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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for December 9, 2025. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
It’s Tuesday night, and that means we get an incredible slate of NHL action. Tampa Bay and Carolina are two high-powered offenses that will start the night in the early window. Both are in line for big games, and how you choose to deploy them could determine your outlook for the night.
The evening ends with a white-hot Edmonton offense getting to take shots at a horrendous Buffalo defense. The Oilers are starting to look like the team we saw go to the Stanley Cup Finals each of the past two years, and fading them recently has been detrimental to your bankroll.
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NHL DFS Analysis And Picks For 12/9/25
Edmonton Oilers (EDM1 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman; $20,100 DK)
Defensive Addition: Evan Bouchard ($6,500 DK)
Over the past four games, the top line for the Edmonton Oilers has finally started to look like itself. The quartet of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and defender Evan Bouchard has combined for 24 goals and 24 assists, averaging 59.9 DraftKings points per game.
Even at the high price of $26,600, that’s an outstanding return on investment. The thing that they do best is put pressure on opposing goalies, averaging 18.9 high-danger chances per 60 minutes in those games.
Buffalo’s goalie tonight, Colten Ellis, has saved just 76% of the high-danger shots he’s faced on the road this season. Even worse, the defensive pairing tasked with stopping McDavid and friends is Conor Timmins and Bowen Byram. They have been giving away goals on the road, allowing 3.91 per 60 minutes, much of which can be attributed to the slate-high 19.2 high-danger chances per 60 minutes they’ve allowed.
Ellis has allowed four or more goals in three of four road games this year, and given all the data presented, it’s unlikely that he’ll fix that problem tonight. Edmonton is easily the top team on tonight’s slate, and one well worth paying up for.
Tampa Bay Lightning (TB1 - Nikita Kucherov, Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel; $20,900 DK)
Defensive Addition: Darren Raddysh ($4,700 DK)
Tampa Bay may be playing its third game in four nights, a situation I generally try to avoid, but the data loves them, and it’s early enough in the season that I’m trusting the number rather than worrying about tired legs. It helps that Nikita Kucherov didn’t play on Saturday, making him a little fresher. The Canadiens have been bad defensively at home, allowing 3.79 even-strength goals and 13.02 high-danger chances per 60 minutes over their past 10 games.
Their defensive pairing of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson has been turnstiles, allowing 3.54 expected goals and 17.41 high-danger chances per 60 minutes over their past 10 home games. Goalie Sam Montembault has saved just 70% of the high-danger shots he’s faced at home, and has given up three or more goals in 11 of 15 games this season.
Anthony Cirelli hasn’t scored in five games, but he’s taken three or more shots in four of those games, twice taking six shots, so it’s just a matter of time before he’s able to put one in the back of the net. Brandon Hagel has taken five or more shots in four of his past five games, scoring five goals. He’s scored 30 or more DraftKings points in four of his past eight games, and 19 or more in six of eight.
Nikita Kucherov isn’t scoring as many goals as he has in the past, but over his past four games, he’s had six assists, which has helped Hagel be so productive. Kuch has multiple goals and assists in six of his past seven games, scoring 16 or more DraftKings points in seven of those games.
We were hoping to see someone new here, but we haven't seen anyone new
TOP NHL forwards by xGF% 5v5, Min. 210 TOI | Dec 7
1. Brandon Hagel #GoBolts 69.87
2. Gabriel Landeskog #GoAvsGo 66.57
3. Anthony Cirelli #GoBolts 65.68
4. Nathan MacKinnon #GoAvsGo 64.95
5. Ross Colton… pic.twitter.com/QD2XoWuWsZ— Benchrates (@benchrates) December 7, 2025
Carolina Hurricanes (CAR1 - Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis; $20,700 DK)
Defensive Addition: Shayne Gostisbehere ($5,800)
There’s a big dropoff for me from my top two teams tonight (Edmonton and Tampa Bay), but even with that dip, it doesn’t mean other teams can’t be viable. The chief among them is Carolina’s top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Seth Jarvis, and defender Shayne Gostisbehere.
You must include Gostisbehere in your stack because this line has averaged nearly three more goals per 60 minutes with him than without him. The main reason is that they are significantly more aggressive with Gostisbehere on the ice (16.51 high-danger chances per 60 minutes) than without him (3.79 per 60 minutes).
Columbus goalie Jet Greaves has saved 86% of the high-danger shots he’s faced on the road, which is fantastic, but that’s a hard number to sustain when facing the kind of shot volume he should see from Carolina. The team has allowed 3.36 even-strength goals and 11.7 high-danger chances per 60 minutes over their past 10 road games.
Greaves has allowed significant scoring when facing teams with offensive prowess similar to Carolina's on the road, such as Detroit and Edmonton, and I expect the same tonight.
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— 🇺🇦Shockmain (@Shockmain) January 6, 2023
NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
Ottawa Senators (OTT2 - Dylan Cozens, David Perron, Drake Batherson; $12,600 DK)
Multiple lines for the Senators are in good spots tonight against a New Jersey defense that has allowed 3.01 even-strength goals per 60 minutes over their past 10 road games. While their top line will face off against a slightly worse defensive pairing, this second line still has an outstanding matchup against Simon Nemec and Dennis Cholowski.
They’ve surrendered 14.63 high-danger chances and over 35 scoring chances per 60 minutes on the road, while goalie Jacob Markstrom has stopped just 74% of the high-danger shots he’s faced on the road over the team’s past 15 games.
Another reason to like Ottawa’s second line tonight over their top line is that they are significantly cheaper, which will allow you to create a more balanced lineup. This line is begging to break out, having scored 4.6 fewer goals per 60 minutes than expected over their past 10 home games when on the ice together.
The line has created 36.83 scoring chances per 60 minutes in those games, but hasn’t produced a single even-strength goal. That’s the kind of offense we want to target because positive regression should be coming their way. Given tonight's matchup, this is precisely where that regression could begin.
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Ilya Sorokin (NYI - $7,400 DK)
Ilya Sorokin started the year so poorly that it was hard to imagine ever thinking of using him in a DFS lineup this year, let alone having him ranked as a top play on a 10-game slate…yet here we are. Sorokin has turned things around recently, scoring 23 or more DraftKings points in three straight games, and 22 or more in six of his past 11.
More impressive is the fact that he’s done this against teams like Tampa Bay (twice), Colorado, and New Jersey; all potent offenses. The last time he’s allowed more than three goals in a game was way back on October 28, a total he surpassed in each of his first three starts of the year.
Tonight, he faces a Vegas squad that has scored just 2.04 even-strength goals per 60 minutes over their past 10 road games. They’ve scored more than three goals in a game just once over their past eight and are now playing their third East Coast road game in five nights. Given his strong recent form and his low price point, Sorokin is a great tournament option and can be used in cash on a night devoid of top goaltenders.
Ilya Sorokin has been named the NHL's star of the week, and he is now second in Goals Saved Above Expected.
Here are the top five, via @EvolvingHockey pic.twitter.com/PtqvdRgISU
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) December 8, 2025
Others in consideration: Brandon Bussi (CAR), Scott Wedgewood (COL), Dan Vladar (PHI)
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