Written by LineStar Daily Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

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Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick.

The good news:

The bad news:

4-games on tap for tonight. It's kind of weird too. STL-ANH is playing, but DraftKings took it off the slate. As of the time of this writing, it's uncertain what FanDuel is doing. Here's what teams are bubbling up for tonight (and keep in mind Colorado numbers include MacKinnon in terms of shot attempts/shots on goal):

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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.

Keep in mind that at the time of this writing not all goalies have been confirmed and some player lines are still up in the air. Please keep an eye out for news and confirmations before lock.

Goaltenders

The Popular Choice: Corey Crawford - CHI (DK: $8000, FD: $7800)

My Favorite: Corey Crawford - CHI (DK: $8000, FD: $7800)

Yeah, Crawford should be one of the higher owned goalies on the slate, but with the goalies on the slate today, I don't feel like pivoting to Francouz, Smith, or Hellebuyck.

Centers

The Popular Choice: Mark Zibanejad - NYR (DK: $8200, FD: $8900)

My Favorite: Mark Scheifele - WPG (DK: $6400, FD: $7200)

Mika is kind of the obvious choice tonight. The Avs will be without MacKinnon and Mika has been playing out of his mind lately. I think if you're looking to pivot away from Zibanejad (or want another C to pair him with), then Scheifele is the play.

Wingers

The Popular Choice: Kyle Connor - WPG (DK: $7200, FD: $7500)

My Favorite: Patrick Kane - CHI (DK: $7900, FD: $7900)

I did some early builds and Kane was my top exposed W tonight. I love his shot volume and potential for DK bonuses.

Defensemen

The Popular Choice: Neal Pionk - WPG (DK: $4500, FD: $4500)

My Favorite: Tony DeAngelo - NYR (DK: $5100, FD: $5700)

Pionk is kind of obvious to me as a play and SPOILER, I have him highlighted if you scroll a little further. However, I don't think you need to spend up for someone like Burns tonight. I think most of my lineups are going to live with Pionk and DeAngelo in the D spots.

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 Thornton: SJS - C (DK: $3400, FD: $4600)

Dustin Brown: LAK - W (DK: $4300, FD: $5300)

Neal Pionk: WPG - D (DK: $4500, FD: $4500)

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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