Good day to all my DFS folks out there! I played last night (because of course I did), and it was one of those nights where the lines I picked played good actual NHL hockey, just not what we want for DFS. I had the Carolina second line who I don't think going into the third period of their game versus Boston, took a draw in the defensive zone and had plenty of good scoring chances…crickets. Hey, it happens! Let's get right back at it tonight and see if we can't be in the money.

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Detroit Red Wings

So, I have some interest in Detroit and am ready to go to war with all the higher roster numbers that they are likely going to carry tonight. The top line of Alex DeBrincat (getting bullied in OT by Tage Thompson) – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond, is fully correlated in a very good matchup on home ice where they'll see Philipp Grubauer in net for the Kraken. My worry, as with all lines that will carry high roster numbers, is that if they do indeed smash tonight, then it's going to be myself and 300 of my closest friends thinking the same thing. So, we can add in Moritz Seider on the blue line to get a little bit higher exposure or even drop down to the second line and add in Patrick Kane, for a 4-3-1 build. This line leapt off the screen this morning when I was going through each game and while I haven't pulled the trigger on playing them, they are on a short list of clubs that I would consider tonight.

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg is on home ice tonight where they'll see a Columbus team coming off a back-to-back against Montreal where the game went into a shootout. There's no secret to Winnipeg, just stack the top line, add Josh Morrissey, and continue your build. Last week I stayed away from the Jets as it was more price-driven as for example we saw Mark Scheifele's salary at $8k, where now he's back below $7k. If there's any pause I have here it's that scoring on the power play may be limited for the Jets, as Columbus is taking the third fewest minors in the NHL right now, but the combination of the Jackets on the second half of a back-to-back with Elvis Merzlikins in net has me interested. I don't know 100% if they're a go-to for me in single entry but if I was playing more than one lineup, I probably would have some sort of Winnipeg stack in my mix.

Dallas Stars

There's a lot we can do with the Stars tonight, and for me it's all centered around Jason Robertson who has 10 points in his last four games. Hand up, Dallas isn't usually a club I gravitate towards so I'm a little unfamiliar on how they like to run lines, but the top six to me is catching my eye, particularly the second line. Part of this is play with Jason Robertson along with Roope Hintz at center, who since coming back has eight points in six games, but it's also a mix of what Dallas allows me to create tonight. I can full stack the second line and have salary leftover to full stack the Tampa Bay second line if I want, and with that build still have enough salary to get up to an expensive goaltender in net. The offensive numbers for Dallas are good as a whole as well with club sitting near the top of the league in shots on goal percentage, and overall points. I am considering Dallas just be aware that Ilya Sorokin on the other end is starting to put it together as he is top five in goals saved above average since Halloween.

Defensemen

Top of the defensive board today is Zach Werenski who if you have the salary for is always a solid play, even as a one-off I don't mind the spend up to him tonight. Josh Morrissey at $6,500 is a good spend up pivot as well and the same applies if you want to either one-off him or throw him onto a Jets stack, either or is fine. The $5k range is where it gets interesting tonight as Miro Heiskanen, Moritz Seider, and Victor Hedman if he's in, are all very playable tonight. If you need to start saving salary, I'm looking at Morgan Rielly sitting at $4,400 with points in six of his last seven games, as he may fit into my lineup if price allows. On the opposite side of the Leafs tonight, I have interest in Justin Faulk, who's priced nicely at $4,100, and if you need a very (very) cheap defenseman, then Louis Crevier for the Hawks is your guy at $2,700.   

Goalies

I would love to spend up to the top and grab Connor Hellebuyck at $8,500 but for me, my build is probably going to force me to set my sights a just a tad lower down the salary chain for my netminder tonight. That said, Andrei Vasilevskiy at $8,200 would be my ceiling and I do think there's ways that you could fit him into a lineup on this slate. Igor Shesterkin for New York is in play for me tonight at $7,300, but if I was playing say three- or five-maxes, I would want to spread out my exposure going into a matchup in Vegas. I also do have some interest in Yaroslav Askarov in net…there's no way that burns me in the end, right? He has four wins in his last five starts and is priced down at a point to where I could spend up elsewhere, so he makes for a very intriguing play on this slate.

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

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