RotoBallers, welcome back to our daily fantasy hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks for FanDuel, DraftKings and FantasyAces. Below you will find our NHL cheat sheet - DFS lineup picks, sleepers and stacks for Thursday, December 1 of the 2016/2017 NHL season.

It's another busy night in the NHL with 12 games on the main slate. There are three teams(PIT, NYI, LAK) playing on back to back nights with two teams(DAL, NYI) playing a third game in four nights.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on Fantasy Aces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NHL Premium Pass (DFS Cheat Sheets) for free, a $99.99 value. Just email info@rotoballer.com with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium pass.

NHL Daily League Lineup Picks for Thursday, December 1 

For those that are new to this, each day we'll be providing you with a few of our top DFS lineup picks for daily league cash games on FanDuel, DraftKings, and FantasyAces. We will also provide you with one of our favorite teams to stack for GPPs. You can grab the rest of our Premium DFS lineup picks and stacks through the NHL Cheat Sheet and DFS Premium Pass below.

Braden Holtby (G, WSH)

DraftKings - $8,500, FanDuel - $9,600, FantasyAces - $7,700

All things considered, Holtby is an elite play and worth every penny on Thursday night. The Caps are the biggest favorites(-255) on the large 12 game slate and face a struggling Islanders team playing on back to back nights. The Isles also have the leagues worst road record(1-6-1) to go along with an offense that ranks 21st overall. Holtby is safe in all formats.

Evgeni Malkin (C, PIT)

DraftKings - $7,200, FanDuel - $8,300, FantasyAces - $5,650

When rostering Penguisn don't forget about Malkin is the much cheaper option than Crosby and nearly as hot. He has picked up nine point sin his last 10 games bringing his 22 game total to 21 points. He is also providing a high floor averaging right around three shots on goal per game. The Pens are playing a back to back but get a nice spot vs. the Stars who rank dead last in defense allowing 3.3 goals per game.

Wayne Simmonds (W, PHI)

DraftKings - $6,400, FanDuel - $7,200, FantasyAces - $5,450

He comes at an upper mid tier price and has been producing above that lately with 10 points over his last 10 games. He is now skating on the second line with Brayden Schenn, who was moved back to his natural position of center, and rookie Travis Konecny. Simmonds also gets top powerplay time with Claude Giroux. The Flyers own the leagues fourth ranked offense and fifth ranked powerplay.

Drew Doughty (D, LAK)

DraftKings - $5,300, FanDuel - $5,700, FantasyAces - $5,200

He comes with a very affordable price under $6K on all sites and has really heated up over the past week and a half. He went into Wednesday's action having picked up a point in four straight games and gets an elite matchup vs the Coyotes who rank 26th in defense(3.1 goals against per game) and 23rd on the penalty kill(78.7%).

Stacking Option

Los Angeles Kings - Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson

After a slow start to the year the Kings have caught fire winning five straight games and scoring 17 goals. The top line is affordable on all sites and easily paired with another line stack on Thursday night. All three players also play heavy minutes on the powerplay and get a nice matchup vs. the Coyotes who rank 26th in defense.

Premium Cheat Sheets for Daily Fantasy Hockey

Get an edge on your NHL DFS competition with our Premium cheat sheets -- more lineup picks, deeper analysis, and advanced stats to unlock DFS player value.

Premium access to 15 deeply researched lineup picks including stats like Shots Attempted per 60, Points per 60, and more. Come see for yourself:

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Sample NHL Premium DFS Cheat Sheet

Want to know what the Premium NHL DFS Cheat Sheets looks like? Below is a sample. We go above and beyond standard daily fantasy hockey analysis.

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Bonus: General NHL DFS Strategy Notes

For cash games, look at players who can contribute to your score even when they are not providing offense. Some examples are guys who take a ton of shots and defensemen who block a lot of shots. Also, look for guys who get power play time. You can find value in players who join a new line due to an injury, or just get a promotion and more ice time. It is also recommended to spread out your exposure to three or four different lines, and not put all your eggs in one basket.

For large field tournaments (GPPs), find payers who have multi-point upside and can grab double-digit fantasy points. If you want to stack the most upside in your forwards, a common strategy is to punt the defense position. This doesn't mean just grab anyone - try and look for a defenseman who will get power play time, or a playing time boost due to an injury. For a contrarian approach, paying up at the defense position can be a great strategy - but it also comes with more risk. GPPs bring a great opportunity for goaltenders in the value price range - you can look for backups on good teams.