NHL DFS Slate Summary: Tuesday, December 19th
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 Tuesday, December 19th
Today’s Games
Slate Overview
“That’ll do.” That’s what I thought when I saw the contest sizes on DraftKings for today. After some lackluster efforts, we’re back to the “normal” contests that hopefully won’t fill four hours before lock. There’s also a $432 Qualifer that I’ll be entering, thanks to a ticket I won on Saturday. The selection of games is impressive, with 11 matchups on tap tonight. We have yet another slate with an abundance of pay-up options in quality spots. It’s a nightmare for a single-entry player like me because, ideally, I’d have exposure to almost all of them. But them’s be the breaks.
Boston, Colorado, and Los Angeles are the teams favored at -200 or better, although Boston’s team total is a surprisingly low 3.5 goals by comparison. Implied team total leaders are the aforementioned Avalanche and Kings, followed by the Sabres, Devils, Lightning, Oilers, and Bruins. For injuries, it appears that the Cale Makar situation is going to be something we’ll need to monitor nightly. Svechnikov (Hurricanes) might return tonight, which would be a little ahead of schedule, although he’s only a speculative play in large-field tournaments. As I’ve said lately, It seems to be flu season because every night, players pop up as questionable due to an “illness,” and there have been a few late scratches recently. As always, join the RG NHL Discord for any news on player availability, line rushes before games, and any other useful tips or information.
Top Skaters
This is one of the most difficult slates I can remember in trying to rank the expensive skaters. So I’ll speak on some individually but also attempt to rank here. It’s not an exact science, and there are plenty of other factors (lineup construction, contest size, etc.), but here’s how I’d rank them:
Cash: MacKinnon > Pastrnak > Matthews > Kucherov > McDavid > Hughes
GPPs: Matthews > MacKinnon > Kucherov > McDavid > Pastrnak > Hughes
Nathan MacKinnon
DraftKings $9,800
I think MacKinnon is the cash cash option for a variety of reasons, and squarely in play for tournaments too. The matchup is the obvious factor that vaults him above the rest, as the others have neutral to poor matchups. Meanwhile, MacKinnon gets the Blackhawks, who are one of the worst teams in the league. MacKinnon has been a points-and-shots machine lately, which gives him both a high floor and ceiling. He’s riding a four-game multi-point streak, including a four-point flourish in his last outing against the Sharks. In his only other meeting against the Blackhawks this season, he had a goal and six shots on net. That, plus maybe an assist, feels like a reasonable target for him tonight.