Opponent - St Louis Blues
McDavid is coming off of a mega performance where he had 1 goal, 3 assists and 6 shots in a 6-3 win over Nashville. The Blues are not much different in all aspects of the game from their division rivals, the Predators. The Blues struggle defensively and their goaltending is worse. St Louis sits in the bottom half of the league in Shots Against Per 60 – 29.38 –, however, they are in the bottom 10 in Scoring Chances Against Per 60 – 31.89 – and Goals Against Per 60 – 3.00 – over their last 10 games. In McDavid's last five games, he has 5 goals, 7 assists and 19 shots.
Pierre-Luc Dubois- DK $5.8K || FD $8.1K
Opponent - Nashville Predators
It just so happens that we covered how poorly the Predators play defensively in the mentioned above. However, Dubois gets an added bonus playing against Ryan Johansen. Johansen is one of the worst two-way centers to play in the history of the sport and the entire second line of the Predators is poor overall. It is worth mentioning that Dubois is playing through an illness as of a few days ago and to keep an eye out in case he does not start. Otherwise, he and linemate Kyle Connors are always a great pairing to stack.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Hughes (DK $7.8K || FD $9.6K), Point (DK $6.3K || FD $8.6K)
NHL DFS Wings
Nikita Kucherov- DK $8.1K || FD $10K
Opponent - Columbus Blue Jackets
We are back with another team ready for an explosive night against the Blue Jackets. Ever since Cirelli made his season debut, the Lightning have been a force to reckon with – outside of one game, they are averaging 4 Goals For Per 60 –. Kucherov on the other hand has been scoring in bunches and he currently has a 5-game point streak where he has amassed 1 goal, 6 assists and 15 shots. His shot volume is not exactly where we want it, but that should see a slight increase against the defenseless Blue Jackets. The Jackets are in the bottom ten in Scoring Chances Against Per 60 – 31.79 – and they are the second-worst team in both Shots Against Per 60 – 35.23 – and Goals Against Per 60 – 4.04 – over the season.
Jakub Silfverberg- DK $2.5K || FD $4.3K
Opponent - Montreal Canadiens
We may be getting a prime spot bargain play tonight with Silfverberg. The Canadiens are playing the second-half of their back-to-back after losing 3-2 to the Senators last night. Silfverberg at the time of writing has been relocated to the top line next to center Trevor Zegras. The winger has yet to play with the skill caliber of Zegras this season, slotting in the bottom six and it could spark his offensive talent that has laid dormant. Against the Canadiens on a back-to-back who are in the bottom ten in the league in Shots Against Per 60, Scoring Chances Against Per 60 and Goals Against Per 60 is a great spot to punt a potential slate-breaking winger.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Pastrnak (DK $8.7K || FD $10.3K), Cotter (DK $4K || FD $3.7K)
Defense
Daniil Miromanov- DK $2.7K || FD $3.5K
Opponent - Chicago Blackhawks
I was close to keeping my write-up against Button here just to show how big a mistake I made Tuesday. Teammate Ben Hutton was in place to quarterback the top power-play unit for the Golden Knights at the time of the write-up. However, Miromanov ended up taking that spot and he delivered with 1 goal, 2 assists and 3 shots, while Hutton struggled to do anything remotely successful. We will not make that same mistake tonight, running the true power-play wizard, Miromanov. Despite Eichel being out, the Golden Knights are still finding ways to be productive, while the Blackhawks sit in the bottom three of the league in Shots Against Per 60 – 34.02 –, Scoring Chances Against Per 60 – 33.43 – and Goals Against Per 60 – 3.13 – over the season.
Victor Hedman- DK $5.7K || FD $6.1K
Opponent - Columbus Blue Jackets
There are surely ‘cheaper’ plays on the slate tonight at defense, but it will be very hard to pass on Hedman. The defenseman as I mentioned on Tuesday is back on the top power-play unit for Tampa Bay and he is also back on the top-pairing. This has not only provided him with increased ice time – more chances to produce –, but he is also on the ice with better overall talent again. The Blue Jackets' defense was aforementioned already. In Hedman’s last five games, he has 4 assists, 10 shots and 8 blocked shots.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Doughty (DK $4.4K || FD $5.8K), Fowler (DK $4.3K || FD $5K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- TB1
- NJ1
- VGK1
- EDM1
- BOS1
- ANA1
Brandon's Stack of the Day
- VGK: Cotter-Stephenson-Miromanov
Chalk Stack
- TB: Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Sneaky Stack
- TB: Killorn-Paul-Colton