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

Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars

Dallas is unarguably a great matchup for opposing skaters. The Stars allow the sixth most shot attempts per 60 (5 on 5, close), they have the third lowest save percentage, and they have the sixth worst penalty kill. Add all that up and you’ve got the team that has allowed the second most goals so far this season. There aren’t really any specific Dallas lines or D pairs to avoid when picking Minny skaters, so just go with their best. Zach Parise returned to practice yesterday after missing Saturday’s game with an illness, and he skates with Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund. He should skate with Staal on the power play in addition to even strength. Parise is priced fairly on both sites, while Staal is priced best on FD. Granlund represents salary relief on DK if you need it or if you want to stack the entire line. Another salary relief option is Jared Spurgeon who is skating on the top power play unit, though that’s not the unit you’ll see Parise/Staal on.

On the other side of that game, Patrick Eaves is about the only player to consider. Tyler Seguin is always appealing, but there are other studs to spend your money on tonight. Instead get exposure to him with his line mate Eaves who is on a five-game goal scoring streak with six goals in that stretch. Eaves is priced more attractively on FD.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Nashville Predators

Nashville is one of few teams that allows more shot attempts per 60 than Dallas, and only the Islanders have allowed more than the Preds so far. Nashville’s top six lines are both decent possession units, but their depth lines are very weak in that regard. Even without Steven Stamkos in the lineup Tampa still has three usable lines, and that third line should see those weak Nashville depth lines as the Preds tend to match lines up evenly at home. Two of those third liners, Jonathan Drouin and Valtteri Filppula, see power play work. Drouin is priced better on FD while Filppula is a nice salary relief option on both sites. Defenseman Nikita Nesterov joins Drouin on the top power play unit, and Nesterov is nice and cheap on DK.

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

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Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Colorado Avalanche

Columbus played last night, but they should still be on your radar against a banged up Colorado team. It doesn’t look like Gabriel Landeskog will play tonight, and Matt Duchene is still a bit questionable as he recovers from a concussion. If Duchene sits or if he plays but does not play on a line with Nathan MacKinnon, Columbus’ top line deserves consideration. MacKinnon and Duchene are good possession players, and were they together they’d be dangerous enough to avoid CBJ’s top line and take a look at their second. But so long as they’re not on the same line. Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, and defenseman Zach Werenski are options. Werenski has been great this season and is priced reasonably enough across the board that he’s an option on the blue line no matter what. Foligno is also priced well on both sites, while Saad is priced for use on DK and Wennberg is priced for use on FD. Foligno and Wennberg join Werenski on the top PP unit, so that trio on FD makes for a nice stack option.

New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins

It was mentioned above that there are better studs to spend your money on tonight, and Sidney Crosby is that stud. The Rangers don’t have any individual matchups to be concerned with, so fire up Crosby where you can afford to do so. The Rangers are playing for the second day in a row, so Antti Raanta should be in net for Henrik Lundqvist, though to be fair, Raanta has been excellent so far this season. Kris Letang is a slightly cheaper way to get some Pens exposure if you can’t afford Crosby, and Conor Sheary is a nice value option (especially on FD) so long as he stays on a line with Crosby.

As for the Rangers, Kevin Hayes is a name to keep in mind. With Mika Zibanejad injured, it seems likely that Hayes will move into a top six role. He has 16 points in 18 games as New York’s third line center, and he could be in line for a nice little bump in ice time. Trevor Daley and Olli Maatta are a bit of a possession weak spot for the Pens, and they tend to match up with opposing second lines in home games, which is where we’re guessing Hayes slots in. The Rangers may not have a morning skate since they played yesterday, but keep an eye out for news on Hayes’ role and who his line mates might be.

San Jose Sharks vs. New Jersey Devils

New Jersey does a good job of suppressing shot attempts, but San Jose ranks fourth in shot attempts per 60. Backup Keith Kincaid is confirmed in net for the Devils, so the high output Sharks offense has a better chance of going big tonight. New Jersey’s top line is a really solid possession unit, and San Jose’s second line has matched up with opposing top lines in recent home games. However, it’s worth noting that San Jose is coming off a lengthy road trip, so we can’t be certain they’ll match up lines like they did all the way back on 11/5 the last time they played a home game. But that’s still the most likely scenario, so San Jose’s top line is the play. Joe Pavelski is fairly affordable on DK and Joe Thornton is priced reasonably enough on FD. Youngster Kevin Labanc has been skating on the top line, but he’s not seeing any power play work. And of course the shot machine Brent Burns is always an option if and when you can afford him. He’s priced a bit better on FD which is where pricing is softer, so that’s probably your best bet if you want to roster him.

Player Rankings

Centers

1. Sidney Crosby — DK: $8,500 — FD: $9,100
2. Kevin Hayes — DK: $5,200 — FD: $5,100
3. Tyler Seguin — DK: $8,000 — FD: $8,200
4. Eric Staal — DK: $6,00 — FD: $5,600
5. Alexander Wennberg — DK: $5,100 — FD: $5,000
6. Valtteri Filppula — DK: $3,700 — FD: $4,200

Defensemen

1. Zach Werenski — DK: $5,700 — FD: $5,100
2. Kris Letang — DK: $6,900 — FD: $7,200
3. Jared Spurgeon — DK: $4,100 — FD: $4,600
4. John Klingberg — DK: $4,900 — FD: $4,800
5. Brent Burns — DK: $8,400 — FD: $8,100
6. Nikita Nesterov — DK: $3,000 — FD: $3,700

Wingers

1. Joe Pavelski — DK: $6,900 — FD: $7,600
2. Nick Foligno— DK: $5,000 — FD: $5,700
3. Zach Parise — DK: $6,300 — FD: $6,500
4. Patrick Eaves — DK: $5,800 — FD: $5,500
5. Brandon Saad— DK: $5,300 — FD: $6,400
6. Jonathan Drouin — DK: $5,500 — FD: $5,400
7. Mikael Granlund — DK: $3,900 — FD: $5,100
8. Conor Sheary — DK: $4,600 — FD: $4,300

Goalies

1. Robin Lehner — Buffalo Sabres — DK: $7,400 — FD: $7,900
2. Pekka Rinne — Nashville Predators — DK: $7,300 — FD: $9,200 (DK only)
3. Matt Murray — Pittsburgh Penguins — DK: $7,900 — FD: $8,900
4. Sergei Bobrovsky — Columbus Blue Jackets — DK: $7,900 — FD: $9,000
5. Curtis McElhinney* — Columbus Blue Jackets — DK: $7,700 — FD: $7,000 (FD only, GPP only)

Goalies with an asterisk next to their name are not expected to start tonight but haven’t been ruled out, so don’t count on them playing. Any players in bold have been confirmed as the starter for the day. Make sure you always check LeftWingLock for starting goalie updates in case I am unable to update the list throughout the day.

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