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 back 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.

Today, I'm thinking about lineup strategy and should we be correlating lines? In other words, should our player stacks have players from the same power play line or even strength line? But first, let's dive into this slate.

Let me know what you think in LineStar chat!

Tonight's Slate

ICYMI, tonight's game between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche has been postponed.

Here's numbers on the teams so far this season. 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).

Legend: CF% = Corsi For Percentage, CF60 = Corsi For Per60 min, CA = Corsi Allowed Per 60 Min, HDCF60 = High Danger Corsi For Per 60 Min, HDCA60 = High Danger Corsi Allowed Per 60 Min, SF60 = Shots on Goal For Per 60 Min, SA60 = Shots on Goal Allowed Per 60 Min, SOT = % of Shot Attempts On Goal, Sh% = % of Shots on Goal That Are Goals, SCF60 = Scoring Chances For Per 60 Min, SCA60 = Scoring Chances Allowed Per 60 Min, GF60 = Goals For Per 60 Min, GA60 = Goals Allowed Per 60.

Goaltender Rankings

How to Interpret This: I've added LineStar Projected Ownership, LineStar Projected Fantasy Points, and Goalie GAA (Goals Saved Above Average), and Saves/60, along with my projected upside for each goalie. Generally, I'm looking for goalies that I think will get a win with a positive (green) GSAA and a high saves number.

As always - double-check that your goalie is starting before the game starts.

My Favorite:

Vitek Vanacek - TB (DK: $7900, FD: $7800) *EXPECTED STARTER*

I don't love many of the goalie matchups for tonight. Vanacek hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been that great either with a 3.00GAA and .913 Save%. However, I like Washington a lot tonight for stacks, I think Washington gets the win, and Washington allows a ton of shots (for that coveted 35 save bonus on DraftKings).

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), and shots on goal. I've included projections and average fantasy points to see how each compares so you can more easily find value.

Center

My Favorite

Vincent Trocheck - FLA (DK: $5900, FD: $4800)

Part of my process in picking players to target in my lineups is reviewing the overall slate numbers that I posted at the top of the newsletter. Two things that caught my eye is Carolina takes a lot of shot attempts, and Chicago allows a lot of shot attempts. Carolina is also the top team on the slate in terms of high-danger shot attempts as well. For those reasons, I have a lot of interest in Trocheck tonight.

Winger

My Favorite:

Tyler Toffoli - MON (DK: $6500, FD: $6400)

I feel like a broken record, but how do I not put Toffoli here? Ottawa is terrible and Toffoli is on fire.

Defensemen

My Favorite

John Carlson - WAS (DK: $6800, FD: $7200)

I mentioned before that I liked Washington as a stack for tonight and I think if you're going that direction, you might want to include Carlson as a part of that stack. I still like him as a one-off as well. He'll see a lot of ice time and takes a good number of shot attempts and is a good candidate to pick up a point tonight.

Bottom of the Barrel

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

Eetu Luostarinen: FLA - C (DK: $3.1K, FD: $3.2K)

Warren Foegele: CAR - W (DK: $2.6K, FD: $3.1K)

Joel Edmundson : MON - D (DK: $3.8K, FD: $3.6K)

Line Stacks

Here are my ranked stacks for tonight:

Favorite Stacks Tonight:

Risk-It-For-The-Biscuit Stacks:

Lineup Strategy - Should We Correlate Lines?

For as long as I've been playing NHL DFS, I've been spreading the gospel of line stacking. However, I've been thinking a lot lately if it's still a relevant strategy. If it is, should I be stacking even-strength (ES) lines or power play (PP) lines?

I took a deeper look at the results from Tuesday's $10 NHL $100K Twine ($20K to First) contest and it had some interesting results.

For starters, the winning lineup didn't have full correlation in the 3-2 stacked lineup. The second place lineup had a 5-player stack without full correlation either. So that got me thinking, should I just team stack the best 2-5 players from teams that I like? On the surface, it makes sense. Teams like Carolina and Columbus have switched lines mid-game.

So how do we do this in the LineStar app? In stack settings, uncheck the "Stacked players must all be on the same line" toggle.

All that said, I don't know if that's enough for me to change my strategy. I've tried this on smaller slates and had mixed results. I've also said this in chat, but I think it's worth repeating - what happened isn't always an indication of what's going to happen. I think it's good to try new things, but I don't think jumping from strategy to strategy is a profitable move in DFS. Try a strategy first on past slates (you can always test strategies by loading a past slate in LineStar and building lineups) and if it looks viable, try again lightly in real contests.

What do you think? Do you stack ES or PP lines or do you just pick the best players from each team?

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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