I hope everyone enjoyed the few days off of the fantasy grind over the All-Star break. Things got back rolling this week and the next few days are a good primer in leading up to what is typically the best time of year to play daily fantasy hockey. That time is the NBA All-Star break which begins Friday, February 17 and continues until Wednesday, February 22. With no NBA (and of course no NFL either) the daily fantasy sites put much more effort into NHL, which for most of that stretch is the only game in town. Larger contests, bigger prize pools, and usually some added promotions all come together for some more than normal money to win.

While all of that is exciting, that's not until next week so let's refocus on the task at hand and that's breaking down the slate we have in front of us today. While there are several teams in action on this Saturday, the game times are spread out in a way that we're left with two medium sized slates instead of one big one. Since the late window of 7 pm EST is considered the "featured" slate by DraftKings, that is where I will focus. As always, be sure to give the tool at DFS Central a look for another perspective. The player prices are from DraftKings, but the information and concepts can be applied to any site.

Top-Tier Stack to Pay Up For

The Maple Leafs and the Blue Jackets are in the midst of a home/road back-to-back so with both teams playing and traveling Friday, it's tough to give an advantage to one side. However, the Leafs will have the benefit of home ice on Saturday and despite the absence of Auston Matthews, they are clearly the superior team. I like targeting the now top line here of John Tavares ($7,200), Mitch Marner ($6,800), and Michael Bunting ($4,800). In the four games without Matthews, this trio has combined for four goals and nine assists. Certainly not huge numbers but the potential is certainly there given the correlation they all have skating together at even strength and the top power play along with the plus matchup.

Mid-Tier Stack to Target

In the fourteen games the Jets have played since Nikolaj Ehlers ($7,200) returned from injury in early January, the trio of Ehlers, Mark Scheifele ($6,000), and Blake Wheeler ($5,200) have combined for 41 points. At an average of just under a point per game per skater, it has been a productive group. This is despite the team scoring two goals or less in five of their last eight games, meaning when they do score you have a good idea where it's coming from. I like them to take advantage tonight on home ice against a Blackhawks team who just played last night and whose primary concern at the moment is the package they can get back for dealing Patrick Kane.  

Cheap Stack to Build Around

Sure the Blues just shipped out Vladimir Tarasenko but that should open the door for a few more opportunities from the skaters who remain. In their first game action since the trade and the break, St. Louis gets the best matchup on the board facing a Coyotes team on a road back-to-back. While Jordan Kyrou ($7,100) is the top play for me here, he certainly isn't cheap. However, we do have some Blues that are so I like rounding out my lineups with some combination of Ryan O'Reilly ($3,900), Pavel Buchnevich ($5,300), Brandon Saad ($4,200), and Brayden Schenn ($4,200) who are very affordably priced given the matchup.

Goalies

Between the pipes I'm looking to match my goalie from any of the three teams listed above. I believe all three have major win equity and those six DraftKings points rewarded for a win are important. When factoring in price, my slight favorite to the group is whoever gets the nod between Jordan Binnington ($8,100) and Thomas Greiss ($8,100) as they come in a few hundred dollars cheaper than the other two.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @SteveDotzel so you can follow my "DFS-NHL" list which is comprised of dozens of team accounts and beat writers providing important updates throughout the day. Best of luck with your lineups!