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.

It's no secret that I love making a ton of lineups. If you're doing 150 lineups, you can get exposure to a lot of teams and a lot of lines on a 6-game slate, if that's your thing.

So I'm going to do something a little different tonight. You don't need me to tell you to stack Colorado, Vegas, or Philly tonight. I think those are obvious spots. I wouldn't talk you out of those. I'll have them. You'll have them. Everyone will have them.

Instead, I'm going to focus this newsletter on spots outside those three teams.

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).

Based on this, my favorite teams to target on this slate are Toronto, Winnipeg, Minnesota, Calgary, and.... Buffalo.

Line Stacks

Ask me to pick a team that isn't Vegas, Colorado, or Philly that I'll have a lot of tonight, and I'll answer Calgary. As far as stacks go, both top lines are fairly inexpensive. You could pair CGY2 with a top line from another team and still have the salary to fill a solid lineup.

Toronto always seems to get ownership, but I think they're in a better spot tonight in terms of ownership with Colorado, Vegas, and Philly. Again, my go-to would be TOR1, but that's a very expensive stack. I think TOR2 is viable as well, with significant salary savings.

Toronto is allowing over 3 goals a game, and Winnipeg is scoring over 3 goals a game over their respective last 10 games. All 3 Winnipeg lines are in play for me tonight. WPG1 has the highest ceiling and is my favorite tonight.

The MIN-SJ game is interesting to me because you have two teams facing each other where each has a sub-50% CF%. This generally tends to be a good spot for the game to hit the over on goals scored. Martin Jones is also expected in the net for the Sharks which is another reason that I am looking at Minnesota tonight. MIN1 is my favorite but both top lines are in play.

Risk It For The Biscuit

If we're going to risk it, let's risk it. Both top Buffalo lines are cheap. You have a top line of min-pricing and regret and a second line of value and Sheahan. Nothing to be overly proud of or confident in, but Philly is allowing 4.5 goals a game and is worth targeting tonight.

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: Thatcher Demko - VAN (DK: $7600, FD: $7700)

GPP: Connor Hellebuyck - WPG (DK: $7500, FD: $8000)

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

John Tavares - TOR (DK: $6000, FD: $6700)

Lots to like about the top line for Toronto, but a pivot to Tavares means lower ownership, while still getting that Toronto PP1 correlation.

Wing

My Favorite:

Kyle Connor - WPG (DK: $6800, FD: $6600)

All things being equal, I think Kyle Connor is the best bang for the DFS buck tonight at wing.

Defensemen

My Favorite

Mark Giordano - CGY (DK: $5900, FD: $5700)

I know, I'm usually a homer for Chychrun, but Giordano ranks highest for me today. He's pricy, but Vancouver allows the most scoring chances on the slate, and Giordano is in a good spot to pick up a couple of points tonight.

Bottom of the Barrel

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

Derick Brassard: ARI - C (DK: $ 2700, FD: $ 4100)

Joonas Donskoi: COL - W (DK: $4000, FD: $3400)

Philippe Myers: PHI (DK: $3100, 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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