Written by LineStar Daily Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

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Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick. Four games on tap tonight.

If you haven't noticed, DraftKings is running their Micro Millions promotion this week. The Micro Millions contests are lower stakes contests ($4 and under) with the slogan "turn pocket change into big bucks".

For the most part, NHL has been ignored, but tonight we get something that I've been lobbying DraftKings for over the past couple of years: a quarter mini max.

I know FanDuel runs a $0.25 150-max entry contest regularly, but it's a rarity for DraftKings. So for anyone who wants to dip their feet into max multi-entry, tonight is a good night for it.

I'll also warn you and say that it's close to filling at the time of the writing, so if you're going to enter, get your reservations in as soon as you can.

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

Jack Campbell - TOR (DK: $8200, FD: $7600)

I'll be honest, Merzlikins is the best goalie on the slate tonight. However, I'm highlighting Campbell because I just don't believe Merzlikins will see enough shots tonight. Detroit has the worst SF60 on the slate. Campbell has a respectable 2.60 GAA and a .916 Save% over the last month.

Centers

Pierre-Luc Dubois - CLS (DK: $6600, FD: $6100)

I'm going to let ya'll decide what to do with Matthews and Zibanejad. Both are good plays and I wouldn't try to talk you off of either. But for me, I think PLD is a great play today against a Detroit team that is allowing a slate-worst CA60 and HDCF60.

Wingers

Artemi Panarin - NYR (DK: $4600, FD: $6000)

For me, Panarin is the stud that I want to have in my lineups. He's got great shot volume, gets over 20 minutes of ice time, and plays on the top power play unit. Meanwhile, Buffalo has been allowing 3.6 goals a game over their last 5 games and is allowing almost 1 power play goal a game.

Defensemen

Jared Spurgeon - MIN (DK: $4700, FD: $4700)

Most nights, I'm looking for the best (and cheapest) option at D that will give me good shot volume, minutes, and blocked shots. For me, that person is Spurgeon for 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.

Joe Pavelski: DAL - C (DK: $4300, FD: $5200)

Pavel Buchnevich: NYR - D (DK: $4400, FD: $4800)

Rasmus Sandin: TOR - D (DK: $3200, FD: $3700)

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.

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