Below I’ve got a discussion of the best matchups and potential stacks of the day followed by player rankings for tonight’s DraftKings contests.

Teams to Target

I said this yesterday as well, but my day job is busier than normal this week, so I’m trying to cut down on some of the unnecessary parts of my writing process. This discussion section of the post will be a bit abbreviated and I’m not including the normal research chart at the bottom of the post because it takes too much time to format. But I have not cut out any steps of my research process.

The best matchup of the day belongs to Los Angeles who will be in Colorado tonight. The only question is whether they’ll have far and away the best matchup or one of the three that separates from the pack a bit. It all depends on who is in net for the Avs. Calvin Pickard has been recalled, so it would appear that Varlamov’s injury sustained late in the game on Sunday may cost him some time. The presumption is that Reto Berra will start for Colorado, and if so, the Kings easily have the best matchup of the night.

Of their top two lines, I probably prefer the second line pair of Jeff Carter ($6,000, C) and Tyler Toffoli ($4,400, W). The top line pair of Anze Kopitar ($5,400, C) and Marian Gaborik ($5,100, W) is also an option in both cash and GPP. On the blue line, Jake Muzzin ($4,400, D) and Andrej Sekera ($3,300, D) are both options.

The next best matchups belong to the Rangers who will be on Long Island facing the Islanders and the Flyers hosting the Stars. Both the Isles and Stars are pretty good possession teams with goaltending ranging from average to bad, which is the main reason they’re good matchups for opposing skaters.

Dallas does have one weakness that you may be able to pick on. The young D pair of Jyrki Jokipakka and Patrik Nemeth is a bad possession pair. You’d assume Dallas would bury them against the opposition’s depth lines, but the two lines they saw the most of in their most recent game against Tampa were the top two lines. The game was in Tampa so the Bolts had the matchup advantage to some degree, but it’s a surprise the Stars didn’t protect them more.

My guess is that the Philly second line is more likely to be able to get that matchup, so I really like Wayne Simmonds ($5,100, W). But I’m not a huge fan of his linemates. In a GPP Simmonds could be paired with his second line center, Sean Couturier ($4,200, C). But the value of Philly’s top line makes them a very appealing option, even if they might end up with a tougher individual matchup. In GPP I’d lean toward the mini-stack of Claude Giroux ($7,300, C) and Jakub Voracek ($5,500, W), who is a particularly good value today. Using Simmonds along with Giroux and Voracek isn’t something I’m opposed to, particularly in cash games.

The Isles don’t have a real weak spot on D like Dallas does, so picking Rangers is a little tougher. Their top D pair of Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk is great from a possession perspective. But in recent home games the Isles haven’t always used their top D pair and top line (also great possession-wise) against the opposition’s top line. I think the Isles are a little weaker down the right side of their D after the Leddy/Boychuk pairing, so that makes left-winger Rick Nash ($8,100, W) along with his center, Derick Brassard ($4,500, C), a target for me tonight. The pair of Derek Stepan ($4,300, C) and Martin St. Louis ($4,500, W) provide good value and are a good cash game pair.

I could also see using Montreal’s second line in cash games, and I like a pair of top line wingers from St. Louis against Winnipeg if Pavalec happens to be in net (unlikely). But I’ll rank them below.

Player Rankings

Center/Winger Mini-Stacks (Cash)

1. Derek Stepan/Martin St. Louis – New York Rangers
2. Claude Giroux/Jakub Voracek – Philadelphia Flyers
3. Jeff Carter/Tyler Toffoli – Los Angeles Kings
4. Kevin Hayes/Carl Hagelin – New York Rangers
5. Tomas Plekanec/Brendan Gallagher – Montreal Canadiens
6. Anze Kopitar/Marian Gaborik – Los Angeles Kings

Center/Winger Mini-Stacks (GPP)

1. Claude Giroux/Jakub Voracek – Philadelphia Flyers
2. Derick Brassard/Rick Nash – New York Rangers
3. Jeff Carter/Tyler Toffoli – Los Angeles Kings
4. Anze Kopitar/Marian Gaborik – Los Angeles Kings
5. David Backes/Alexander Steen – St. Louis Blues
6. Sean Couturier/Wayne Simmonds – Philadelphia Flyers

Defense

1. P.K. Subban – $5,500 – Montreal Canadiens
2. Andrej Sekera – $3,300 – Los Angeles Kings
3. Andrei Markov – $4,400 – Montreal Canadiens
4. Drew Doughty – $5,500 – Los Angeles Kings
5. Keith Yandle – $5,200 – New York Rangers
6. Ryan McDonagh – $4,900 – New York Rangers
7. Mark Streit – $4,500 – Philadelphia Flyers

Goalie

Goalies with an asterisk next to their name are second on their team’s depth chart, so don’t count on them playing. Any players in bold have been confirmed as the starter for the day. And players with a line through their name will not be starting tonight. Make sure you always check Daily Faceoff for starting goalie updates in case I am unable to update the list throughout the day.

1. Sergei Bobrovsky – $7,600 – Columbus Blue Jackets
2. Brian Elliott – $8,000 – St. Louis Blues
3. Craig Anderson – $8,500 – Ottawa Senators
4. Cam Talbot – $8,700 – New York Rangers