DFS NHL Breakdown: Tuesday Line Stacks & Strategies

Please see this previous article for the basic strategy write-up.

My rankings use a Corsi-based rating system that I created, with the average rating 100 both offensively (OR) and defensively (DR). This rating is determined by factoring in Corsi, scoring chances, high danger chances, shooting percentage and save percentage. With the current rosters I have loaded, the Offense Rating (OR) ranges from a best of 115.0 (TOR) to a worst of 88.3 (DET), and the Defense Rating (DR) ranges from a best of 94.0 (BOS) to a worst of 112.6 (OTT). These numbers will change daily with line changes, injuries and player call-ups. The ratings in the chart below represent adjusted match up ratings.

Slate Preview

A nine-game slate is upon us Tuesday, highlighted by an East-West tilt between Boston and San Jose and a battle of Eastern giants Washington and Toronto. All 18 teams are fresh, with no teams on the second of back-to-back nights, though Tampa Bay, Edmonton and Minnesota are playing on the front end of a back-to-back. Below are some highlighted tournaments on FanDuel and DraftKings.

The following chart will be included so I do not have to bog down the write-ups with too many offensive and defensive ratings. Also shown are my projected shots on goal, shooting percentages and save percentages. Starting goalies are listed with either a projected or confirmed tag at the time of publication – this will be updated later in the day.

All players below have a number inside parenthesis next to their names, which denotes the power play unit they are on (1) or (2). If they are not on a power play they will be noted with a (0), and the rare occasion of a (3) means that they are on both power play units.

Line Stacks

BOS1 vs SJ: David Pastrnak (1) ($9,100 FD, $8,300 DK), Brad Marchand (1) ($8,700 FD, $7,700 DK), Patrice Bergeron (1) ($7,500 FD, $7,600 DK) - There are some expensive lines in play Tuesday, but no. 1 with a bullet is BOS1 at home against SJ (101.2 DR). This line is the best in fantasy hockey by a wide margin, and leading the way is Pastrnak with 11 goals and 12 assists in only 11 games. Marchand has an incredible seven goals and 13 assists, while Bergeron has chipped in five goals and six assists. Playing all three guys can cause some tough finds at other positions, so you can save some cap by cutting Bergeron, but this can be a dangerous maneuver because he has four goals in his past five games.

EDM1 at DET: Connor McDavid (1) ($8,800 FD, $8,200 DK), Leon Draisaitl (1) ($8,500 FD, $7,500 DK), Zack Kassian (0) ($4,200 FD, $4,000 DK) - I got caught holding the empty bag last Thursday when I faded EDM1, and I'm not going to make that mistake Tuesday with a matchup against a poor defensive Detroit team (103.0 DR). Typically I knock down top lines on the road because home opponents can use their best defensive lines to slow them down, but that is not the case Tuesday because Detroit does not have a good defensively unit; all four of their lines show up as 100+ DR figures in my ratings.

TB1 at NYR: Nikita Kucherov (1) ($8,400 FD, $7,400 DK), Brayden Point (1) ($7,400 FD, $6,700 DK), Ondrej Palat (1) ($5,100 FD, $4,500 DK) / TB2 at NYR: Steven Stamkos (1) ($8,600 FD, $7,300 DK), Tyler Johnson (2) ($4,900 FD, $5,100 DK), Mathieu Joseph (0) ($3,600 FD, $3,900 DK) - Tampa is notorious for mixing up their stars on the top two lines, so keep an eye on any rearrangements that may occur as the day moves on. We want to focus on their big four: Kucherov, Stamkos, Point and Johnson; use them in combinations that make sense (for exampl, two even strength linemates plus a third power play linemate). The Rangers offer one of the worst defenses in the league, a much needed matchup after a stretch of tough games over the past week.

TOR2 vs. WSH: Mitch Marner (1) ($7,900 FD, $6,900 DK), Ilya Mikheyev (0) ($4,500 FD, $4,300 DK), Alex Kerfoot (2) ($4,300 FD, $3,400 DK) - On of the better kept secrets in the world of fantasy hockey is how bad Washington is defensively (103.8 DR), and on the road at Toronto (115.1 OR) isn't likely to change that. For the price, TOR2 offers some better value than TOR1; Marner is continuing his all-star ways with 15 points in 12 games, while rookie Mikheyev is having a banner start to his career with four goals, six assists and 32 shots in 13 games, including a goal and two assists in his last two games. Kerfoot can be cut, but he has some upside and has two goals and an assist over his last five games.

NSH1 vs. CHI: Viktor Arvidsson (1) ($7,100 FD, $5,900 DK), Ryan Johansen (1) ($5,900 FD, $4,800 DK), Calle Jarnkrok (1) ($4,000 FD, $4,700 DK) - Chicago (102.0 DR) broke a four-game losing streak Sunday at home against Los Angeles, but traveling to Nashville is a different story. NSH1 offers some nice pieces Tuesday, as Ardvisson is the finisher with five goals this year, Johansen is the distributor with eight assists, and Jarnkrok offers solid production (three goals, six assist) at a value price that keeps NSH1 down in overall price.

ANH1 vs. WPG: Ryan Getzlaf (1) ($6,100 FD, $5,400 DK), Nick Ritchie (1) ($3,500 FD, $3,400 DK), Maxime Comtois (1) ($3,300 FD, $2,800 DK) - With all the big lines in play, we are gonna need to find some cheap options, and ANH1 looks to be in a good spot at home against an average defensive Winnipeg team (99.6 DR). Getzlaf has three goals in his last four outings, while Ritchie has assists in three straight games and Comtois has two goals and an assist over his last three -- we don't need a whole lot out of this line to be valuable on this slate, so the performances over the past week look great if they can continue. All three are slated to skate on the top power play unit as well.

Other Options: WAS1 at TOR, TOR1 vs WSH, WPG1 at ANH, PIT1 vs PHI

Solo Forward Options

C: Auston Matthews (1) TOR1 vs WSH ($8,500 FD, $7,500 DK) - You can use the whole TOR1 line, but I find William Nylander and Andreas Johnsson to be underwhelming options, so I'd rather use Matthews by himself or in combination with some TOR2 pieces or Morgan Rielly.

C: Ryan Strome (1) NYR1 vs TB ($4,800 FD, $3,300 DK) - Mika Zibanejad will miss the game, which means Strome will be promoted to the top even strength and power play lines alongside Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko. With two goals and four assists in his last four games, Strome looks like one of the elite value options on the board Tuesday.

W: Alex Ovechkin (3) WSH1 at TOR ($8,400 FD, $8,000 DK) - I seem to always time Ovechkin poorly, but a game at Toronto (115.1 OR & 99.0 DR) offers an up tempo game that he should thrive in. I like him on FanDuel but love him on DraftKings with the heavier weight put on shots.

W: Kyle Connor (1) WPG1 at ANH ($6,300 FD, $5,600 DK) - A promotion to the WPG1 line has been a good one for Connor, as he has responded with a goal and an assist plus seven shots in two games alongside Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

W: Andreas Athanasiou (2) DET2 vs EDM ($4,600 FD, $4,100 DK) - Athanasiou has been one of the worst players in hockey this year with no goals, three assists and a minus-12 rating in 10 games. However, this is a 25-year old who scored 30 goals en route to 54 points last season, there is some positive regression coming. A better pairing with Anthony Mantha and Valtteri Filppula has already sparked some life, as Athanasiou notched one of those assists in the last game, and he has tallied eight shots in the last three.

Defensemen

Roman Josi (1) NSH vs. CHI ($7,000 FD, $6,800 DK) - Josi has three goals, four assists, 17 shots and 10 blocks over his past five games, which is just monster production. After signing an eight-year contract existing Tuesday morning, he is clearly the top defensive option on the slate at home against Chicago (102.0 DR).

Torey Krug (1) BOS vs SJ ($5,700 FD, $5,300 DK) - Krug is a great distributor of the puck and has always been a big assist guy facilitating the BOS1 members at even strength and on the power play; consider stacking him with BOS1 teams.

Jacob Trouba (2) NYR vs. TB ($5,600 FD, $5,500 DK) - Trouba offers a nice floor option for cash games with 23 shots and 17 blocks over his past six games. Tampa Bay is not the ideal opponent (97.8 DR), but his offensive output will be required if the Rangers hope to win this tough affair.

Filip Hronek (1) DET vs. EDM ($3,900 FD, $4,700 DK) - Hronek is a young talented blueliner who has played well of late with a goal, two assists, 15 shots and seven blocks over his last six games. A home date against Edmonton (104.9 DR) offers an up-tempo affair that Hronek should benefit from.

Michal Kempny (0) WSH at TOR ($3,700 FD, $4,400 DK) - Kempney has been on fire, with three goals and two assists over his last five games. Washington is in the midst of a long road trip, but Kempny is a nice value option Tuesday.

Goalies

Ben Bishop DAL vs MIN ($8,400 FD, $8,100 DK) - Bishop is my top goalie on the slate as a home favorite in what should be a low-scoring affair against Minnesota. More importantly, he is still projected to face more than 30 shots against the worst shooting team of the day (8.3 S%).

Pekka Rinne NSH vs CHI ($8,700 FD, $8,300 DK) - Rinne will have a tougher matchup than Bishop, but he also has a better defensive team around him (91.6 DR). With 52 saves and one goal allowed over his past two starts, Rinne should be one of the best options on the slate Tuesday.

Petr Mrazek CAR vs CGY ($7,400 FD, $7,900 DK) - Mrazek was roughed up a bit on Carolina's recent road trip (eight goals allowed to Columbus and Anaheim), but he bounced back with a 32-save shutout at home Saturday against Chicago. Calgary is a tough matchup on paper but has struggled on the road this year with only 13 goals in seven games.

Other Options: Andrei Vasilevskiy TB at NYR ($8,500 FD, $8,200 DK), John Gibson ANH vs WPG ($8,000 FD, $8,000 DK), Alex Stalock MIN at DAL ($7,400 FD, $7,400 DK)