NHL DFS Slate Summary: Saturday, December 23rd
Welcome to the RotoGrinders NHL DFS Slate Summary. In this article, we’ll concentrate on the key elements of DFS success while delivering analysis on the upcoming slate of NHL games for DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll discuss today’s NHL DFS player projections, player correlations and NHL stacking, NHL starting lineups, differentiation tactics using NHL projected ownership, and recommendations on ways to create lineup diversity if entering multiple lineups using LineupHQ.
NHL DFS Picks: Slate Summary for Saturday, December 23rd
Today’s Games
Slate Overview
In the words of the great Kevin McCallister: “Buzz, your girlfriend, WOOF.” Except today it’s: “DraftKings, your contests, WOOF.” Apparently a bad NBA slate and a tiny NFL one were enough for them to roll out the kiddie contests for NHL. It’s a shame because there are 12 games tonight and plenty of intrigue to go around. The “Big 3” teams tonight are probably the Maple Leafs, Canucks, and Avalanche with all three exceeding 4 expected goals. But then there are five other teams with an implied team total of better than 3.5 goals. It’s honestly difficult to project where all of the ownership will go, so I plan on assessing throughout the day to determine where people will be going.
Lineup construction will be a challenge, as there doesn’t seem to be loads of obvious value, at least at the minimum price range. That’ll make it tougher to fit in two studs like MacKinnon and Matthews, although as always, people will try their best to do so. If this appears to be the consensus build, I might make it a priority to go with more of a balanced approach rather than stars and scrubs. Join the RG NHL Discord for any news on player availability, line rushes before games, and any other useful tips or information.
Top Skaters
I tried to do this on Tuesday and received some good feedback in the Discord channel and DMs, so I will give it another whirl today. As I mentioned then, there are plenty of factors that are tough to simplify into a single ranking, but it’s at least a starting point:
Cash: MacKinnon > Matthews > Hughes > Pastrnak > Kucherov
GPPs: Hughes > Matthews > MacKinnon > Kucherov > Pastrnak
All signs point to another MacKinnon smash, and he and Matthews are the ones in consideration for cash games. I don’t feel strongly about one or the other. You can see (for once), I’m not as high on Kucherov tonight. I don’t think the matchup is bad, but I am just not feeling the Kuch juju as much as usual.
Nathan MacKinnon
DraftKings $9,900
MacKinnon is on my naughty list right now. On Tuesday, if I had played any of the studs besides MacKinnon, I take down the $432 DK live final seat and a Top 3 finish in the $400. So Thursday night, I put him in the penalty box for his transgressions. So of course he went nuclear with four goals, an assist, and nine shots on goal. If you’re scoring at home, that was worth 61.5 DK points and without him, your lineups were dead. So what to do tonight? Do the opposite of whatever I do! Here’s where I think I land with MacKinnon right now (slightly oversimplified): At home, you play him. On the road, you consider playing him. He has 37 points in 17 games at Ball Arena and just 16 points in 16 games away from it. The matchup against the Coyotes is at worst a neutral one. They have overperformed relative to expectations but still rank around the league average in most defensive/goaltending categories.