Below we’ve got a discussion of the best matchups and potential stacks of the day followed by player rankings for Tuesday’s 12-game evening slate of NHL contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

As always, make sure to check Twitter for any injury news, and check LeftWingLock for starting goalies and line combos.

Game Breakdowns

Colorado Avalanche @ Philadelphia Flyers

Another day, another reason to pick on the Colorado Avalanche. If you play DFS regularly, you know the drill by now: stack the team playing against Colorado and move on to something else. Tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers are the team to stack.

The top line of Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds is the obvious choice in this contest. The trio play together five-on-five and on the top power play unit. If you want to roll them out in a GPP, go ahead, but if you aren’t a fan of a full line stack, Schenn/Giroux is a nice option to consider.

Rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov is having himself a pretty good season and is proving he’s capable of playing with the best players in the league. He’s getting time on the top power play and is averaging 10 FPPG on FanDuel. He’s an easy play on this slate if you’re looking to save some salary on defence.

There’s a good chance that Steve Mason gets the nod for Philadelphia tonight, and at $7700 on FanDuel, he’s the chalk play of the night. Vegas has the Flyers as a -208 favourite to win, and that number should only continue to climb as we approach 7:00 PM. Don’t hesitate to roll him out in cash or GPPs.

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Dallas Stars

If you like goals, you’re going to want to grab a bag of popcorn and get comfy, because there will be plenty in this game. Vegas has set the goal total for this contest at 6.0, which is quite generous. Honestly, the over will most probably hit midway through the second period, which is great news for DFS players.

There’s a good chance that Kari “trash can” Lehtonen gets the start for Dallas, so just roster as many Penguin players as possible. The best value for Pittsburgh up front is Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist. They aren’t cheap to roster, but the duo play together on the second line and join Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel on the top power play unit.

Speaking of Crosby, there’s nothing wrong with using him as a single bullet in this game, but at $9000 on FanDuel, that’s an expensive option. If you want to get cute in a GPP, Pittsburgh’s top line is a nice option to consider because Chris Kunitz  and Jake Guentzel are so affordable to roster, but the fact that they play on the second power play unit is a slight buzzkill.

On the blue line, Justin Schultz is the only defenseman that has some offensive ability, and he’s $4800. Easy plug and play option right here.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ San Jose Sharks

Here’s a stat that caught my attention this morning: Toronto is 3rd in GF/60 five-on-five on the road (Zs adj.). That’s pretty impressive. Everyone knows that the Leafs can score goals, but doing so at such a high level on the road makes this even more impressive. The Sharks on the other hand are 26th in GF/60 five-on-five at home, which is #NotGood to say the least. It’s not easy for teams from the East to head out West and win games, but Toronto has a real chance at putting up a bunch of goals in this one, the question is: which line is going to do the damage.

The duo of Auston Matthews and William Nylander is an easy choice, but the Sharks are probably going to want to use the Joe Thornton line to try and slow down the young superstars. That means the second line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Mitchell Marner should have lots of room to operate. That line also plays together on the top power play unit, so that adds to their value in my book. Marner is coming back from injury, but he should pick up right where he left off. Any combination of the second line works, it’s just a question of trying to fit them into a lineup.

On the back end, Nikita Zaitsev has impressed head coach Mike Babcock from the start of the season, and he’s been rewarded with time on the top power play unit. He won’t cost you very much to roster and he’s should be able to get on the score sheet by the end of the night.

Other Options to Consider:

Los Angeles Kings: Newly acquired goaltender Ben Bishop is likely to get the start for LA tonight. The Kings are great defensive team that have made Ben Scrivens, Jonathan Bernier and most recently Petr Budaj look like good goalies. He’s an option to look at in both cash and GPPs.

Detroit Red Wings: With the Vancouver Canucks battling the mumps, the Red Wings could actually put some pucks in the back of the net in this game. Anthony Mantha continues to be very well priced across all the DFS sites, so if you’re looking for a single bullet to run with in cash, he’s as good as it gets.

Player Rankings

Note: Player rankings are based on projected value, not on who will score the most points.

Centers

  1. Tyler Bozak–Toronto Maple Leafs
  2. Sean Couturier–Philadelphia Flyers
  3. Anze Kopitar–Los Angeles Kings
  4. Claude Giroux–Philadelphia Flyers
  5. Auston Matthews–Toronto Maple Leafs
  6. Evgeni Malkin–Pittsburgh Penguins
  7. Patrice Bergeron–Boston Bruins
  8. Tyler Seguin–Dallas Stars
  9. Sidney Crosby–Pittsburgh Penguins

Wingers

  1. William Nylander–Toronto Maple Leafs
  2. Anthony Mantha–Detroit Red Wings
  3. Jake Guentzel–Pittsburgh Penguins
  4. Mitchell Marner–Toronto Maple Leafs
  5. Wayne Simmonds–Philadelphia Flyers
  6. Alexander Radulov–Montreal Canadiens
  7. Brayden Schenn–Philadelphia Flyers
  8. Patric Hornqvist–Pittsburgh Penguins
  9. Jamie Benn–Dallas Stars
  10. Filip Forsberg–Nashville Predators

Defenceman

  1. Ivan Provorov–Philadelphia Flyers
  2. Justin Schultz–Pittsburgh Penguins
  3. Nikita Zaitsev–Toronto Maple Leafs
  4. Brent Burns–San Jose Sharks
  5. Torey Krug–Boston Bruins
  6. Kevin Shattenkirk–Washington Capitals
  7. John Klingberg–Dallas Stars

Goalies

  1. Steve Mason–Philadelphia Flyers
  2. Ben Bishop–Los Angeles Kings
  3. Marek Mrazek–Detroit Red Wings
  4. Connor Hellebuyck–Winnipeg Jets (GPP only)
  5. Matt Murray–Pittsburgh Penguins (GPP only)
  6. Tuukka Rask–Boston Bruins
  7. Carey Price–Montreal Canadiens (GPP only)

 

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