Good morning, all! We have a very interesting slate coming up for DFS on the six-game main slate with Toronto, Colorado, Vegas, all in excellent matchups. Even Edmonton is in a great matchup, and that's keeping in mind the status of both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are listed as "out". There aren't too many slates throughout the season that you have to choose a lane and stick to it, but I think that we can get creative and find a way to make it work.

For me, the way that I might go about building will be to find a cheap stack here or there, and pair them with expensive one-offs. It may be an easier strategy than putting all my eggs in one basket to try and predict which of the teams in a favorable matchup could go off tonight.

Slate Preview

New Jersey

New Jersey is a club that I didn't think that I would play much of down the stretch, given their injuries, but tonight I could focus some of my salary on playing them going up against the Senators. The Sens in their own right are going to be a clear pivot from the chalk spots, so I don't mind playing some of the Devils on this slate. If you wanted to play Nico Hischier ($6,300) and pair him with cheaper options on the blue line, I think that's fine. That alone will set you apart from the chalk, but you could also pair him with Jesper Bratt who's also at $6,300 and build around the two-man while pairing them with one option on the blue line.

If my goal is to try and have enough money for two expensive one-offs, then I don't too much of my salary allocated in one place, but I can get away with at least throwing Hischier into my mix. Typically, I don't like to punt at the center position given the disparity between the top tier centers going down to the bottom. To that point as well, most centers on the power play don't get too involved on the man advantage unless you're one of those centers that go for around $8K on any given slate. With not wanting to completely punt on that position tonight, I can see going with Hischier as part of my build, then finding my wings elsewhere.  

Montreal

In the event that you're allocating your funds right up to the ceiling for top-line Colorado, the Toronto power play, or the Vegas top line, you're going to need a filler, and the Habs may have just the line for you. Sure, if you want to play the top line of Cole Caufield ($6,500), Nick Suzuki ($6K), and Juraj Slafkovsky ($5,700), you can absolutely do so, but I don't mind looking at parts of the depth here. Patrik Laine is below $5K at $4,700 on the second line, but it's the third line that's catching my eye.

As far as third lines go tonight, the Vegas third line is fully correlated on the second power play unit but where I worry is production and minutes, which has led me to the Habs third line. Brendan Gallagher ($3,600), Christian Dvorak ($3,200), and Josh Anderson ($2,800), have five goals for in their last three games and are playing high enough minutes that I have interest if I need a cheap filler stack. Like all depth lines, I worry that the opportunity to play them has passed, but trends are your friends. They may be a very good option tonight to fit in an otherwise expensive forward grouping.

Edmonton

No McDavid, no Draisaitl. This is a bummer for those out there rostering these two in fantasy, but for DFS this gives us an opportunity here to play the Oilers in a decent spot and cheaper price point to fit an expensive group with them. I'm curious if these lines are going to change up at all during the game, or come pre-game we come to find that the lines have shifted around, but right now we Jeff Skinner down at $4,300 on the top line and pair him with Zach Hyman at $6,700, who my guess is remains with the top trio throughout the duration of this game.

I typically don't love Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in DFS, but he could be our friend tonight at $5,400 and will see good ice time as well as top power-play time for whatever that's worth for the Oilers tonight. Part of me thinks that the Oilers still come out and put up numbers against this Seattle club at home, and don't want to potentially miss out on that. In my single entry, I don't know if I'm going all-in on Edmonton, but I could see myself pairing a forward and a defenseman from this team and building around that duo.

Defensemen

Cale Makar is $8K, so if you have the salary to play him, I'm never going to say no. Either Edmonton top-pair defensemen of Evan Bouchard at $6,800 or Jake Walman at $5,200 is fine to play tonight, with or without stacking the Oilers. I don't even mind going to Darnell Nurse at $5,300 as well, it's still a decent enough spot for the Oilers on home ice. That said, Brandon Montour on the other side of that matchup is playable and I do like Noah Hanifin down at $5K for Vegas. Devon Toews at $4,600 is at a price that I would feel alright playing him at. Going down away, Brett Pesce at $3,700 is someone that I'm targeting in my single-entry lineup.

Goalies

For me tonight, if I can get up to Adin Hill at $8,400, then I will. He has been stellar lately and should see fair volume from Detroit, while still in a favorable matchup on home ice. Jake Allen from a volume standpoint is someone that I have interest in, but it's just the $8K price tag that's got me getting cold feet. Still, if you're chasing volume, he may be in one of the better spots tonight. Sam Montembeault has been my go-to lately and is priced at $7,200. That price could skyrocket if he shuts down Colorado tonight. I can't see myself going much lower than Montembeault, but if you wind up with either Detroit goaltender in an optimizer then that's perfectly fine.

Good luck tonight everybody!  

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