Good day, all! I finally was able to catch some puck last night, with a newborn and my White Sox in playoffs those took priority – probably in that order as well. I was excited to watch some of the games and was treated to the Penguins laying the smackdown on the Flyers. Big thanks to ESPN as well for reminding me 17 times that those two clubs play in the same state.

This is a very funky eight-gamer we have upcoming and that's mostly due to new line combinations, and unsure power play correlation. Still, I have a couple spots that I may target to get back on track after Tuesday's slate. Played the Golden Knights (good decision) with depth Rangers (bad decision). Let's get it tonight!

Slate Preview

Tampa Bay Lightning

On a slate filled with question marks, I'm looking to go play sure things and Tampa Bay may just be one of them. Last season, the Lightning beat the Rangers twice in three games with scores of 6-2, and 5-1. Even with the last game being a loss, that was in the last game of the season when Tampa Bay had already clinched a playoff spot. Let's dive in on some Bolts, shall we?

I don't love going up against Igor Shesterkin, but Tampa offers two very playable top two lines. If I decide to go in this direction, then I'm just full on stacking each line to get a little different in my build and going from there. I do lean Tampa Bay1, and as a Blackhawks fan, I'm telling you don't sleep on Ilya Mikheyev up there on line one…I believe my Vancouver people will agree. Sigh. It always worries me when the "smart" teams call and sign a player. Surely this won't come back and bite the Hawks.

New Jersey Devils

So, I filmed our DFS short last evening and was high on the Devils, particularly because they are going up against a Philadelphia club that is the only club on this slate on a back-to-back. The problem now is me, you, and the rest of North America just watched the Flyers get stomped by the Penguns last night.

This is going to jump the popularity so if that's the case, I'll try and be over the field. When it comes to New Jersey, I know power play correlation is usually a no-go, so what I typically do is grab all four forwards from the top six and make my build a 4-3-1. This has worked for me in the past outside of the time where Nico Hischier got a hat trick but hey, sometimes we miss.

The price to roster all four of the Devils forwards comes out to $21,000 which is about the price at times of a high-end top line, so the price point is something I can get behind to add another skater. The Devils also offer a great filler line as I don't mind the third line if you need to save some salary.

Edmonton Oilers   

I'm playing the Oilers here tonight if our guy Kevin Lankinen is in net once again. I'm a Blackhawks fan and have seen the Kevin Lankinen show plenty of times. Even with the wild outcome on Tuesday night, Edmonton may be a draw for me in single entry.

The way that I would build out an Edmonton-based lineup would be say, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard. Or Vasily Podkolzin, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Shea, something along those lines to where I'll grab two skaters and defensemen and build from there.

I'm leaning this build more as a fallback if I shy away from New Jersey or Tampa Bay, but it is one to where I'm either playing a three-man stack or nothing as a one-off Connor McDavid won't get me far as I'm sure 50 of my closest friends in tournaments will be doing the same.

Defense

The highest I'd be willing to pony up for a defenseman tonight would be Evan Bouchard at $7,500, with him being the only $7K plus d-man I could see putting into a lineup.

Roman Josi at $6,700 is interesting to me, and he's a player that I feel safe plugging into a lineup on most nights. Quinn Hughes right below him at $6,600 is playable as well, but that to me would be more with a Minnesota stack than as a one-off defenseman.

In the $5K range I like Vince Dunn at $5,200 and dipping into the $4K and below I still lean Filip Hronek at $4,800 even with his price going up slightly.

For cheaper defensemen, I may look toward Ryan Ufko from Nashville, as he'll get top pair time with Josi along with secondary power play time. He's priced at $3,500 which is more than reasonable for a defenseman that could see good ice time. Owen Power sitting at $3,200 is in the same situation and can see him being my go-to cheaper defenseman on the board tonight.

Goalies

If I have the salary to spend up then I'll reach up and grab Jesper Wallstedt at $8,100. He has shutout potential every time he takes the ice, and while the volume may not be there from the Predators, he is in a good spot to earn the win for the Wild.

If you're not playing Tampa Bay, then Igor Shesterkin again makes a lot of sense, and is priced right at $7,300 which could be a steal come final whistle.

For a cheaper goaltender, I would play Joseph Woll if I'm fading New Jersey, as he should see excellent volume at $7,100. It's not where I'm leaning but in a break glass in need of a cheaper goaltender, I do think he makes an alright option. I probably wouldn't do this in single entry, but in multiple entry to where you have an expensive stack, I could see rostering him tonight as an option.  

That's it for now — best of luck tonight!

For continued fantasy news and notes, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz.