Below we’ve got a discussion of the best matchups and potential stacks of the day followed by player rankings for Tuesday’s 13-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

Buffalo Sabres @ St. Louis Blues

The Buffalo Sabres are an easy team to stack against tonight. The Blues are heavy favourites to win this game (-210), so you’ll want to make sure to get a piece of the action in this one.

The top line of Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen is where most DFS players will start. The trio play together on the power play as well, so any combination of those players will work for cash games. If you had to go with just two, Steen/Schwartz would be 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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St. Louis has a second line that is also worth a look. Robby Fabbri, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko are great options on this slate, but they don’t offer as much value as the top line. For starters, only Tarasenko is seeing power play time from the three and Lehtera doesn’t shoot the puck enough to be fantasy relevant. With that being said, a Tarasenko/Fabbri mini-stack isn’t a crazy idea.

If you absolutely want to get some top power play exposure without paying for the top line, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is quarterbacking the top unit, so he becomes an option as well. A Shattenkirk/Tarasenko mini-stack is an expensive one, but there’s enough value elsewhere to make both players fit into your lineup.

In goal, Jake Allen is expected to get the start. His last start against Columbus was a disaster– allowing four goals on 12 shots before getting the hook–but the Sabres aren’t the same team as Columbus, so don’t expect an offensive outpour like Saturday. As mentioned earlier, St. Louis is the biggest favourite on the slate, so Allen becomes the top goalie option of the night.

Washington Capitals @ Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets have scored eight or more goals twice so far this season, so their offensive power can’t be ignored. Are they legit? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, they can give up their fair share of goals.

The Capitals are the team to stack in this contest, but if you haven’t taken a look at their recent line combinations, get ready for the shock of your life

Alex Ovechkin–Jay Beagle–Brett Connolly

Marcus Johansson–Nicklas Backstrom–T.J. Oshie

Zacary Sanford-Evgeny Kuznetsov–Justin Williams

(Courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com)

Yeah, clearly Barry Trotz has lost his mind. In no universe should Jay Beagle & Brett Connolly be playing with Ovechkin on the top line. There’s a 95% chance that this top-9 doesn’t stay together before the start of the game, so check back here often for updates. In the meantime, let’s work with what we got.

It’s hard recommending Ovechkin with those linemates, but he’s an elite forward that could finish with over ten shots when it’s all said and done. It’s hard to see Columbus ignoring Ovi and not putting their best shutdown forwards out against him. This is a gut call for most players– if you think Ovechkin is going to stick with his linemates all game, you’d be best to fade him, but if you believe the opposite, maybe you roster him. It’s a tossup right now, so do what’s best for your lineup.

The second line is obviously going to be heavily owned, and for good reason. All three players play on the top power play unit, so that makes life pretty simple. Oshie is over priced on both FanDuel and Draftkings, so a mini-stack of Backstrom/Johansson is probably the way to go.

There’s a good chance that Braden Holtby gets the start for Washington tonight. He’s an expensive option, but if you faded Ovechkin, you should be able to afford Holtby. The Vezina Trophy winner is and elite goalie that can steal a game all by himself. Give him a look in both GPPs and cash games.

Note: Holtby is not expected to start in this game, thus making Columbus a better team to stack in this matchup. Views on Washington hasn’t change. 

New York Rangers @ Vancouver Canucks

Anytime the Canucks are in action, stacking the opposing team is almost mandatory. The Canucks got their last win against these very Rangers in New York, but don’t expect that same result tonight. New York took the Canucks lightly and it cost them, so expect the Rangers to come out strong in this one.

The Rangers have two lines worth rostering, so it comes down to which line is going to get the better matchup. On paper, there’s a good chance that Vancouver matches their top line against New York’s top line, making the Rangers second line the top play. However, the Rangers second line offer’s very little value to DFS players, so that hurts them a little. Despite that, the second is where most people should focus their attention, even if that means paying up for some forwards who don’t deserve their salary.

Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello are all great options on this slate, and they all play together on the top power play unit. If you’re building a GPP lineup, all three are worth stacking, but if you are building a cash game lineup, I’d limit myself to Kreider/Zibanejad. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh joins the trio on the top power play unit, so he’s an option if you decide to go with the full power play stack.

On the other side, Jimmy Vesey, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash make the top line that should be in charge of trying to shut down the Sedin brothers. Vesey has a pretty favourable price tag, but Nash balances it out by being over priced. There’s nothing wrong with a mini-stack of Vesey/Nash, it’s just not maximizing value, which is the goal in DFS.

One area that doesn’t involve any thinking is in goal. Henrik Lundqvist  is likely to get the start, and considering how bad the Canucks are at scoring goals, “The King” becomes a great option. He’s not cheap, but he’s probably the second ranked goalie on the slate.

Note: Vesey has been downgraded to the third line and Kreider is listed as out for this game. New York still has an excellent matchup, but don’t feel the need to go heavy on this game. Zibanejad/Zuccarello mini-stack is the best option, followed by J.T. Miller as a single bullet.

Ottawa Senators @ Philadelphia Flyers

The Ottawa Senators have had some difficulty scoring goals this season, but their matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers is a good one. With Steve Mason now the number one goalie, expect things to go downhill for the Flyers.

Philadelphia is likely to match their top line against Ottawa’s top line, so that makes the Senators second line of Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard and Mark Stone the ideal stack in GPPs and in cash games. All three players play together on the power play and all three are very reasonably priced across most DFS sites. Brassard is the cheapest of the three, but if you have some extra salary to spend, a mini-stack of Hoffman/Stone is the way to go.

It’s gonna be hard to fit Erik Karlsson  into any lineup you build, but he should be in there. The stud defenseman joins the second line on the top power play unit, and with the amount of time he spends on the ice, a multi-point game isn’t out of the question.

Other Notable plays:

 

• Brent Burns is in action tonight against the Hurricanes, so he’s an option if you don’t want to play up for Karlsson.

 

• New Jersey travels to Dallas to take on the Stars. With all the injuries affecting the Stars right now, Cory Schneider is a great GPP option.

Note: Taylor Hall is listed as out for this game, downgrading Cory Schneider. Dallas skaters get a boost in this matchup.

 

• 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.

Note: Pekka Rinne is listed as day-to-day. Marek Mazanac is confirmed to get the start. Leafs skaters get a boost in this matchup.

Note: Minnesota skaters get a boost with the return of Zach Parise and Chad Johnson getting the start. Ranking them ahead of the Senators/Philadelphia game .

 

 

Player Rankings

Centers

1. Brandon Pirri–New York Rangers–DK:$3800,FD:$3900
2. Paul Stastny–St. Louis Blues–DK:$4800,FD:$5200
3. Derick Brassard–Ottawa Senators–DK:$5100,FD:$4800
4. Eric Staal–Minnesota Wild–DK:$5600,FD:$5900
5. Nicklas Backstrom–Washington Capitals–DK:$6100,FD:$6400
6. Steven Stamkos–Tampa Bay Lightning–DK:$8100,FD:$8400
7. Connor McDavid–Edmonton Oilers–DK:$8000,FD:$7900
8. Mika Zibanejad–New York Rangers–DK:$6200,FD:$5700

Wingers

1. Robby Fabbri–St. Louis Blues–DK:$4200,FD:$4500
2. Nino Niederreiter–Minnesota Wild–DK:$4200,FD:$4500
3. J.T. Miller–New York Rangers–DK:$5400, FD:$5200
4. Kyle Palmieri–New Jersey Devils–DK:$4500,FD:$5200
5. Marcus Johansson–Washington Capitals–DK:$4900,FD:$5000
6. Mike Hoffman–Ottawa Senators–DK:$5900,FD:$5600
7. Jimmy Vesey–New York Rangers–DK:$5300,FD:$4900 (moved down to L3)
8. Vladimir Tarasenko–St. Louis Blues–DK:$7700,FD:$8400
9. Alex Ovechkin–Washington Capitals–DK:$8400,FD:$8600
10. Chris Kreider–New York Rangers–DK:$6700,FD:$6200 (Not Playing)
11. Mark Stone–Ottawa Senators–DK:$5000,FD:$5700

Defenceman

1. Kevin Shattenkirk–St. Louis Blues–DK:$5300,FD:$6100
2. Shayne Gostisbehere–Philadelphia Flyers–DK:$5900,FD:$6000
3. Erik Karlsson–Ottawa Senators–DK:$7100,FD:$7200
4. Brent Burns–San Jose Sharks–DK:$8200,FD:$8300
5. John Carlson–Washington Capitals–DK:$5800,FD:$6200
6. Damon Severson–New Jersey Devils–DK:$4600,FD:$4400
7. Roman Josi–Nashville Predators–DK:$6200,FD:$6500

Goalies

1. Jake Allen–St. Louis Blues–DK:$8000,FD:$8100
2. Henrik Lundqvist–New York Rangers–DK:$8200,FD:$9100
3. Braden Holtby–Washington Capitals–DK:$8000,FD:$9600 (Not Starting)
4. Devan Dubnyk–Minnesota Wild–DK:$7900,FD:$9000
5. Carey Price–Montreal Canadiens–DK:$8300,FD:$10,500
6. Semyon Varlamov–Colorado Avalanche–DK:$7500FD:$8100
7. Aaron Dell–San Jose Sharks–DK:$7800,FD:$7400

 

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