Happy DFS Tuesday to everyone out there who'll be on the front lines with me tonight! This is very interesting slate that we have coming up tonight, and I say that because most of these matchups are closer than they appear as far as predicting the outcomes of these games. Still, I have a couple ideas on directions that we can go to tonight, let's see if we can get into the green!

Slate Preview

New York Islanders

Ah yes, it's been a while since we've gone to the Islanders, hasn't it? I remember last year where it felt like at least once a week, the Isles would find themselves in a good matchup…and at least once a week, they would let us all down. Still, they're going up against a Boston Bruins club that has been brutal defensively and will go in tonight missing their top line center. I can see in single or multi-entry contest going to put in some New York and if so then I may not full stack a line but look at throwing on volume. For me, that would be Kyle Palmieri ($5,300), Anders Lee ($4,800), and Bo Horvat ($6,800). I don't know 100% right now if they're a priority for me in my single-entry lineup but they are on a short list for me as far as games that I wouldn't mind having some exposure to. I get that maybe playing the Islanders can get tricky with correlation so if your build favors more Isles one-offs here and there, then that is certainly a strategy that I'm fine with.

Minnesota Wild

So, if I didn't watch much hockey and you sat me down to watch a game for all 32 teams, then following that exercise asked me to name which one of the bunch was the "worst", I think I would point to the Nashville Predators. I watched their game last night against Vancouver, and outside of Brock Boeser getting the game winning goal in OT (assisted by himself on the half wall, great play), Nashville to me is slow in transition and doesn't worry me at all offensively. Now, Minnesota hasn't been lighting the world on fire either, but their power play has been solid so far, so I might find myself playing some Wild. The Minnesota power play has been good, leading the league in goals for on the man advantage and because Minnesota seems to usually be a popular pick on most nights I don't mind getting more exposure on this club. If you're building a 4-3-1 stack tonight, then maybe taking all of the power play forwards in Vladimir Tarasenko – Joel Ericksson Ek – Matt Boldy – Kirill Kaprizov would be the way to go. Minnesota mostly runs one power play unit, so as much as I'd say you could add in Ryan Hartman, who has been shooting more of late, I'd say stick more to the guys skating on the top unit. Nashville is on back-to-back and while flying from Nashville to St. Paul isn't a particularly a long flight, it is something to keep in mind when giving an advantage to one side or the other. For me, in single-entry, I'm leaning into Minnesota and could see myself making them a priority if I feel good on just who I could pair them with.

Colorado Avalanche

Just like the made-up exercise we did with Nashville and finding the "worst" team in puck, if I was asked to point out the "best" then Colorado might be my pick. They out-pace and outscore all of their opponents and have just one loss in regulation. The issue I run into is that I need a cheap filler to put with Colorado as any build that starts off with Nathan MacKinnon is going to get expensive. I don't mind maybe going MacKinnon ($9,500), Martin Necas ($7,100), and Cale Makar ($7,800), but that would be the extent of my build. I'd say adding Valeri Nichushkin for some second-line exposure would be alright as well with him skating on the top power play is fine as well if you wanted to add in more Avalanche. This club has only scored fewer than three goals once all season, so I may find myself chasing points tonight and adding Colorado into my mix.  


Defensemen

If you're playing Colorado and are spending up to Makar at $7,800 that's fine but for me, I don't know if this is a slate where spending up on the blue line is necessary. I like Matthew Schaefer at $5,500 and even his teammate Tony DeAngelo is a good play down at $3,200. Darnell Nurse at $5k even is at a price where I feel good throwing him into a lineup and Neal Pionk at $4,500 is fine if you don't want to spend up for Josh Morrissey. If you need a super cheap d-man tonight, then I'd look at Ian Cole at $2,900 or Logan Stanley at $2,800.

Goalies

The tippy top tonight is Filip Gustavsson and I'm only going to spend up to the $8,400 price-tag if I'm playing Minnesota and have the available funds elsewhere to fill my lineup. If Jakub Dobes gets the start for Montreal, then I'm alright with starting him at $8,200 but for me I'll be looking sub-$8k. Oh and look who is again below that number! Connor Hellebuyck is $7,600…so let's just put a star next to that name. Igor Shesterkin at $7,500 is solid as well, and I still am fine with Dan Vladar at $7,200 as much as I would stack against him last season.

That's it for now, best of luck tonight everybody!  

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