Written by LineStar Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

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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.

I'd admit, even for someone who plays hundreds of lineups, these slates can be a little overwhelming.

Something that I think of that helps me when navigating these slates is often the fact that some teams and players will pop up or be over-projected based on previous games and matchups. Don't be afraid to edit what the optimizer or projections are "giving you" and focus on who looks good for today. I'll give you some insight on who stands out for me.

LETSSSSSSSSSSGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight's Slate

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).

Huge slate with 22 teams playing, but here's my rankings of favorite teams tonight.

Line Stacks

Washington rounds out the top of my team rankings for today, but when I did a few initial builds, I wasn't getting much of them. I'm a big fan of forcing teams that are in a good spot that I'm not getting much of because I feel if I'm not getting a ton of them, others aren't either and they should go under-owned.

Pittsburgh put 5 goals on Buffalo last night, and I expect them to be popular tonight. The top line is expensive and would be my preference, but I think the second line is a good pairing for large field GPPs.

Both top lines for Toronto are in play for me tonight. I will lean TOR1 where I can fit it but will drop to TOR2 as I think they're a solid stack for tonight as well.

Carter Hart is in net for Philly tonight, which makes the Rangers an easy target for me to stack. Both lines are in play for me. Like Toronto, I'm leaning NYR1, but will NYR2 where I need a cheaper stack to fit.

Risk It For The Biscuit

With Barkov out, I'm less interested in Florida tonight, but they still are in play for me because Chicago gives up a lot of fantasy points to the opposing second line.

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: Casey DeSmith - PIT (DK: $8500, FD: $8200)

GPP: MacKenzie Blackwood - NJD (DK: $7100, FD: $7000)

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

Mika Zibanejad - NYR (DK: $7500, FD: $7300)

I mentioned my love for Rangers stacks tonight, but I think Zibanejad makes for a great one-off as well. Philly has been allowing 4.5 goals a game over their last 10 and Mika should see plenty of scoring chances tonight.

Wing

My Favorite:

William Nylander - TOR (DK: $5900, FD: $6300)

Great peripherals, great price, great matchup. EZ.

Defensemen

My Favorite

Aaron Ekblad - FLA (DK: $6200, FD: $5500)

This doesn't feel like the night to spend up on defensemen, but I like the matchup and want some exposure to the Barkov-less Panthers tonight.

Bottom of the Barrel

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

Eric Staal: BUF - C (DK: $ 3400, FD: $ 4100)

Oliver Wahlstrom: NYI - W (DK: $3600, FD: $4000)

Mike Matheson: PIT (DK: $3900, FD: $3500)

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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