It's hard to believe, but as currently scheduled this is the 3^rd to last Saturday multi-game DFS slate of the season. While I'm certainly looking forward to the playoffs, the long grind of the regular season is what I enjoy from a fantasy perspective. The small four-game or so slates we will see in the playoffs aren't quite as fun for me as these larger ones we see during the season, but that's just personal preference. And speaking of large slates, I took a peek at the schedule and as it stands there is a 13-game followed by a 14-game slate on tap the next two Saturdays. Wow.

But before we get there, we've got a nine-game slate here today giving us plenty of options to choose from. And what would be better than taking down a large tourney in the final weeks of the season? Here is how I'm handling tonight's slate. All prices are from DraftKings but players and strategies can be applied to FanDuel as well. 

Top Options

VGK – Max Pacioretty ($8,600), Mark Stone ($7,200)

The Golden Knights are cruising right now, having won eight straight games and became the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot with their win on Wednesday. Leading the way has been Mark Stone who saw his streak of two-point games end Wednesday at five, but he did still manage one point with a pretty power-play goal in front of the net. During those six games, Stone has averaged over 18 DraftKings points per game.

Any stack with Stone I'd be sure to include Max Pacioretty as well, who is riding a six-game point streak of his own. Vegas had little trouble with this Ducks team just last week posting victories of 5-2 and 4-0. You can round out this stack with one or both of Chandler Stephenson ($5,200) or Shea Theodore ($6,600). Both join the Stone – Pacioretty duo on the power play and will see plenty of time at even strength as well.

DAL – Roope Hintz ($6,700), Jason Robertson ($6,200), Joe Pavelski ($6,900)

Thursday's game against Detroit did not go as planned for Dallas, falling 7-3. However, prior to that the Stars had picked up a point in eight straight games, including two wins over these same Red Wings where the trio above accounted for four goals and two assists and that was with Hintz missing one of those games. In nine games since April 8, this line has accounted for a staggering 35 points.

Hintz's continual injury designation is frustrating from a fantasy perspective, but the uncertainty keeps his ownership down. It appears at this point he is able to play through his issue and is only sitting on back-to-back stretches. With Dallas off until Monday, I'd expect Hintz to be a go in this one. I'll be stacking all three as they also share top power-play duties together and I will be sure to work in both Miro Heiskanen ($5,500) and John Klingberg ($5,700) to a few as well. Keep an eye on Heiskanen, as he has been dealing with an injury of his own.

MIN – Kirill Kaprizov ($6,500), Kevin Fiala ($6,600), Mats Zuccarello ($4,600), Nick Bonino ($2,900)

The Wild are another team playing some of their best hockey of the season at the present moment. Entering Friday's action, they had won their last five games by a score of 22-9, scoring five goals in three of those. During that five game stretch a majority of that production as come from the four forwards above. Bonino leads the way with eight points, Zuccarello has six, and Kaprizov and Fiala have four each but these numbers continue to rise with Friday night's effort.

Stacking them can be a bit tricky, as they are scattered on three different lines at even strength, but that hasn't been an issue from a fantasy perspective of late. Kaprizov and Zuccarello is likely my preferred stacking pair, given they're the two who share 5-on-5 together, but Zuccarello is absent on the top power play which opens the door for Fiala and Bonino to slot into the stack. Regardless, you want at least two of these guys in any Wild stack and I'd even go up to four if adding in one of Minnesota's skilled defenseman like Jared Spurgeon ($5,400) or Matt Dumba ($4,600).

VAN – Bo Horvat ($6,100), Brock Boeser ($6,400), J.T. Miller ($5,600)

The Canucks return from Covid went exactly as everyone expected, beating Toronto twice and then getting shut out by Ottawa. Huh? That's just how hockey goes sometimes. It seemed the wear finally caught up to Vancouver on Thursday, but perhaps they can bounce back on Saturday. Matt Murray has looked good of late, but the Senators are still a team in the bottom six of the league in both Corsi percentage and high danger chances allowed for the month of April.

In a likely attempt to get the offense going the Canucks rolled with a line of Horvat, Boeser, and Miller to end Thursday's game, and they looked good in brief minutes posting a 78% Corsi share. I like the upside of this line if Vancouver can start getting pucks past Murray, and their somewhat expensive price tags will likely keep ownership in check, even against Ottawa. You can add on Quinn Hughes ($5,200) to this stack who joins the trio on the power play.

Quick Hitters

TOR – It's not often you don't find the Maple Leafs in the top plays section of this article but at this point there isn't much left to say. Auston Matthews ($9,200) will be the highest-owned played on the slate, as he always is. I'll be sure to work him into a few lineups which is now even easier because you can stack him with the new Leaf Nick Foligno ($3,400) who at that price helps fitting in Matthews. Of course, you can add in Mitch Marner ($8,200) as well.

WPG – On the other side of that game, the Leafs are having some real trouble keeping pucks out of the net as they've allowed three or more goals in seven straight games. Blake Wheeler is back in the lineup for Winnipeg and his price tag of ($4,500) is too low. Stacking him with Mark Scheifele ($7,200) and Kyle Connor ($7,600) is a good way to go if you want to attack Toronto. Paul Stastny ($3,600) makes for a cheap one-off if you need a filler somewhere given his spot on the top power play.

NYI – The potential absence of Alex Ovechkin for the Capitals is something I'm hoping the Islanders can take advantage of. These teams played a snoozefest of a game Thursday to a scoreless 0-0 tie after overtime. The duo of Mathew Barzal ($6,000) and Jordan Eberle ($4,700) will go overlooked on this slate which is exactly the time I like to play them. The Islanders have only been beaten twice at home in regulation all season, so it's a good bet they bounce back here.

CAR – Carolina seems to have Florida's number going 6-0-1 against them this season thus far with 16 goals scored in the last four games. If stacking the Hurricanes I'd stick to the power play group of Sebastian Aho ($6,800), Vincent Trocheck ($7,300), and Andrei Svechnikov ($4,900) with the possible addition of Martin Necas ($4,700) to any Trocheck lineups. You can add in Dougie Hamilton ($7,000) or Brett Pesce ($3,800) at defense.

Top Value Options for Filling Out Lineups

C – Nick Schmaltz ($4,200), Pierre-Luc Dubois ($3,900), Sam Bennett ($3,300), Victor Rask ($2,700)

W – Anthony Beauvillier ($3,900), Stastny ($3,600), Mattias Janmark ($3,300), Bonino ($2,900)

D – Nick Leddy ($3,600), Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($3,400), Keith Yandle ($3,200), Ryan Suter ($3,000)

Goalie Picks

Kaapo Kahkonen ($8,100)

Ilya Sorokin ($8,000)

Alex Nedeljkovic ($7,700)

Braden Holtby ($8,300)

Matt Murray ($7,000)

Be sure to double-check your lineups before lock for any last-minute scratches or goalie changes, especially this year with the Covid protocols. If you follow me on Twitter @SteveDotzel you can subscribe to my "DFS-NHL" list which is comprised of several team beat writers tweeting the most recent news in real-time. You can also reach out to me personally and I'll do my best to answer any questions I can. Hope to see you on top of the leaderboards!