Welcome back to the NHL and, more importantly, to NHL DFS! Brett and I will be here at The Fix all season long covering the biggest NHL DraftKings and FanDuel slates each week. Each NHL DFS post will highlight the best teams and lines to target along with player rankings for each position.

Normally the full post will cost $1 to access through our Front Office access, but today’s post is free to give you a preview of the kind of content we’ll be providing. So let’s get to it…

Make sure to check out LeftWingLock for all goalie confirmations.

GAME BREAKDOWNS

MONTREAL CANADIENS @ OTTAWA SENATORS

On Thursday night, Auston Matthews made Ottawa look like a PeeWee hockey team when he skated around all five players (including Erik Karlsson) before scoring his second goal of the game. The Sens had no answer for him, and tonight, they will have no answer for Montreal’s top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, and Brendan Gallagher.

That top line skates together both five-on-five and on the top power play unit. The trio will cost you about $18,900 on DK, or $19,400 on FD. They are one of the expensive stacks of the night, but the potential for that line to score a couple of goals is up there. The game carries a goal total of 5.5, and with Carey Price still out of the lineup with a severe case of the flu, expect Montreal to push the pace all night and score at least four goals.

CALGARY FLAMES @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Remember when the Calgary Flames acquired Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues and he was going to be their solution in goal?

Well, so far, it isn’t working.

So far this season, Elliott has a 5.07 G.A.A and a .818 SV%. Yes, it’s only been two games, but it’s been a terrible first two games for the Calgary netminder.

The Vancouver Canucks aren’t exactly a powerhouse hockey team, but with the Flames goaltending being that bad, they can’t be overlooked. Vancouver’s top line of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Loui Eriksson is the only line worth stacking in DFS in this contest. The trio plays together in all situations, and they won’t cost you an arm and a leg to roster ($16,300 on DK, $16,200 on FD). with so many great options tonight, there’s a good chance this line gets forgotten, so they are also a good play in a GPP.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS @ WASHINGTON CAPITALS

The New York Islanders put up a fight in their opening game of the season, but they pretty much have no chance tonight against the high flying Washington Capitals. This New York team has very little star power outside of captain John Tavares, so expect Washington to skate circles around this team all night long.

The Capitals top line of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie is the most expensive stack of the night on both sites ($20,000 on DK, $20,300 on FD), but that shouldn’t discourage anyone from using them. They have an elite matchup that could end with the entire line picking up multiple points. Because of their high price tag, this line makes for an excellent GPP play. It will be tricky to fit all three of them into a cash game lineup, but there’s value in other players out there to help make it possible.

Braden Holtby also makes for a fine play tonight, but like the rest of the Caps, his price tag isn’t pretty. Don’t go all out trying to fit Holtby into your lineup, but if you can find a way to make it work, definitely do it.

DALLAS STARS @ COLORADO AVALANCHE

Let’s go off the board for a minute. Dallas is a high flying offence that can score goals in bunches, but like last season, their goaltending just isn’t good. Even if Antti Niemi  gets the start, there is a ton of value in playing Colorado tonight (even more if trashcan Kari Lehtonen gets the nod).

The Avalanche top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Jarome Iginla isn’t exactly a value play on FanDuel ($18,100), but they are slightly better priced on DraftKings ($16,900). Throw in defenceman Tyson Barrie, and you have yourself a power play stack that could do some damage.

Most people will be looking at Colorado’s horrible CF% from last season and stack against them, but there’s no way that new head coach Jared Bednar will allow this team to play that poorly for a full 82 games. Their ownership won’t be that high, so they are a full go in GPPs, but don’t be afraid to roll any one of those players out in cash games.

Player Rankings

Players are ranked based on Expected Fantasy Points (EFP) in relation to price, not on who will score the most points.

Centers

1. Joe Thornton–San –Jose Sharks
2. Evgeny Kuznetsov–Washington Capitals
3. Alex Galchenyuk–Montreal Canadiens
4. Vincent Trocheck–Florida Panthers
5. Evgeni Malkin–Pittsburgh Penguins
6. Nathan MacKinnon–Colorado Avalanche
7. Derick Brassard–Ottawa Senators

Wingers

1. Kyle Connor–Winnipeg Jets
2. Patrick Marleau–San Jose Sharks
3. Patrick Laine–Winnipeg Jets
4. Jarome Iginla–Colorado Avalanche
5. Brendan Gallagher–Montreal Canadiens
6. Alex Ovechkin–Washinton Capitals
7. Jaromir Jagr–Florida Panthers
8. Mike Hoffman–Ottawa Senators
9. Joe Pavelski–San Jose Sharks
10. Max Pacioretty–Montreal Canadiens

Defenseman

1. Andrei Markov–Montreal Canadiens
2. Brent Burns–San Jose Sharks
3. Alex Edler–Vancouver Canucks
4. Tyson Barrie–Colorado Avalanche
5. Erik Karlsson–Ottawa Senators
6. Kris Letang–Pittsburgh Penguins
7. Oliver Ekman-Larsson–Arizona Coyotes

Goalies

1. Braden Holtby–Washington Capitals
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy–Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Devan Dubnyk–Minnesota Wild
4. Roberto Luongo–Florida Panthers
5. Ryan Miller–Vancouver Canucks (GPP only)
6. Martin Jones– San Jose Sharks
7. Semyon Varlamov–Colorado Avalanche (GPP only)
8. Mike Smith–Arizona Coyotes (GPP only)