Written by LineStar Daily Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

Check out the NHL Season Preview & Strategy Guide

Got NHL DFS questions or want to see something covered in this newsletter? Hit me up in LineStar Chat.

Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick. Thirteen games on tap tonight. I know this can be overwhelming to some people, so here's my advice. Treat it like a multiple-choice test. Find out what you can eliminate in terms of teams or players from your pool. Pick the players you like (not what I or some other "expert" says). Embrace the variance.

With that said....

LETSSSSSSSSGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Got questions on tonight's slate? Hit me up in LineStar Chat

Tonight's Targets

First - a lot of this data might be foreign to most of you, so let me break it down (numbers over the last 10 games):

• W and L: Wins and Losses

• CF%, CF60, CA60: This is Corsi For %, Corsi For/60 minutes, Corsi Allowed/60 minutes

• HDCF60, HDCA60: This is High Danger Corsi For/60 minutes and High Danger Corsi Allowed/60 minutes.

• SF60, SA60: This is Shots For/60 minutes and Shots Allowed/60 minutes.

• SOT: Percentage of shots on target .

• Sh%: The percentage of shots on goal that are goals.

• SCF60, SCA60: Scoring chances for and allowed per 60 minutes

• GF60, GA60: These are goals for and goals allowed per 60 minutes.

• ScoreAgg: Summed numbers of a teams GF60, xGF60 and the opponent's GA60 and xGA60.

I'm overgeneralizing, but I want teams that aren't afraid to shoot the puck. More shot attempts the better. Then I narrow it down more based on teams that are hitting the net and getting goals. Again, really high level stuff. Don't go all in based on one or even a few numbers, but I think it's more useful than just going off of implied goals.

Now let's dig into this slate.

Goaltenders

Elvis Merzlikins - CLS (DK: $7600, FD: $8500)

With Barkov listed as DTD, I'm liking Merzlikins a little more for tonight. Even though Florida played last night, it's a fairly tough matchup against a team that is scoring 4.1 goals a game over their last 10. However, Merzlikins should see plenty of shots and if he can pick up the win, that should make up for letting a few pucks in.

Centers

Nathan MacKinnon - COL (DK: $8500, FD: $8800)

MacKinnon is the most expensive and is projected to be the highest owned center tonight. I think tonight is a night where it's fine to ride the chalk.

Wingers

Patrik Laine - WPG (DK: $6800, FD: $7800)

Winnipeg is a dark horse stack for me tonight and Laine is the player that I think you take if you want a one-off from that line purely by his shot volume.

Defensemen

Alex Pietrangelo - STL (DK: $6600, FD: $6700)

He doesn't have a great matchup, as Carolina is about middle of the road for limiting shot attempts and has only been allowing 2 goals a game over their last 10. However, if you've been following me long enough, I tend to gravitate toward players with high shot volumes and minutes, which is why I like Pietrangelo tonight.

If you take anything away from this, keep in mind that hockey is a high-variance sport. The top ranked player in each category could be a great play or be a dud tonight. Going all in on any player probably isn't a great move.

With DFS, I try to think of these things:

• Who makes the most sense to play?

• Where is the field leaning?

• Who has been the most consistent?

• Who has the most upside?

• Who will benefit me most if others are wrong?

Bottom of the Barrel

Some people call these "value" plays or "salary savers." I hate both terms. These are players that I like for tonight that fit at the lowest salary tier. It could be they're playing on one of the top forward lines or it could be that they've been playing well, but these are my cheap calls for a skater to pick up a goal or assist.

Jack Hughes: NJD - C (DK: $4200, FD: $4300)

Tyler Toffoli: LAK - D (DK: $4300, FD: $5000)

Neal Pionk: WPG - D (DK: $4400, FD: $4600)

Line Stacks

Line stacking is a common strategy in GPP. You’ll see a lot of winning lineups where players are stacked from the same forward lines or power play lines. DraftKings allows a maximum of 6 skaters from the same team (with skaters from at least 3 teams) and FanDuel allows a maximum of 4 skaters from one team. In tournaments, you'll often see 3-3 stacks (meaning 3 players from one team and 3 from another team), 4-3, and 3-3-2 stacks.

Looking at stacks for tonight, here are LineStar's top projected owned stacks, my top ranked, and the "risk it for the biscuit" stacks (high-upside, low ownership stacks.

Keep in mind, these are my favorites. These lines may change so keep an eye out for news during the day and during pre-game warmups. You should all do your own research and you might (and probably should) disagree with me in some spots. Don't be afraid to go your own way.

Good luck to–day! Tag me in the LineStar Chat @ZeroInDenver if you have any questions or feedback. Follow me on Twitter @ZeroInDenver.

🚨 Get 3 Free Months of LineStar Premium 🚨

Get 3-months of LineStar Premium for new users to SuperDraft who deposit/play $10!

Terms: Partnership offers do NOT renew. See SuperDraft landing page for full terms and conditions. Must be a new user to SuperDraft and deposit and play a minimum of $10 to qualify. If you have an existing LineStar Premium subscription you get a Hat/Tee/Pen combo instead of the 3-months.