Written by LineStar Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver. Got NHL DFS questions or want to see something covered in this newsletter? Hit me up in LineStar Chat.

Welcome back to the NHL Hat Trick.

Three games tonight. Not a great slate - especially for cash games. That said, I've done both really well and really poorly on small slates. Here's a few random thoughts on how I approach small slates.

I'm an almost entirely GPP player. I want to place first in every tournament I'm in, so I'm willing to take risks to differentiate my lineup. However, these risks are calculated. I'm looking at players and lines that have significant upside, but might be in tough matchups, in a slump, or just get overlooked in favor of more favorable matchups.

Take Florida last night for example. Perfect example. They weren't necessarily cheap, but they're talented, get top powerplay time, and were in a tougher matchup. So my point is, you don't need to get too cute on most slates. Tonight included.

Here's a look at today's slate from a high level:

Let's look at my favorites on the slate:

Edmonton vs St Louis

McDavid is probable for tonight (illness). Right now, he's expected to play, but if he's out, I'll increase my exposure to St. Louis. But then you look at the way the St Louis lines have been shuffled....

Favorite Stacks:

Here are my favorite stacks from each site in this game:

EDM: Draisaitl-McDavid-Chiasson (DK: $19.5K, FD: $19.5K)

STL: Perron-Schenn-Kyrou (DK: $11.9K, FD: $13.6K)

One-Offs:

Outside of the favorite stacks, here are my favorite one-off plays from each team that I think could have a big game:

EDM: Oscar Klefbom, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

STL: Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko

Goaltenders:

It's a GPP slate. I don't love either goalie, but I'll have limited exposure to them.

Chicago vs Anaheim

This game could go 1-0 or 6-4 with a tilting empty net goal to end it. But I'm going to lean that it's a low scoring game.

Favorite Stacks:

Here are my favorite stacks from each site in this game:

CHI: Perlini-Toews-Saad (DK: $12.7K, FD: $15.8K)

ANH: Rakell-Getzlaf-Aberg(DK: $18.9K, FD: $18.1K)

One-Offs:

Outside of the favorite stacks, here are my favorite one-off plays from each team that I think could have a big game:

CHI: Patrick Kane, Artem Anisimov

ANH: Hampus Lindholm, Nick Ritchie

Goaltenders:

Most of my goaltender exposure will be to this game. Gibson is my favorite goalie on the slate with Crawford close behind.

Carolina vs San Jose

I'm expecting this to be the game with the highest-exposure and love it as a game stack. I love the top two lines for both teams and don't hate the third lines if you want to get weird.

Favorite Stacks:

Here are my favorite stacks from each site in this game:

CAR: Martinook-Wallmark-Svechnikov (DK: $12.3K, FD: $10.2K)

SJ: Kane-Suomela-Donskoi (DK: $12.4K, FD: $13.6K)

One-Offs:

Outside of the favorite stacks, here are my favorite one-off plays from each team that I think could have a big game:

CAR: Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk

SJ: Joe Pavelski, Erik Karlsson

Goaltenders:

I'm not sure if it will be Jones or Dell tonight. I have a little more interest in Dell, if he starts. McElhinney is fine too if he starts. Overall, I think my strategy will be to spread out my exposure on goalies and hope for the best.

Good luck today! Tag me in the LineStar Chat @ZeroInDenver if you have any questions or feedback. Follow me on Twitter @ZeroInDenver.