Written by LineStar Daily Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

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Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick. 11 games on tap tonight.

With the NBA all star break approaching, I think now is a good time to start dipping your toes into NHL DFS. Don’t be afraid to get involved in NHL chat. There’s a good group in there that’s willing to help answer any questions you might have. It’s probably better to ask now than an hour before lock. I speak for myself when saying that I’m almost always unavailable in that last hour before lock because I’m busy making lineups and don’t have the availability to answer questions. So get involved and let’s get some chatter going in LineStar Chat

With that said….

LETSSSSSSSSGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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

Igor Shesterkin - NYR (DK: $7300, FD: $8200)

Before some of y'all get mad, keep in mind that Shesterkin has 2.00 GAA and .938 Save% over the last month. Sure, it's a tough matchup in Winnipeg, but he'll see a solid number of shots that could help make up for any pucks that get past him.

Centers

Leon Draisaitl - EDM (DK: $7700, FD: $8300)

Matthews and MacKinnon have the better matchups, but with McDavid out, I think Draisaitl becomes that much more important to the Oiler's offense.

Wingers

Blake Coleman - NJD (DK: $6000, FD: $4700)

Coleman's price has crept up on DK, but I think he's at a great price for the shot volume on FanDuel.

Defensemen

Shea Theodore - VGK (DK: $5900, FD: $5600)

Theodore is pretty automatic for me at this point. His minutes and shot volume are so consistent that I play him regardless of matchup these days.

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.

Andrew Copp: WPG - C (DK: $3300, FD: $3400)

Kevin Fiala: MIN - D (DK: $4500, FD: $5000)

Colton Parayko: STL - D (DK: $4400, FD: $4700)

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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