Thanks to a handful of early afternoon games along with some ongoing Covid issues, Saturday night's main slate is only six games. This is the smallest slate we've been given on a Saturday since early on in the season. Nonetheless, contests are posted for entry so I'll do my best to run through some of the best options for your DFS lineups.

Typically with smaller slates like this, there a few players who will carry a large chunk of the ownership, even surpassing 50% at times. When that is the case, you really have to make a decision on how you want to handle those players and that's something I've talked a fair amount about in the past, most recently in last week's article. However, this slate is lacking a bit in terms of star power and stand out matchups, so I actually think ownership will not get too carried away. I'll touch on any spots I think will be worth noting below.

Here is how I'm handling tonight's slate. All prices are from DraftKings but players and strategies can be applied to Fanduel as well. 

Top Options

CHI – Patrick Kane ($8,300), Alex DeBrincat ($7,500)

The Blackhawks laid an egg on Thursday in a demoralizing 4-1 loss to the Red Wings as they try to keep pace for the final playoff spot in the Central Division. Previous to that, Chicago was 5-1 against Detroit on the season having outscored them 25-12, so it would not surprise me at all to see them bounce back tonight.

Obviously if stacking Chicago you want to focus on Kane as he remains an elite player, evidenced by his 54 points in 44 games this season. DeBrincat is a must play to me as well to stack with Kane and his 21 goals on the season, which is the sixth-best mark in the league.

Who will be with them could be a little bit of guesswork. Kirby Dach ($3,700) has been in that role but for the final few shifts of Thursday's game that went to Dylan Strome ($3,300). Perhaps we get some clarity on that throughout the day Saturday, if not we certainly will in pre-game rushes. Fortunately, both players are priced pretty similar and both are on the power play with Kane and DeBrincat, so while I prefer the one who winds up on their line, both are worthy options.

EDM – Connor McDavid ($9,100), Leon Draisaitl ($8,500), Jesse Puljujarvi ($3,700), Tyson Barrie ($5,900)

With no Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Alex Ovechkin, or David Pastrnak on the slate we lose many of the typical "pay-up" options for our lineups, and with that many of the guys who can truly blow up a slate. This leads me to giving the Oilers a really hard look as they absolutely have the potential to leave all other stacks in the dust on this night. They could see a fair amount of ownership because of this but at the same time the road matchup against a Winnipeg team playing pretty well could keep the number in check.

I'm going to look past the matchup and bet on talent and will be sure to have some Edmonton exposure. The Oilers have been idle for a few days, but their last practice saw McDavid and Draisaitl skating together on the top line with Puljujarvi. I'll be sure to have both McDavid and Draisaitl paired together in lineups, but with my third stacking option I will rotate in both Puljujarvi and Barrie. I'd consider Kris Russell ($3,100) and Adam Larsson ($3,500) as well but only if you need the salary relief.

MIN – Kirill Kaprizov ($6,600), Mats Zuccarello ($4,200), Victor Rask ($2,500)

After two really tough looking losses to the Blues, the Wild seemed to have got back on track with a 5-2 win against the Coyotes on Wednesday and another win against these same Sharks on Friday. Leading the scoring was Zuccarello, who found the back of the net twice Wednesday and again Friday, a welcome sight for him after scoring just three goals in all of March. Being on a line with Calder front runner Kaprizov will certainly help. These two are my preferred stacking options for Minnesota, and I'd likely add in Rask to most stacks as well as he centers the duo at 5 on 5, joins Kaprizov on the top power play unit, and is minimum price on DraftKings.

If Friday serves as a guide there will likely be some ownership here on Minnesota so you could also consider some of the skaters outside the top line such as Kevin Fiala ($6,300), Jared Spurgeon ($4,900), and Nick Bonino ($2,800) who are on the top power-play unit and will likely come in with less than ownership than Kaprizov. The Sharks are floundering, having lost five straight by a combined score of 15-5.

Quick Hitters

TB – Missing some key offensive players such as Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos isn't great from a real-life perspective, but at least for fantasy that opens up opportunity for some other players to step up to relevance. One of those beneficiaries has been Ross Colton ($3,600), who has scored in six of the last eight games, surpassing double digit DraftKings points in each. At that price he is a good value who you can stack with his line mates Anthony Cirelli ($4,000) and Alex Killorn ($3,800), both of which are on the top power play unit and present good values in their own right.

WPG – If you think the one-week layoff for Edmonton results in some rust, consider giving the Jets a look who have won five of six including three of those wins coming at Montreal and Toronto. Now back at home, Mark Scheifele ($7,000) and Kyle Connor ($7,700) should have a chance to continue their stellar play. Scheifele in particular is riding a six-game point streak and has posted back-to-back 20+ DraftKings point efforts. Connor is coming off a two-goal game and has scored double-digit DraftKings points in 9 of 11 games.

DAL – The wheels have really fallen off in Columbus who have lost 11 of their last 13 games and have been outscored 46-27 during that stretch. The Stars continue to fight for the last spot in the Central led by the line of Roope Hintz ($6,400), Jason Robertson ($5,700), and Joe Pavelski ($6,800). In nine April games this line has combined for nine goals and 16 assists. When you also consider Miro Heiskanen ($5,100) that adds another three goals and an assist. One thing you'll want to watch for here though is the status of Hintz, who has been out of the lineup twice due to an injury in the last two weeks.

Top Value Options for Filling Out Lineups

C – Joel Eriksson Ek ($4,500), Cirelli ($4,000), Alex Wennberg ($3,200), Ryan Johansen ($3,000)

W – Denis Gurianov ($4,000), Strome ($3,300), Kailer Yamamoto ($3,000), Bonino ($2,800)

D – Ryan Ellis ($3,900), Matt Dumba ($3,800), Keith Yandle ($3,400), Russell ($3,100)

Goalie Picks

Kaapo Kahkonen ($8,200)

Andrei Vasilevskiy ($7,800)

Mike Smith ($7,500)

Sergei Bobrovsky ($7,400)

Kevin Lankinen ($8,000)

Be sure to double check your lineups before lock for any last-minute scratches or goalie changes, especially this year with the Covid protocols. If you follow me on Twitter @SteveDotzel you can subscribe to my "DFS-NHL" list which is comprised of several team beat writers tweeting the most recent news in real time. You can also reach out to me personally and I'll do my best to answer any questions I can. Hope to see you on top of the leaderboards!