A total of eight games hit the ice in the NHL this evening, and there could be a large number of high scoring games. Many of the games have playoff implications, with teams trying to climb into a playoff position, or secure the one they have. This is one of those nights with no clear favorites and a lot of games that could go either way. Although that makes things a bit trickier for building cash game (50/50, head-to-head) lineups, it is definitely a great night to play daily fantasy hockey tournaments. There will be a lot of diversity in lineups, and the key will be hitting the right combination of players or team stacks that go off and leads you to big wins. Let’s go through a lot of information and data to help piece together the puzzle for tonight.

Top Teams to Target Tonight for Daily Fantasy Hockey

With no major favorite on the board, and with numerous top offensive teams in action, this is definitely a night to spread things out for your cash game lineup, and get players from at least four different teams. A lot of teams are great targets for tournament lineups, and for the top three we’ll look to the St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. St. Louis is one of the top teams in the league, with two lines that can score big and they are dynamic at home. The Islanders are the number one scoring team on home ice and face their cross city rival Rangers tonight. They also get winger Kyle Okposo back, which makes their offense even deeper. Carolina is not a team to target on most nights, but they are coming off a seven goal game, and are at home facing a struggling Columbus team on Tuesday.

Today’s article will provide analysis for the teams in action, top teams to target for daily fantasy, recommend players for FanDuel, and even sample lineups that could be used to help build ones for tonight’s play.

Recommended Plays for FanDuel

TOP GOALTENDER PLAYS

Devan Dubnyk ($8,700) – The numbers are stunning for Dubnyk with Minnesota as he’s really turned their season around, going 18-6 for the Wild and delivering stellar goaltending nearly every night. Dubnyk’s salary has risen steadily over the past couple months as a result and he’s hardly a value play any longer. In games where the matchup is favorable (like tonight at home against New Jersey), he’s worth paying up for and makes a great goaltender choice for your cash games or tournament lineups.

TOP CENTER PLAYS

John Tavares ($9,000) – The Center position is loaded again tonight with a lot of players in great positions to score. Topping them all though is Tavares, who has simply been the best player in the league since the All-Star break, scoring points every night including three straight multi-point games. Tavares leads the NHL in points and is near the top in many other categories (goals, powerplay points, shots on goal, shot attempts ratio). Tavares should be the first player put into a cash game lineup tonight with the rest built from there.

TOP LEFT WINGER PLAYS

Zach Parise ($7,500) – Parise is having another solid season overall for the Wild and he’s averaging nearly a point per game in home games. His high shot total allows him to put up a good base fantasy score every game, and he often goes off for multi-point games that can lead to tournament wins. The Devils are a bad road team, ranking near the bottom in both goals allowed and shots allowed on the road. Look for Parise to score a goal tonight with a few shots, and possibly even have a multi-point game.