Below we’ve got a discussion of the best matchups and potential stacks of the day followed by player rankings for Thursday’s 10-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

Winnipeg Jets @ Philadelphia Flyers

There’s so much to love about the Winnipeg Jets tonight. Their matchup with the Flyers is above average, mainly due to Steve Mason being #NotGood. The Philadelphia goaltender sports a 3.24 GAA and a .884 SV%, which isn’t even AHL worthy. Couple that with the Jets offence that is producing 2.94 GF/GM, and you have yourself a blowout win for Winnipeg.

Let’s make life easy tonight, shall we? The Jets have two players worth considering up front: Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine. Neither player is affordable on either site, but on FanDuel, Laine is still under 7K, so he’s a pretty easy play there. The duo also play together on the top power play unit, so that’s a bonus.

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

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Paying up for stud defenseman is not something I personally enjoy doing (unless it’s Brent Burns or Erik Karlsson), but let’s make an exception here with Dustin Byfuglien. Is “Big Buff” an elite defenseman? Not really, but he is pretty good at what he does on the ice. He joins Scheifele & Laine on the top man advantage and he’s $6200 on FanDuel. Just to make sure you all understand how much of a value that is, the average player price (APP) on FD is 6,111.

In goal, Connor Hellebuyck is expected to get the start, but he’s by no means a must start goalie tonight. The Flyers can still put the puck in the net, and the Jets are allowing over 2.5 G/GP. He’s an option in GPPs, but look elsewhere when building your cash game lineups.

Note: Shayne Gostisbehere is expected to be a healthy scratch tonight. Jets forwards get a boost in the projections.

Florida Panthers @ Toronto Maple Leafs

All the talk this morning is about how great Toronto is of a play tonight. Sure, the Leafs had a great performance last game, especially James van Riemsdyk, but let’s not forget they were playing a Predators team that hasn’t had a wonderful start to their season, and, Marek Mazanec was in goal.

Don’t fall into this trap! If there’s a team to stack in this contest, it’s the Panthers. They are a complete hockey team coming off a huge win in Montreal, so expect them to have their way with a young Leafs squad.

Florida has a lot of great options, but Jonathan Marchessault and Aleksander Barkov are probably the best options to consider. Both players are slightly underpriced on both sites, and both players play together on the top power play. If you decided to stack them with Aaron Ekblad, you’ve put together a pretty solid Florida stack.

If you’re one of those individuals who love the “Narrative Street” talk, James Reimer is confirmed to get the start in Toronto. This is his revenge game, but that’s not why you should play him. You should play him because he’s $7600 on FanDuel (LOL). The Panthers are a slight underdog in this contest, but at that price, it’s going to be hard to move off him in cash games.

Remember folks–don’t fall for the trap.

Nashville Predators @ Ottawa Senators

Boy, the Nashville Predators are a real mess. This team is just free falling right now, and it doesn’t look to be coming to an end anytime soon.

There’s a good chance that Pekka Rinne returns to the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game due to injury. That’s great news for DFS players who are stacking Ottawa.

For some reason, Mike Hoffman and Derick Brassard are playing on the third line with Tom Pyatt. At first glance, this looks terrible, but when you dig a little deeper, it might be a blessing in disguise. Both Hoffman & Brassard are seeing top power play time and they are going to face Nashville’s depth lines, which is always a plus. If DFS players stick to the fact that they are on the third line, it should help drive their ownership down. All that combined makes them excellent plays tonight.

Note: Mike Hoffman will miss tonight’s game. Ottawa’s top line is the line to stack. Brassard is expected to join the top power play unit, so a Karlsson/Brassard stack also works.

As usual, Erik Karlsson is an option tonight. The stud defenseman is a great play every time he’s on the ice. He’s expensive, but that isn’t a problem on FanDuel where you can fit any player you want into your lineup.

In goal, Mike Condon isn’t exactly an elite option, but he’s playing a team that scored one goal against the Leafs. The Sens are favourites to win this game, so if you wanna get creative in goal, Condon is your guy.

Colorado Avalanche @ Dallas Stars

This game has all the makings of a 6-5 final, but the hockey gods won’t allow it to happen. The Dallas stars are slowing getting healthy, but there’s still no reason to pay up for their stud players tonight. Semyon Varlamov had a strong outing his last game and he could have another one tonight.

Colorado is an improved team from last season, but they still have some work to do to become a playoff team. That being said, Dallas still has the two worst goaltenders in the league

Fun fact of the day:

Kari Lehtonen: 3.18 GAA, .891 SV%
Antti Niemi: 3.44 GAA, .898 SV%

Chad Johnson: 2.45 GAA, .910SV%

Proceed

— Christopher Morais (@fuzzychris91) November 16, 2016

Anytime both your goalies have a SV% below .900, there’s something wrong. Even if Colorado doesn’t win tonight, they are going to have a ton of chances to score goals, which is all you’re looking for in DFS.

Let’s make life simple again, okay? Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog are the team’s two best players, and they are playing together on the top line. MacKinnon doesn’t offer a ton of value, but Landeskog is underpriced, even on DK. If you want to fire a single bullet in this game, make it Landeskog, but going with both players is the best case scenario.

Note: Landeskog has been ruled out for tonight’s game. Nathan Mackinnon as a single bullet is an option, or paired with Barrie.

Joining the two on the top power play unit is defenceman Tyson Barrie. The Colorado blueliner has a sub-5K price tag on FD, so if you’re paying up for one of the stud defensemen available tonight, Barrie could be a nice option to compete a lineup.

As mentioned earlier, Varlamov is coming off a strong performance, so he becomes a nice play tonight. He’s going to get a ton of shots, so even if he gives up 2-3 goals, he can still finish with 25-plus points on FanDuel. He’s a risky play, but he could very well pay off.

Other Notable plays:

• Brent Burns is in action tonight against the Blues, so he’s an option if you don’t want to play up for Karlsson.
• New Jersey travels to Anaheim to take on the Ducks. It’s hard to pay up for Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, but they could find the net in this contest. Cory Schneider getting the start is what will scare most people away, but Anaheim in a GPP isn’t a bad idea.

• The Arizona Coyotes are playing their second game in as many nights, but they are in Vancouver to take on the Canucks. There’s value in this game, but who knows which team is worth considering.I’ll pass on this game.

Player Rankings

Centers

1. Brandon Sutter-Vancouver Canucks–DK:$4100,FD:$4200
2. Jean Gabriel Pageau–Ottawa Senators–DK:$3800,FD:$4700
3. Mark Scheifele–Winnipeg Jets–DK:$7300,FD:$7500
4. Derick Brassard–Ottawa Senators–DK:$5100,FD:$4700
5. Aleksander Barkov–Florida Panthers–DK:$5600,FD:$5800
6. Nathan MacKinnon–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$6500,FD:$6300
7. Connor McDavid–Edmonton Oilers–DK:$8000, FD:$7800
8. Ryan Getzlaf–Anaheim Ducks–DK:$6600,FD:$7300
9. Vincent Trocheck–Florida Panthers–DK:$5500,FD:$5800

Wingers

1. Jonathan Marchessault–Florida Panthers–DK:$5600,FD:$5500
2. Gabriel Landeskog–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$5400,FD:$5800
3. Patrik Laine–Winnipeg Jets–DK:$7100,FD:$6700
4. Radim Vrbata–Arizona Coyotes–DK:$5000, FD:$4900
5. Jaromir Jagr–Florida Panthers–DK:$4400,FD:$4900
6. Mike Hoffman–Ottawa Senators–DK:$5800,FD:$5500
7. Corey Perry–Anaheim Ducks–DK:$7000, FD:$7100
8. Jamie Benn–Dallas Stars–DK:$6700,FD:$7900
9. Wayne Simmonds–Philadelphia Flyers–DK:$6300,FD:$7000
10. Blake Wheeler–Winnipeg Jets–DK:$6400,FD:$6900

Defenceman

1. Dustin Byfuglien–Winnipeg Jets–DK:$6100,FD:$6200
2. Tyson Barrie–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$5000,FD:$4900
3. Aaron Ekblad–Florida Panthers–DK:$4500,FD:$5200
4. Ivan Provorov–Philadelphia Flyers–DK:$3600,FD:$3800
5. Erik Karlsson–Ottawa Senators–DK:$7300,FD:$7200
6. P.K.Subban–Nashville Predators–DK:$6200,FD:$6200
7. Brent Burns–San Jose Sharks–DK:$8200,FD:$8200

Goalies

1. John Gibson–Anaheim Ducks–DK:$7800,FD:$8500 (optional skate this morning. Word out of ANA is Bernier could get the start).
2. James Reimer–Florida Panthers–DK:$7300, FD:$7500
3. Ben Bishop–Tampa Bay Lightning–DK:$8300,FD:$8800
4. Devan Dubnyk–Minnesota Wild–DK:$7800,FD:$9000
5. Mike Condon–Ottawa Senators–DK:$7600,FD:$7700
6. Semyon Varlamov–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$7300, FD:$8300
7. Connor Hellebuyck–Winnipeg Jets–DK:$7400,FD:$7800

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