We've reached one of the best times of the year to play NHL DFS, and we have NBA All-Star weekend to thank. With no NBA games on the schedule, the NFL having obviously completed their season last weekend, and MLB still a few weeks away from starting up – the NHL is quite literally the only game in town. As a result, we'll see an influx of fantasy players entering lineups as some of the regular NBA crowd will try their hand at NHL to keep themselves busy. The fantasy sites know this and as a result offer some slightly larger contests this weekend, which naturally brings some larger payouts. All told, it's a great time to use up some good luck and hit for a big score.

If you happen to be someone that stumbled across this article that isn't used to NHL DFS (or even if you are), one option for you is our tools at DFS Central. Be sure to check them out to help build some lineups. Another option is to keep reading this article and I'll dive into some players I'll be targeting on this eight-game main slate. I think it's important to keep in mind as you read along that on most nights the large field tournament winning lineups are comprised of stacks of three to four players from two different teams. All player prices are from DraftKings, but the information and concepts can be applied to any site.

Top-Tier Stack to Pay Up For

I think Toronto is going to get the most attention in this spot given their home matchup against the lowly Canadiens, but I'm going to pivot over to a Sabres team that just broke out of their funk in a big way. Buffalo had been losers of four straight games where they only mustered seven goals. That was until they played the Ducks on Wednesday and scored seven times in that game alone. The matchup tonight is almost just as good, as the Sharks trail only those Ducks, the Canucks, and Blue Jackets in goals allowed on this season. The Sabres received scoring from throughout the lineup in that game but on most nights it's a good bet the top line of Tage Thompson ($8,700), Alex Tuch ($7,100), and Jeff Skinner ($6,700) along with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin ($7,100) will be responsible for most of the damage. Stacking this entire group or at least three of the four is where I'd start my lineups on this night when looking to pay up.

Mid-Tier Stack to Target

This one is purely a play on the matchup, as the Flyers offense has sputtered with just eight goals in five games since the All-Star break. However if there was a time to get going, tonight could be it against a Canucks team who's given up at least four goals in six consecutive games. This is something like what happens when a completely movable force meets something that can easily be stopped – do I have that saying right? If the Flyers are going to come up with some offense, it's likely to be led by Kevin Hayes ($6,200), Travis Konecny ($7,500), and James van Riemsdyk ($4,400). This trio has accounted for five of the team's eight goals in this stretch. It's very possible that the combination of Philadelphia's lack of offense coupled with their seemingly overpriced tags, could keep the ownership on this stack much lower than one would expect given the A+ matchup.

Cheap Stack to Build Around

One of the hottest teams out of the break are the Detroit Red Wings who have won five straight contests. On the flip side, the Kraken have allowed the fourth-most goals in the league over the last two weeks. Dylan Larkin ($6,600) is on fire right now with six goals and six assists in the six games Detroit has played since picking back up. He isn't exactly cheap but he's a must in any Red Wings stack. We can help offset his salary with some additional pieces around him who are more fairly priced. Tyler Bertuzzi ($3,900) is my first choice from that group as he's the one player that joins Larkin at even strength and the power play. Bertuzzi has six points in those six games as well. From there Robby Fabbri ($3,700) is a solid option and while he only skates with Larkin on the power play, he has racked up eight points over this stretch.

Goalies

Between the pipes I'm typically looking to stack my goalie with one of my stacks from that lineup. However, if looking for a standalone option, I'd consider Jaroslav Halak ($7,100). Halak has won his last seven starts dating back to December 17 and has scored double digit DraftKings points in every game. Despite this run of good form Halak is priced as the 14^th-best goalie out of 16 options on the slate, a ranking I feel is undeservedly low.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @SteveDotzel so you can follow my "DFS-NHL" list which is comprised of dozens of team accounts and beat writers providing important updates throughout the day. Best of luck with your lineups!