Preparing to play Daily Fantasy Hockey tonight? In the Powerplay article today we’ll cover a lot of areas to assist in your research and make strong lineups to win your games on FanDuel.

The NHL has an eight-game slate tonight, with a lot of interesting match-ups to select players from. Let’s go through some relevant information to help figure out the puzzle for tonight.

Game Analysis – 10/23

Daily Fantasy Analysis

After a slow start to the season, the Bruins have turned things around, winning their last two games convincingly. The Bruins are always a strong fantasy team, but with balanced scoring it is difficult to determine where the scoring will come from on a given night. The Bruins are a strong GPP tournament option tonight, with either of their top two lines in play, along with Krug on defense. The Bruins could also be used for cash games (50/50 contests, head-to-head) but perhaps limited to one or two players.

Conversely, the Islanders enter this game on a two game skid and were soundly beaten by both the Penguins and Maple Leafs. There are better teams to use tonight, but for tournament plays, Tavares, Okposo, Boychuk and Leddy are options.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

After a tough loss last night at home to heated rival Philadelphia, the Penguins head to Detroit for tonight’s game. Despite playing in consecutive nights, the Penguins can still pile up five or more goals on any given night. Fade them at your own risk.

The Red Wings overall have not been a strong offensive team this year, and it is doubtful they break out tonight. They did get Pavel Datsyuk back last game, but they are not a team that you’ll want to load up on tonight in your cash games. However the Wings’ first line of Datysuk-Zetterberg-Abdelkader is a consideration for tournaments.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

This game is a rematch from their meeting on Saturday where the Hawks won 2-1 in overtime. In between that game and this one, the Blackhawks defeated Philadelphia 4-0 at home. With Nashville as a very good defensive team and especially at home, Chicago isn’t a strong play tonight.

Normally we would target a few Predators in our lineups when at home including the top line of Forsberg-Ribeiro-Neal, and Weber or Josi on defense. However, with a strong opponent like Chicago, we should limit our exposure to them this evening to only tournaments.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

The Coyotes have the ability to score, but all their players should be avoided in this match-up tonight against a tough Wild team.

On the other hand, the Wild are in a great spot tonight and their top players should definitely be considered. The top line of Parise-Pominville-Granlund is a great option for tournaments, and one or two of the linemates could be also used for cash game lineup, perhaps along with Suter or Brodin on defense. Darcy Kuemper is also a good play tonight in goal – more on that below.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

This game is a classic example of road underdog versus home favorite. While the Canucks’ line of Sedin-Vrbata-Sedin is always a tournament option, there isn’t much fantasy value with Vancouver tonight.

The Blues are definitely a team that can get goals (i.e. 6-1, 4-1 wins this year), and the key to using them is finding the right line combo that will score. One option is to avoid the Blues altogether, another is to use their top powerplay unit in tournament lineups.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

The Hurricanes are not fantasy relevant so far this season and can be avoided tonight, with confidence.

The Flames on the other hand are a sneaky option tonight for tournament play in FanDuel. Their players are still relatively inexpensive, and several of the Flames are possible options to use tonight, including Jiri Hudler, Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, T.J. Brodie and Kris Russell.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

Columbus is a good team overall with a very good goaltender and several players that have daily fantasy appeal on most nights. Tonight though that is not the case, facing San Jose in their home rink.

The Sharks finally return home after a long five- game East coast road trip. The Sharks are a different team at home, and with one of the highest powered offenses in the league, they are in a great spot tonight to score several goals and their players will be heavily owned tonight in the daily games.

Daily Fantasy Analysis:

The Sabres have simply been a bad team this year with barely any fantasy relevance. That continues tonight as they face the defending Stanley Cup champions on the road.

For the Kings, this seems like just about as good a match-up as possible. The Kings are undeniably one of the top teams in the league, are playing really well, and are at home facing one of worst teams in the league. The tricky part for us as daily fantasy players is trying to determine how to put the Kings players into our lineups, as they seem to mix-up their lineups regularly. Several of their forwards are good fantasy options, plus their defense pairing of Doughty-Muzzin and goaltender Jonathan Quick are all in play.

Recommended Plays for FanDuel

Now that we’ve taken a close look at each game tonight from a Daily Fantasy perspective, here is a list of recommended players to use tonight in your hockey lineups on FanDuel.

TOP GOALTENDERS – STUDS

[NOTE: Remember to double-check the Starting Goaltenders for the night to ensure the netminder you’re targeting is playing]

1. Jonathan Quick ($10,200) – After leading the Kings to the Stanley Cup last season, Quick has picked up where he left off, with a 1.86 goals-against-average and .951 save percentage so far this season. The Kings are heavy favorites tonight, facing a Buffalo team playing their second game of a back-to-back on the west coast, and with an anemic nine goals scored in their seven games so far this season. All signs point to an easy victory for Quick tonight and possibly a shutout. Quick is the highest goaltender on the board tonight, but with this match-up he is well worth the price.

2. Antti Niemi ($9,200) – Niemi has been dominant at home his whole career (2.21 GAA, .918 SvPct), and after a long road trip he and the Sharks return home with a solid match-up against the Blue Jackets. Even if Niemi gives up a couple goals tonight, he should be in a good position for the all-important W on FanDuel.

3. Tuukka Rask ($10,000) – As noted in the game summary above, the Bruins are rolling lately while the Islanders are struggling. The Islanders have a dynamic first line, but the Bruins should be able to neutralize them and limit the number of scoring chances Rask will face. Rask so far this year has not been the stellar goaltender we’ve come to expect, but he should continue to reverse that trend with a win tonight.

TOP VALUE GOALTENDERS

1. Jonas Hiller ($8,300) – Hiller has been a revelation so far for the Flames after several years of inconsistent goaltending in Calgary. Tonight, Hiller and the Flames are at home to the Hurricanes, who are one of the worst teams in the NHL this year. He is still moderately priced despite scoring 11.8 and 8.8 FanDuel points in his past two games, so take advantage in this plus match-up tonight.

2. Darcy Kuemper ($8,100) – Out of training camp, Kuemper was named the starting Goaltender for the Wild, which was a surprise to many. All he has done since then is prove that the decision was justified, leading the league with a 0.67 GAA and .972 SvPct. Although the Coyotes have been able to score a few goals this year, the Wild should be able to win this one and produce another big win for Kuemper.

3. Jake Allen ($5,900) – Allen is the confirmed goaltender for tonight for the Blues, which is great for us since: a) The Blues are a great team and a good bet to win any night; b) St. Louis is playing Vancouver, who are coming off two ugly losses; and c) his salary in FanDuel is ridiculously low. This is only Allen’s second start of the season, and he is in a great spot to go 2-0.

TOP DEFENSEMEN – STUDS

1. Brent Burns ($6,700) – The Sharks moved Burns back to defense this year after he played on the wing for most of last season. Burns now logs heavy minutes on the blueline and plays almost all of the Sharks’ powerplays. The Sharks are a good bet to score three-plus tonight and Burns should be involved.

2. Drew Doughty ($5,400) – Doughty has been largely hit-or-miss this season in terms of his fantasy production, but it should be only a matter of time before he begins to put up points consistently again. With his inconsistency, Doughty could be considered as more of a tournament play tonight than for cash games, but I don’t mind him in either format.

3. Torey Krug ($5,500) – Krug has quickly bypassed Chara as the top Bruins defenseman and powerplay quarterback. Krug has been hot lately with five points in his last three games, and that hot streak should continue tonight.

TOP VALUE DEFENSEMEN

1. Jonas Brodin ($3,200) – Fresh off signing a six-year contract extension, with a ton to prove? Brodin plays on the top defensive pairing with Ryan Suter, and on the second powerplay unit. He has major offensive upside, and could net a point or two and a few shots for the Wild tonight, at a discount price.

2. Jacob Muzzin ($4,300) – Jake Muzzin makes his season debut tonight for the Kings and should slide right back into his spot alongside Drew Doughty during both regular strength and the powerplay. He may take a game or two to start producing, but potentially he could hit the scoresheet right away and we get him at a nice price tonight.

3. Kris Russell ($3,400) – Although he’s currently listed as the No. 3 defenseman on the Flames’ depth chart, Russell has been getting good powerplay minutes, and has been a steady contributor in daily fantasy lately. He has averaged 3.5 points in FanDuel over his last four games, and has a good chance to continue that with a match-up against the Hurricanes tonight.

TOP LEFT WINGERS – STUDS

1. Zach Parise ($9,000) – Quite simply, Parise is a fantasy stud. He is one of the top goal scorers in the league and is always near the top in shots-on-goal. His salary is high, but he is well worth it tonight.

2. Patrick Marleau ($7,800) – Marleau is one of the safest plays in fantasy hockey, consistently putting up points on a near nightly basis. For this reason he makes a great cash game play, but he also should be included in a Sharks’ line stack.

3. Milan Lucic ($6,800) – The Bruins are surging lately and this coincides with Lucic being the beast that he is known to be. Boston should continue their winning streak tonight and Lucic should again be all over the scoresheet.

TOP VALUE LEFT WINGERS

1. Matthew Nieto ($4,100) – Nieto is back on San Jose’s potent second line with Thornton and Pavelski, and has the potential to provide great value for his low salary.

2. Justin Abdelkader ($4,200) – Playing top line with two of the best players in hockey – Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg – what’s not to like? It is a good night to use Abdelkader as part of a line stack, or even on his own as a cheap way to get exposure to Detroit’s big guns.

TOP CENTERS

1. Jeff Carter ($7,600) – Carter has had elite production this year (3 G, 3 A, +9, 16 shots in 6 games), but is currently not yet at an elite salary. Carter and the Kings have a very strong match-up tonight home to Buffalo, and they should score at least three goals.

2. David Krejci ($7,400) – Krejci centers the Bruins’ top line, playing with Lucic, and also the top powerplay unit. Krejci is another Bruins player that has been hot lately (five points in last three games), and should keep the streak going.

3. Logan Couture ($7,500) – Perhaps a less safe Sharks player than Marleau, Couture has great potential to explode and be a difference maker in daily fantasy hockey tournaments.

TOP VALUE CENTERS

1. Tommy Wingels ($3,800) – Wingels has had a good season, with five points and 19 shots in seven games. Though, his real potential as a play tonight is tied to the fact that he plays on the Sharks’ top line with Couture and Marleau. At this low salary, Wingels makes for a good play for both cash games or tournaments.

2. Mike Ribeiro ($4,400) – After a slow start to the season, Ribeiro is now on a four-game point streak. Centering the Predator’s top line, Ribeiro is a nice value play.

3. Jori Lehtera ($3,600) – Lehtera entered this season as largely an unknown player, but that is quickly changing. Playing on a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz, the trio are all very young and very talented.

TOP RIGHT WINGERS – STUDS

1. Patric Hornqvist ($8,100) – Hornqvist has been a popular daily fantasy play all season long and with good reason. It helps to play alongside Crosby and Kunitz, but Hornqvist is a talented player himself. Although this is not the best match-up for Pittsburgh tonight, Hornqvist is arguably the best way to get exposure to them.

2. Joe Pavelski ($8,300) – By now, the theme to this article should be obvious. The Sharks are one of the best teams to target tonight, and with a relatively weak set of options at RW tonight, Pavelski should be considered.

3. Vladimir Tarasenko ($6,400) – The Blues should put up a few goals at home, and Tarasenko is perhaps the best choice to target from them this evening.

TOP VALUE RIGHT WINGERS

1. Filip Forsberg ($4,200) – Forsberg’s salary has been steadily climbing in FanDuel as his production continues (5 points, +7 in 6 games). With Forsberg on Nashville’s top line and top powerplay unit, he makes for an interesting play tonight, if the Predators can score a few on the Hawks.

2. Reilly Smith ($4,100) – Playing on Boston’s second line and second powerplay unit, Smith has plenty of chances to be a solid fantasy contributor tonight.

TOP TEAMS TO TARGET TONIGHT:

1. San Jose Sharks – The over/under on the Sharks/Blue Jackets game is 6.5 which is worth noting, and considering the line of the game, the Sharks are favored to score four or five goals. This fact alone, along with the Sharks’ firepower, makes them a top team to use tonight.

2. St. Louis Blues – As noted above, the Blues are a good bet to pile up some goals tonight. We will just need to sort out how to use them.

3. Boston Bruins – The Bruins are on the rise and the Islanders are struggling. Boston should score at least three goals tonight and potentially more.

Additional GPP tourney stacks: Minnesota Wild first line - Zach Parise / Mikael Granlund / Jason Pominville, Los Angeles Kings first PP line - Anze Kopitar / Jeff Carter / Tyler Toffoli (although only two maximum since they are all listed as Centers currently on FanDuel)

NOTE: The Penguins should always be considered as a target, for GPP tournaments at least.

FanDuel Lineups

Finally, let’s put all of the information together and look at a couple potential line-ups that we could use in FanDuel tonight.

Lineup for Cash Games (50/50s, Head-to-head):

In today’s cash game lineup, we’ll spread out our roster across several teams that are in good match-ups tonight, and utilize a few player combinations (Marleau-Couture, Forsberg-Ribeiro, Lucic-Krug). For our goaltender, we’ll use Niemi who has a great chance for a solid game and a win.

GPP Tournament Lineup:

There are many combinations of tournament lineups that could be created, utilizing teams that could possibly go off for four or more goals tonight.

The lineup shown above is one example of a tournament lineup that could be used. It includes a value goaltender (Allen) to save salary for other positions, along with three Wild players and two each from Los Angeles and Calgary. This lineup contains more risk than the cash game lineup, but also has potential to score well.