Written by LineStar Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

Check out the NHL Season Preview & Strategy Guide

Got NHL DFS questions or want to see something covered in this newsletter? Hit me up in LineStar Chat.

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.

10 games on the slate tonight, and these slates are always interesting to me. We're starting to wind down the regular season. In years past, this typically means that you shouldn't expect huge goal outbursts from good teams (meanwhile Minnesota and NYR have gone off recently). Especially for teams in contention, you'll typically see tighter hockey and closer games.

This is also the time of year that I'm good with getting a little weird. For many teams, their season will come to an end in a few weeks and they start figuring out to play hockey or they take on the role of "spoiler" against teams fighting for playoff positioning.

Like I said, lots to cover and think of for tonight.

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).

Line Stacks

NYR1 and NYR2 are my top ranked stacks of the night, but I'll toss NYR3 as a weird secondary stack if you need to fit something cheap with a top line like BOS1

BOS1 follows NYR1&2 in my rankings. I don't mind doing a BOS PP1 stack to get exposure to Pastrnak.

Right behind BOS1 in my rankings is WAS1. I love the full correlation of that line, and wouldn't mind a full PP1 stack if you could squeeze it by including Backstrom and Carlson.

Rounding out my favorite stacks is WPG1. They're really strong at even strength, and play a Montreal team that played last night. I think this could be a real sneaky play tonight.

Biscuit Stacks

This is a bit of a reach, but I like Ottawa as a biscuit stack tonight. My preference is OTT1 followed by OTT2, but hey, get wild with OTT3 if you need to.

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: Juuse Saros - NSH (DK: $8100, FD: $7600)

GPP: Joonas Korpisalo - CLS (DK: $6900, FD: $7200)

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

Mathew Barzal - NYI (DK: $6500, FD: $6800)

Most nights, I feel Mathew Barzal is a few lucky bounces away from an incredible night. He might not take as many shot attempts as some of the others that rank highly for me, but note that his shot attempts are quality in that they mostly are on net.

Wing

My Favorite:

Frank Vatrano - FLA (DK: $4200, FD: $4300)

When I make these picks, I'm often thinking of who to use as a one-off, as well as who do I like as a player prop to score a point or net a goal. Vatrano is that dude for me tonight.

Defensemen

My Favorite

Brady Skjei - CAR (DK: $3300, FD: $3700)

Lots of good defenseman options for tonight. I have no issue with Hamilton, Hedman, or Nurse, but today feels like a "pay up for forwards" night and I think Skjei is a good place to pay down at and get value.

Bottom of the Barrel

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

Jesperi Kotkaniemi: MON - C (DK: $ 3100, FD: $ 3800)

Tage Thompson: BUF - W (DK: $3200, FD: $3300)

Ryan Lindgren: NYR (DK: $2600, FD: $3600)

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.

🚨 Get 3 Free Months of LineStar Premium 🚨

Get 3-months of LineStar Premium for new users to SuperDraft who deposit/play $10!

Terms: Partnership offers do NOT renew. See SuperDraft landing page for full terms and conditions. Must be a new user to SuperDraft and deposit and play a minimum of $10 to qualify. If you have an existing LineStar Premium subscription you get a Hat/Tee/Pen combo instead of the 3-months.