Good morning DFS squad! I hope that everyone out there had a fantastic holiday! I played last night and got there with my Columbus top line stack plus Zach Werenski (spoilers), and all I needed was Dallas to come through and I'd had been well into the cash without anyone from the Buffalo game. Dallas Stars top line, how could you fall flat for me just two days after my brother got me Dallas Stars golf tees as a stocking stuffer?

For this slate today, we have a few teams that will be running back their matchups from yesterday, and there's a couple spots in particular that I may very well be finding myself going right back to the well. Before diving in here do want to shout out Tampa Bay here tonight at home versus a Rangers club that the last time we saw them had no Chris Kreider and got blanked by the Devils. Tampa is expensive, so if I'm going anywhere for them, it would be the depth and keep it moving.

Slate Preview:

New Jersey vs Carolina

First home-and-home here tonight and I'm right back to considering playing the Devils here. If we look at the top ten in on-ice expected goals for per 60 minutes, six of them play for New Jersey. I get that going into Carolina is no treat, but this might be a spot for the patented, never lost (still 1-2 on the season) strategy of playing the top four Devils wingers plus Dougie Hamilton. I'll say here tonight that Hamilton might be optional but tonight might be a night where I spend up on defensemen, I haven't built my lineup just yet but if the salary is there then spending more on defense is in play here for me. Now, if I do leave off Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes on whatever New Jersey stack I build I do worry a little bit, but I think I may be able to get my centers elsewhere on the slate tonight to save some salary.

For the home Canes, if I'm going anywhere here it would be the second line of Martin Necas ($6,900) and Andrei Svechnikov ($6,700). I really don't mind this two-man stack, and if you're going into multiple entry here tonight then I'd think you'd want at least some Carolina in your mix. It's just the price that's keeping me away right now in single entry. We'll get to the blueline in a little bit here, but I could see pairing that two man with Shayne Gostisbehere ($4,900) for a unique three-man stack to get a little unique as a play here tonight. I'm not completely axing the Canes here tonight, as I haven't built my lineup just yet, but this is just a spot where I like the New Jersey side a bit more. 

Columbus vs Boston

I'm ready to run this back! Lock and load, fully correlated Columbus top line. We ride. I was a little worried last night because I knew that this Columbus team was in a good spot, which meant that if and when they went off, their prices would rise a bit on DK. Good news is the prices went up only slightly and this top line is still at a manageable price here going in to Boston. Sean Monahan ($6,300) went up from $6K and I'm hoping that whatever I end up doing here tonight, I can add him in to my mix. Tonight, Boston will also be starting Jeremy Swayman which only adds to my interest here for Columbus so adding in Kirill Marchenko ($6K) and Dmitri Voronkov ($4,500) for a full Columbus top line stack is in play here to the point where you may have to make a choice on just what direction to go to tonight in single-entry. I can't say that I'm in love with the second line for Columbus but if you wanted to roster Adam Fantilli at $3,600, that's fine but for me this is all about the top line.  

On to Boston here. Last night I played the Dallas top line in a much better spot (or so it seemed) and came out palms up. The issue here is pricing. David Pastrnak is still up near $9K and I can't see myself getting to any of the centers here for Boston. What's keeping me somewhat interested is going up against Columbus goaltending, but just going back here, there hasn't been a night where Boston has absolutely taken down a slate like they used to when Boston's top line got immediate consideration night in and night out. For me, I'll assume things stay the same and build elsewhere.
 
Washington vs Toronto

I'm actually going to start with the home Leafs here. I draw from memory often, and I remember watching this exact same game a little over a month ago. Washington was in control of this game all the way until they weren't with Marner scoring a late goal to tie it up late in the third and John Taveras winning it for Toronto just before OT expired. Toronto might be popular here again, but for me I might just mix and match where I get my Toronto exposure from to build something unique. If you wanted to go something like William Nylander ($8,200), Matthew Knies ($4,400), Nicholas Robertson ($2,800), I don't mind it. You could take a wing off the top line and add in pieces of the depth without Auston Matthews I can see that being a build here. In single entry I'm considering Toronto here. They won't a priority play here for me, but something that I am leaning towards if I build something around New Jersey and don't like the way the lineup looks before lock.

For the road Capitals here tonight, they've entered into the Vancouver zone. They have a couple good playable lines, and nobody will be interested in playing them. To be fair, the last time I rostered the Caps they burned me going up against the Canes, but it's a decent spot here tonight, so I don't mind them in multiple entry. If I go anywhere here it would likely be the second line and think that a Connor McMichael one off here at $5,700 is absolutely in play.

Defensemen:

For defensemen here, the top of the board is Zach Werenski at $8,300 and boy oh boy do I have it circled. It may be too steep for me here, but I can't completely close the door on him. If that's indeed the case, then it's going to be one very pricey defensemen paired with someone below $3K. Odds are, I'll be living more in the $5K-$6K range here as there's a lot that I like starting with Josh Morrissey at $5,800 and John Carlson at $5,700. If my guy Jake Walman suits up tonight, then I'll also consider him at $5,500 – great trade by you Detroit (and St. Louis for that matter). Brent Burns for Carolina is fine here at $3,900, Chris Tanev stopping pucks with his face at $3,400, and Luke Hughes at that same price are all at good prices that should fit in most builds here.

Goalies:

On to goaltending where I'm legally obligated to shoutout Connor Hellebuyck at home, regardless of price ($8,200). Jake Allen for New Jersey is an interesting play here at $7,600, and while that might just be a little bit too much salary for him going up against Carolina, I'll consider him with my eventual New Jersey build. Igor Shesterkin on the road at $7,400 is a solid "maybe", not at the top of my list but if I get there, I get there. Ilya Sorokin vs the Pens is just what the doctor ordered to close my laptop early tonight at $7,300 as I text various hockey threads that the best thing that's happened to the Islanders this season is that the Rangers and Sabres exist. I can't see myself going much cheaper than Sorokin here, so if you're like me make sure you have some salary left over to build around your netminder here tonight.

Good luck tonight everybody!  

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