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

San Jose Sharks @ Arizona Coyotes

The San Jose Sharks are going to be the chalk play of the night, as they should be. The Arizona Coyotes are allowing 4.13 G/GP, that’s 33 goals in eight games. To make the matchup even juicier, the Coyotes have a 72.4% penalty kill.

The Sharks top line of Mikkel Boedker, Joe Thornton, and Joe Pavelski is going to be popular tonight, so maybe try a different route in GPPs. That being said, all three a worth a look in cash games. If you want to save a bit of salary, Pavelski/Boedker is the way to go.

Behind the paywall you’ll find the rest of today’s NHL DFS game breakdowns and player rankings

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On the blue line, Brent Burns is the defenceman to roster. He’s expensive, but if you plug in Boedker with Pavelski, you still have some room to make the rest of your lineup creative.

As always, Martin Jones is an option. He’s had a very good start to his season and that success should continue tonight.

Nashville Predators @ Colorado Avalanche

Here’s a matchup that’s going to go under the radar, so let’s keep this little secret to ourselves, shall we? Everyone is going to be so busy stacking the chalk plays, that Colorado will fall in ownership, making them a great team to target in both cash and GPP.

The Preds haven’t had a great start to the season. In fact, they are giving up 3.50 GA/GP, fifth worst in the NHL. Maybe the trade of Shea Weber has made this team #NotGood? Not exactly. The Predators top line has combined to score one goal so far this season, while Pekka Rinne has one win in six starts, while posting a 3.21 GAA and .906 SV%.

So, we sold on Colorado tonight?

The Avalanche have two lines that are worth rostering, but the top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and  Jarome Iginla is the one to consider. The trio all play together on the top power play unit, and Iginla is very affordable on both sites. Erik Johnson is quarterbacking the top unit, so he becomes an option if you decide to go with a four-man stack.

The second line is an interesting one, mostly because their ownership will be low, but they can still do some damage. Mikhail Grigorenko, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen don’t play on the same power play unit (Girgorenko is skating on the top power play unit), but a MacKinnon/Rantanen mini-stack isn’t a crazy one. Defenceman Tyson Barrie joins the duo on the second power play unit, so he becomes an option if you decide to go down that path.

I’m not 100% sold on Semyon Varlamov in goal tonight, but Nashville isn’t exactly scoring in bunches (2.38 GF/GP). He’s a tad too expensive on FanDuel and just about right on DraftKings. In GPPs, he’s worth a look, but in cash games, there may be better options elsewhere.

Calgary Flames @ Chicago Blackhawks

If you haven’t caught on already, the trend early on is to stack against teams who are giving up a ton of goals early in the season, and Calgary fits that description. The Flames are giving up 3.40 GA/GP and are traveling to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. This makes the Hawks a great play tonight.

Let’s forget about the top line of Richard Panik, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. I know, that’s a weird thing to say, but what if someone told you that the second line of Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa is a better value and more likely to outscore the top line, would you believe them?

Chicago’s second line won’t have to worry about shutting down Calgary’s top line, all they will have to worry about is scoring goals. On top of it , Anisimov & Panarin join Kane on the top power play unit, which makes the situation even better! If Chicago’s top line scores a hat trick tonight, so be it, but the second line is where everyone should be focusing their attention.

Both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are seeing top power play minutes, but neither defenceman really has an attractive price tag. If you’re already paying up for Burns (which you should be doing), you’re going to need a value defenseman, and neither one of Chicago’s top two are a value.

Edmonton Oilers @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Connor McDavid against Auston Matthews, oh it’s going to be a beauty! Speaking of McDavid, he’s the most expensive skater on the slate, but with 12 points in nine games, he should be. That being said, I’m not ready to play up for him on a slate like tonight’s. His line mates Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle are also a little too expensive for my liking, but, I won’t disagree with anyone who goes with the top line.

Outside of the top line, there isn’t much that looks appealing. Leon Draisaitl is centring the second line, but joins the top line on the top power play unit, so he becomes an option, but only as a single bullet option. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Benoit Pouliot are skating together on the third line and second power play unit, so if you really want to get creative, the duo is a cheap, affordable option to consider.

Player Rankings

Centers

1. Leon Draisaitl–Edmonton Oilers–DK:$5200, FD:$5300
2. Artem Anisimov–Chicago Blackhawks–DK:$5700, FD:$5500
3. Matt Duchene–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$6300, FD:$6900
4. Patrice Bergeron–Boston Bruins–DK:$6700, FD:$6300
5. John Tavares–New York Islanders–DK:$7600, FD:$7500
6. Nathan MacKinnon–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$6900, FD:$6500
7. Joe Thornton–San Jose Sharks–DK:$5600, FD:$5400
8. Jonathan Toews–Chicago Blackhawks–DK:$5700, FD:$6400
9. Logan Couture–San Jose Sharks–DK:$6200, FD:$6600
10. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins–Edmonton Oilers–DK:$5000, FD:$5400

Wingers

1. Mikko Rantanen–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$3900, FD:$3500
2. Mikkel Boedker–San Jose Sharks–DK:$4400, FD:$3800
3. Jarome Iginla–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$4400, FD:$4600
4. Mark Stone–Ottawa Senators–DK:$5400, FD:$5700
5. Artemi Panarin–Chicago Blackhawks–DK:$6700, FD:$6600
6. Joe Pavelski–San Jose Sharks–DK:$7700, FD:$7900
7. Alex Ovechkin–Washington Capitals–DK:$8300, FD:$8300
8. Patrick Kane–Chicago Blackhawks–DK:$8300, FD:$8500
9. Gabriel Landeskog–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$5700, FD:$5900
10. Brandon Saad–Columbus Blue Jackets–DK:$5100, FD:$6400

Defenceman

1. Brent Burns–San Jose Sharks–DK:$8400, FD:$8000
2. Justin Faulk–Carolina Hurricanes–DK:$5500, FD:$5400
3. Erik Johnson–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$5400, FD:$4500
4. Tyson Barrie–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$5200, FD:$5100
5. Calvin de Haan–New York Islanders–DK:$3400, FD:$3600
6. Zach Werenski–Columbus Blue Jackets–DK:$5100, FD:$4500
7. Duncan Keith–Chicago Blackhawks–DK:$5800, FD:$6000
8. John Klingberg–Dallas Stars–DK:$5400, FD:$4900
9. Andrej Sekera–Edmonton Oilers–DK:$4200, FD:$4000
10. Erik Karlsson–Ottawa Senators–DK:$7800, FD:$7300

Goalies

1. Devan Dubnyk–Minnesota Wild–DK:$8100, FD:$9000
2. Braden Holtby–Washington Capitals–DK:$8200, FD:$9500
3. Martin Jones–San Jose Sharks–DK:$8200, FD:$8700
4. Corey Crawford–Chicago Blackhawks–DK:$8000, FD:$8700
5. Semyon Varlamov–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$7900, FD:$8600
6. Sergei Bobrovsky–Columbus Blue Jackets–DK:$7500, FD:$8900
7. Roberto Luongo–Florida Panthers–DK:$7700, FD:$8700

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