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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for December 27, 2025. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
After a short holiday break and a slightly longer winter flu break for me, we are back with a massive 12-game Saturday night slate. A big shout-out to Jon and Sean for holding things down last week while I was under the weather, and you can continue to vibe with them (and the rest of our RotoBaller crew) in our NHL Premium Discord.
The slate starts strong with a Sunshine State battle between the Lightning and Panthers. Can Florida turn things around in defense of their back-to-back championships? It should be a fun game finding out. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the Avalanche and Golden Knights close out the night in a battle that’s been waging since Vegas joined the league nine years ago.
I aim to help you narrow your plays to get the most bang for your DFS buck. NHL Premium members can find members of the RotoBaller NHL family on Discord, where our chat is always active. I'll bring my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings for Saturday, December 27, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Be sure also to check out RotoBaller's awesome NHL tools, including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, and Heat Map.
NHL DFS Analysis And Picks For 12/27/25
Tampa Bay Lightning (TB1 - Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Yanni Gourde; $18400 DK)
Defensive Addition: Darren Raddysh ($5900 DK)
Tampa Bay is on the road after the short holiday break, visiting the defending NHL Champion Florida Panthers. Florida is reeling this year, currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Their defense has been their biggest problem, allowing 3.14 goals per game this year. Over their past 10 home games, the team has surrendered 3.5 even-strength goals and 13.11 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed three or more goals in six of his past eight home games, as the weight of so many postseason games over the past few seasons begins to pile up. He’s been awful when under pressure, saving just 75.6% of the high-danger shots he’s faced at home over the team’s past 10 games. The team’s defensive pairing of Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling hasn’t been much help, giving up a team-high 16.27 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.
Tampa’s top line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and defender Darren Raddysh has been lethal on the road, scoring 9.03 even-strength goals per 60 minutes over their past 10 games. Yanni Gourde looks like he will join this line tonight as a bit of salary relief, giving you a reasonably priced, high-upside option in a stellar matchup coming out of the break.
Dallas Stars (DAL2 - Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, Mavrik Bourque; $17200 DK)
Defensive Addition: Miro Heiskanen ($6700 DK)
The Dallas Stars are in a great position tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago has one of the league's worst defenses, with multiple pairings showing significant vulnerabilities. The one we will look to attack tonight is Alex Vlasic and Artyom Levshunov. They have allowed three expected goals, 33.11 scoring chances, and 14.05 high-danger chances per 60 minutes over their prior 10 road games.
The only thing keeping this defense above water has been the play of goalie Spencer Knight, who has saved over 90% of the high-danger shots he’s faced. Even with his strong play, Knight can be beaten, as he’s allowed three or more goals in seven of his past 10 games. As a team, the Blackhawks have allowed 4.05 even-strength goals and 13.61 high-danger shots over their past 10 road games.
Dallas has been hot at home, scoring 2.71 even-strength goals per 60 minutes over their past 10 games. The top line for Dallas, consisting of Mavrik Bourque, Jason Robertson, and Roope Hintz, has been putting massive pressure on opposing goalies, generating 13.62 high-danger chances per 60 minutes, resulting in 4.54 goals per 60 minutes in those games.
In the four games before the mini-break, the trio combined for 12 goals and assists, making them one of the hottest lines in the league. They’re priced well tonight, which allows you to build a well-balanced tournament lineup.
That's ✌️ for Jason Robertson pic.twitter.com/qFhyC1Ox2q
— NHL (@NHL) December 20, 2025
Calgary Flames (CGY1 - Nazem Kadri, Joel Farabee, Yegor Sharangovich; $13500 DK)
Defensive Addition: Rasmus Andersson ($6000 DK)
It’s never fun to roster the Flames, but one day they are going to put up a half-dozen goals at a very low ownership. Is tonight that night? The data sure seems to like them enough to give the team another shot. While the team has scored only 2.07 even-strength goals per 60 minutes over their past 10 home games, advanced data show this was nearly a whole goal below what they should have scored.
Their top line of Yegor Sharangovich, Joel Farabee, and Nazem Kadri aligns with this data, having scored half a goal fewer than expected, despite producing 37.62 scoring chances and 16.97 high-danger chances per 60 minutes in those 10 games. Their opponent tonight, the Edmonton Oilers, have been outperforming expectations, allowing half a goal fewer per game than expected over their past 10 road games.
That’s going to catch up to them, as goalie Calvin Pickard has saved just 77% of the high-danger shots he’s faced. The team’s defensive duo of Darnell Nurse and Alec Regula may be the genesis of regression, allowing 3.34 expected goals and 14.69 high-danger chances per 60 minutes over their past 10 road games. If the data is to be believed, Calgary should break out in this game in a big way.
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Back-to-back @DraftKings Fantasy Hockey World Championship trips! Let’s get the main prize this year! Thank you to @banksterdfs for the amazing daily fantasy content! @NHL pic.twitter.com/dONSvJMtIR
— 🇺🇦Shockmain (@Shockmain) January 6, 2023
NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
Vancouver Canucks (VAN2 - Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, David Kampf ; $11900 DK)
If you want to talk about teams that are due for a breakout, the Vancouver Canucks have scored 1.4 fewer goals than expected over their past 10 home games. The trio of Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and David Kampf has averaged about 10 minutes of ice time together in their past 10 games, yet they haven’t scored a single even-strength goal.
Advanced data suggests that they should have scored 2.31 goals per 60 minutes in those games, so even though they’re not a high-powered line, there is a lot of room for growth for this team. They aren’t an expensive line, allowing you to fit them in with most of our favorite lines tonight as a cheap, and low-owned alternative to other value options.
They’ll be on the ice with Nick Leddy and Sam Dickinson from San Jose, and they’ve been vulnerable to pressure on the road, allowing 3.46 expected goals and 15.01 high-danger chances per 60 minutes. Expectations should be tempered, but the conditions are right for the Canucks to fulfil some of the promise data has shown.
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Brandon Bussi (CAR - $7900 DK)
Brandon Bussi has been a revelation for the Hurricanes this season. He’s lost just once in regulation in his 13 starts, scoring double-digit fantasy points 11 times. That level of consistency is appealing when constructing a cash game lineup. Bussi doesn’t see a lot of volume, but he also doesn’t let many pucks get past him, allowing more than three goals just once all season.
That lack of volume is going to cap Bussi’s ceiling, but goalie isn’t generally a ceiling position in daily fantasy. Bussi has stopped over 95% of the shots he’s faced, and more importantly, he doesn’t get stymied by pressure, saving over 88% of the high-danger shots he’s seen at home this year. Goalie is one of the most volatile positions in fantasy, so knowing that the one you choose won’t sink your cash game lineup is enormous and is well worth paying up for.
Brandon Bussi with a massive save in OT on Sam Bennett.
As timely as it gets. pic.twitter.com/cVpzdxYGmU
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) December 20, 2025
Others in consideration: Jake Oettinger (DAL), Carter Hart (VGK)
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