Written by LineStar Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

Check out the NHL Season Preview & Strategy Guide

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Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick.

ICYMI - The NHL Season Preview & Strategy guide goes over the basics of NHL DFS and what I look for when researching players.

One more sleep until NBA returns. With that, I'd like to thank everyone who came over to try out NHL. NBA All-Star week is no doubt my favorite week for NHL DFS. Contest sizes are bigger, and we get a lot more participation in chat than normal. I always welcome all questions, so never apologize for asking what at least 3 other people might be wondering or would like to know. That's what the chat is for. I don't have all the answers, but I'm happy to share what I know and think.

With that said, let's take a look at tonight's slate... LETSSSSSSSSSSGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Tonight's Slate

FYI - Tonight's slate locks an hour later than usual at 8PM EST.

Here's numbers on the teams from their past 10 games. Generally, I start my research by looking for teams in good spots. For example, teams that score goals (GF60) that are facing teams that give up goals (GA60). I also look at teams that shoot a lot (CF60) that are facing teams that give up a lot of shots (CA60).

Based on this, teams that stand out to me are TBL, PHI, TOR, NYI, and WAS

Goaltender Rankings

How to Read This: 

I'm giving you a comparison of LineStar projections vs the average fantasy points scored over their last 10 games. I've also given you their save percentage (over 0.910 is ideal), goals allowed (lower is better), saves per game (more is better), GAA (Goals Saved Above Average), and my projected upside for each goalie.

Generally, if I'm stacking a team, I'll correlate a goalie if I can. In GPPs, I may not have the salary to make this work. In this case, I usually spend down on someone that I expect will take a lot of shots and could pick up the W.

As always - double-check that your goalie is starting before the game starts.

My Favorites:

CASH: Andrei Vasilevskiy - TBL (DK: $8400, FD: $8600)

GPP: Malcolm Subban - CHI (DK: $7300, FD: $7200) *play at your own risk

Forwards and Defensemen Rankings

How to Interpret C/D/W charts: In NHL DFS, I think it's most important to look at peripheral stats instead of goals which is why I put so much emphasis on shots. This includes shot attempts, high danger shot attempts (those shot attempts closest to the net with the highest probability of going into the net), shots on goal, and scoring chances. I've included projections and average fantasy points to see how each compares so you can more easily find value.

Center

My Favorite

Auston Matthews - TOR (DK: $9200, FD: $8700)

I did a dummy build of lineups and I ended up with 88% Matthews, and I'm not sure that's enough. When Toronto played Winnipeg earlier this year, the Matthews line had a 70% CF% with 9 scoring chances and 12 shot attempts.

Wing

My Favorite:

Ondrej Palat - TBL (DK: $5800, FD: $5900)

Detroit is terrible and is second-worst in the league in penalty killing. I really like Tampa PP1 for stacks and I think Palat makes for a solid one-off as well.

Defensemen

My Favorite

Shayne Gostisbehere - PHI (DK: $4700, FD: $4300)

I'm a sucker for PP1 defensemen that get 20+ minutes of ice time for under $5K.

Bottom of the Barrel

Here are my cheap calls for a skater to pick up a goal or assist.

Brock Nelson: NYI - C (DK: $4400, FD: $5400)

Frank Vatrano: FLA- W (DK: $4500, FD: $4000)

Justin Holl: TOR- D (DK: $2800, FD: $3800)

Line Stacks

Here are my ranked stacks for tonight. I like to target stacks that correlate, meaning the players all share time on the ice at even strength, and on the power play. BOS1, COL1, and VGK1 are examples of that. However, that doesn't stop me from playing other stacks that I like on the night.

Favorite Stacks Tonight:

I prefer WAS PP1 and TB PP1, but like the top lines for each as well.

Risk-It-For-The-Biscuit Stacks:

These are stacks that I think have the ability to go off and will probably go under-owned tonight.

Also prefer CAR PP1 over CAR1 if you're doing a single CAR stack.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind, plays and thoughts listed are my own. 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 today! Tag me in the LineStar Chat @ZeroInDenver if you have any questions or feedback. Follow me on Twitter @ZeroInDenver.

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