Below we’ve got a discussion of the best matchups and potential stacks of the day followed by player rankings for Saturday’s 11-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

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Pittsburgh Penguins

The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 at home last night, but don’t let that fool you into believe that the Leafs are going to start winning a ton of games in a row–they won’t.  If you only do one thing tonight, make it plugging Sidney Crosby into your starting lineups.

Yes, he’s the most expensive forward on either site, but Crosby is on another level, and his matchup against the Leafs is almost bullet proof. Does he need multiple points to hit value? Yes. Can he do it? Absolutely!

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

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Sidney is joined on the top line by Patric Hornqvist and Conor Sheary.

Hornqvist joins Crosby on the top power play unit, while Sheary isn’t seeing any power play time. The trio are worth a look in a GPP lineup, but probably not in cash games. If you had to go with a mini-stack, Crosby/Sheary is the route to take.

It’s not often that someone will recommend a forward-defenceman mini-stack, but that’s a strategy that could pay off very nicely in cash games. Kris Letang is an elite defenceman, so pairing him with Crosby would be epic. It’s an expensive option to consider, but honestly, fading either player in cash games is taking a risk. I’ll be paying up for the studs.

If you don’t want to follow the trend, the third line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel is the line to consider stacking. Outside of Kessel, the other two a pretty reasonably priced, considering their matchup. Kessel joins Crosby on the top power play unit, so if a PP stack is your thing, don’t hesitate to roll both of them out.

Boston Bruins @ Arizona Coyotes

The Bruins really made life difficult on Tuesday night when everyone got involved in the scoring parade, except for the top line. With that fresh in the minds of DFS players, maybe it helps drive their ownership down, but regardless, Patrice Bergeron  and Brad Marchand are two players to consider in your lineup tonight.

Boston really likes to mix it up on the power play, so finding a power play stack may be hard, but the Bruins are so terrible on the man advantage, it doesn’t even matter. If you still want to cover the top power play unit, Torey Krug is coming off a goal his last game, so he’s the defenceman to go with.

Even with all the hype surrounding the top line, it’s hard to look past David Krejci and David Backes. The duo play together on the top power play unit and on the second line. Not only are they much more affordable, but they are almost certain to get the easier matchup tonight. No part of me wants to recommend Backes, but his matchup is above-average, so if there’s any night worth using him, tonight would be the best time.

Minnesota Wild @ Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the same team that took a 7-0 beating on Tuesday night. Philly has absolutely nothing going for them, so there’s a good chance they take a beating in this game too.

Don’t look now, but Eric Staal looks like the elite forward he was five years ago. The former Ranger and long time Carolina captain has been a dominant force since the beginning of the season, and that shouldn’t change tonight.

He’s joined by Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter on the top line, so a full line stack in a GPP is totally doable. A Staal/Coyle mini-stack will get you some great value, but a Staal/Niederreiter will get you even more. Coyle has had a better start to the season, but if you need some salary relief to fit the big boys in, Nino is an excellent replacement

Defenceman Matt Dumba is getting an opportunity to showcase his skill on the top power play unit, and at his very friendly price tag, it’s going to be hard to pass up on him. There’s no reason to pay up for a player like Ryan Suter when Dumba is about 2K less expensive.

St. Louis Blues @ Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets love to give up goals, so make sure to have some exposure to St. Louis tonight.

The mini-stack to go with in this game is Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko Tarasenko. It’s going to be a challenge to fit both Crosby and Tarasenko in the same lineup, but if you decided to fade the Pittsburgh matchup, this is the matchup to target as a replacement. Schwartz & Tarasenko both play on the top power play unit and both are about reasonably priced on both sites.

If you still want to get exposure to this matchup without playing up for the big boys, David Perron and Patrik Berglund is an option to consider. Not a huge fan of using this combination in cash games, but their value is hard to beat. If you have some extra money to spend, a power play duo of Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk could be an option to entertain. Again, it’s not common to go with a forward/defenceman pairing, but if it fills a need in your lineup, don’t hesitate to do it.

Other Noteable plays:

• Johnny Gaudreau is playing at home, so that makes him a play.
• The Capitals have a decent matchup with the Hurricanes, so Alex Ovechkin is in play.
• Carey Price is undefeated so far this season. He’s going to cost you a pretty penny to roster, but he’s matchup proof at this moment.

Player Rankings

Centers

1. Nick Bonino–Pittsburgh Penguins–DK:$4300, FD:$4300
2. David Krejci–Boston Bruins–DK:$5300,FD:$5300
3. Eric Staal–Minnesota Wild–DK:$5300, FD:$5700
4. Sidney Crosby–Pittsburgh Penguins–DK:$8300, FD:$8700
5. Patrice Bergeron–Boston Bruins–DK:$6900, FD:$6300
6. Nicklas Backstrom–Washington Capitals–DK:$6100, FD:$6300
7. Vincent Trocheck–Florida Panthers–DK:$5500, FD:$5900
8. Alex Galchenyuk–Montreal Canadiens–DK:$6700, FD:$6200

Wingers

1. Nino Niederreiter–Minnesota Wild–DK:$4200, FD:$4500
2. David Backes–Boston Bruins–DK:$5100,FD:$5700
3. Charlie Coyle–Minnesota Wild–DK:$5000,FD:$5000
4. Filip Forsberg–Nashville Predators–DK:$5500, FD:$6300
5. Phil Kessel–Pittsburgh Penguins–DK:$6000,FD:$6900
6. Johnny Gaudreau–Calgary Flames–DK:$6600,FD:$6600
7. Vladimir Tarasenko–St. Louis Blues–DK:$7700,FD:$7300
8. Brad Marchand–Boston Bruins–DK:$7100,FD:$6500
9. Alexander Steen–St. Louis Blues–DK:$5700,FD:$5900
10. Alex Ovechkin–Washington Capitals–DK:$8400,FD:$8500

Defenceman

1. Matt Dumba–Minnesota Wild–DK:$4000,FD:$4200
2. Torey Krug–Boston Bruins–DK:$5000,FD:$5300
3. Kevin Shattenkirk–St. Louis Blues–DK:$5200,FD:$5600
4. Kris Letang–Pittsburgh Penguins–DK:$6800,FD:$6900
5. Oliver Ekman-Larsson–Arizona Coyotes–DK:$5900,FD:$6100
6. Brent Burns–San Jose Sharks–DK:$8100,FD:$8200
7. Ryan Suter–Minnesota Wild–DK:$5600,FD:$5700
8. Roman Josi–Nashville Predators–DK:$6200,FD:$6500

Goalies

1. Carey Price–Montreal Canadiens–DK:$8400,FD:$10,300
2. Philipp Grubauer–Washington Capitals–DK:$8100,FD:$8100
3. Henrik Lundqvist–New York Rangers–DK:$8200,FD:$8800
4. Cory Schneider–New Jersey Devils–DK:$7900,FD:$9000
5. Jake Allen–St. Louis Blues–DK:$7700,FD:$8500
6. Devan Dubnyk–Minnesota Wild–DK:$7600,FD:$9100
7. Marc-Andre Fleury–Pittsburgh Penguins–DK:$8300,FD:$8800

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