Good day, everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great off-season. I’m excited to be back for another season of daily fantasy hockey.

For those of you who have been following along over the past few seasons, first off, thank you. Second, welcome back!

And for anyone who is new to DFS, or perhaps just stumbled onto this article by accident, welcome as well. Typically, I highlight three teams or situations on a given slate that I believe present strong DFS opportunities, along with a handful of defensemen and goaltenders worth considering.

One quick note: all pricing referenced throughout this article is based on DraftKings, as that’s where I primarily play. I haven’t seriously looked at FanDuel since they moved to two UTIL spots and adopted some truly outrageous pricing back in, I believe, 2018.

If reading isn’t your thing but you’re still interested in award-winning DFS analysis, you’re in luck. Dobber Hockey also publishes video content across all of our social media platforms that complements much of what you’ll read here. I even speak at a brisk pace for TikTok and YouTube Shorts, which I’ve been told is the perfect format for, and I quote, “watching from the bathroom stall at the office.” Wherever you consume your DFS content is fine by me!

With that, let’s dive into the 2026-27 DFS season…

Slate Preview

Toronto Maple Leafs

We’ve seen the Maple Leafs open the season against the Montreal Canadiens a few times in recent years. One game, in particular, stands out. Toronto peppered Sam Montembeault with nearly 40 shots, only to watch him steal the game. These matchups are always physical and emotional, but I’m willing to have some exposure to Toronto tonight.

If you’re building around the Leafs, I’d avoid locking in any of their left wingers until deployment becomes clearer. Gavin McKenna will undoubtedly be the shiny new toy and likely draw significant ownership, but it’s still uncertain how the ice time shakes out between him, Easton Cowan, or potentially a combination of both. With Matthew Knies gone and Kirill Marchenko still needing to complete his visa process, my interest centers more on Auston Matthews as a one-off play or a Matthews-William Nylander mini-stack.

I do have some concerns about any matchup against the Nick Suzuki line, so my interest here is driven more by shot volume and power-play upside than five-on-five domination. I also have slight concerns about the Leafs’ team-bonding trip to Arizona right before opening night, but who am I to judge? If you use optimizers and end up with Toronto exposure, I am open to the play.

New York Rangers

Wasn’t there a stretch last season where the Rangers failed to score a home goal in their first five games? Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself. I’m interested in the Rangers tonight, particularly their power play against the Boston Bruins.

Over the past two seasons, Boston has ranked among the league leaders in times shorthanded during the opening month. If they’re making frequent trips to the penalty box again tonight, that creates an appealing opportunity for New York’s power play.

I also think Pavel Dorofeyev‘s addition could help the Rangers’ man advantage regain some of the effectiveness it showed a few seasons ago. If you’re looking to save salary, I’m perfectly comfortable fading Adam Fox and focusing solely on the Rangers’ top power-play forwards. That’s a strategy I could easily employ myself.

Vegas Golden Knights   

Quick refresher: targeting the Chicago Blackhawks on the road remains a profitable DFS strategy. Vegas is going to be one of the most popular teams on the slate, but there are still ways to get creative.

Normally, I’d start with a three-man stack of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Shea Theodore. However, recent practice lines suggest Vegas is experimenting with a five-forward power-play unit, and if that remains the case, Victor Olofsson becomes an intriguing salary-saving option. It also opens the door to different roster constructions, such as a 4-3-1 stack while allocating extra salary to another premium Golden Knights skater rather than a defenseman.

Chicago doesn't have a true checking line and faces what may be the deepest center group in hockey. Yes, it’s opening night and weird things happen, but I’m fully on board with Vegas in single-entry contests and believe they’re worth significant exposure in multi-entry formats as well.

Defense

The most expensive defenseman I’m comfortable paying for tonight is Adam Fox at $5,600. He should continue logging in for heavy minutes and carry excellent power-play exposure in a favorable matchup against Boston.

If pregame reports indicate Shea Theodore has reclaimed his role on the top Vegas power-play unit, I’d also have interest at $5,400.

Filip Hronek stands out at $4,400. He should see substantial ice time and has legitimate blocked-shot bonus upside. For those needing additional salary relief, Jamie Oleksiak at $3,100 offers a similar path to value through blocks and defensive deployment.

Goalies

I only have two goaltenders circled tonight. The first is Igor Shesterkin at $7,400. I’m higher than the consensus on the Rangers and believe this salary point provides excellent value without requiring a nearly-$8,000 investment in net.

If you’re looking to get a little contrarian, Spencer Knight at $7,100 is interesting. He should face plenty of shots, and in DFS, volume is king. I can’t confidently project a win for Chicago, but the betting market has shown some quirks, with certain books favoring the Blackhawks on the puck line while still listing them as underdogs on the moneyline. That's…we'll go with interesting.

That's it for now — best of luck tonight! Let's start the regular season strong.

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