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.

Five games on tap for tonight. I don't know how the rest of you are feeling, but NHL DFS is definitely a grind at this point. Casuals are gone, so we're left with all the die-hards. However, now is also a good time to re-evaluate your process. I would even recommend writing it down. Otherwise, when the next regular season spins up, you could spend the first week or two trying to remember what you did.

So let's get those spreadsheets in order and dive into tonight's slate.

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

Colorado is an obvious choice tonight. Instead, I'm going to give my next favorite stack options:

WPG1 is my next favorite stack on the slate after COL1. Ottawa is still a bad team and is allowing 3.1 goals a game over their last 10 games.

VGK2 followed by VGK1 are my next favorite stacks on the slate. LA has been allowing 3.5 goals a game over their last 10 which is worst on the slate.

This didn't work out last time, but I'm targeting the Sharks against Anaheim again. Both lines are in play, but SJS1 is my favorite with the full even-strength and power play correlation.

Biscuit Stacks

Grubauer is expected to start for the Avs. While he's often very good, we saw a couple of games ago that he's not immune to being a sieve. Still, I would expect Grubauer to be one of the highest-owned goalies on the slate if he starts, so I'll want some lineups with the opposite side of that. STL2 is my preference, but I don't mind STL1 either.

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: Mark-Andre Fleury - VGK (DK: $8400, FD: $8200)

GPP: Jordan Binnington - STL (DK: $7500, FD: $7500)

**Gibson not starting

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

Elias Lindholm - CGY (DK: $5300, FD: $6500)

I love his price as a one-off and his peripherals over his last 5 games look great.

Wing

My Favorite:

Jonathan Marchessault - VGK (DK: $5900, FD: $6000)

Favorite one-off from one of my favorite stacks for tonight.

Defensemen

My Favorite

Noah Hanifin - CGY (DK: $3600, FD: $3600)

Price moved up slightly on DraftKings, but still good value for a PP defenseman that shoots the puck a lot.

Bottom of the Barrel

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

Tomas Nosek: VGK - C (DK: $ 3300, FD: $ 3300)

Sammy Blais: STL - W (DK: $2500, FD: $3600)

Tucker Poolman: WPG (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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