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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for October 21, 2025. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
Tuesday is the biggest day of the week for the NHL, and today’s slate doesn’t look like it will disappoint. There are 10 games on the docket, headlined by the Florida Panthers heading to Boston to take on the Bruins and capped off with Colorado facing off against the Mammoth and stud goalie Karel Vejmelka in Utah.
DraftKings is loaded with big money opportunities, highlighted by the $20-entry Overload with a $20,000 first-place prize. If you want a shot at big money, but don’t want to spend as much on your entry, the $5-entry Poke Check has a $10,000 prize and under 10,000 entrants. Three other tournaments with an entry fee of $20 or less have a top prize with a comma (over $1,000), so there’s something for everyone of all budget sizes.
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NHL DFS Analysis And Picks For 10/21/25
New York Islanders (NYI1 - Mathew Barzal, Kyle Palmieri, Anthony Duclair; $14,700 DK)
Defensive Addition: Matthew Schaefer ($5300 DK)
This is a fun, but very weird slate. We have Toronto, Colorado, Edmonton, and Florida playing, yet none of them are going to feature in our top plays. Instead, the New York Islanders popped the hardest on the Heat Map with a matchup against a hapless San Jose defense. The Sharks continue to mix and match their defensive pairings, but no matter who they put together, they struggle on the road.
This year, they’ve allowed a slate-high 4.02 even-strength goals and 14.84 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road. Goalie Yaroslav Askarov has allowed 13 goals in just two starts this year, saving a slate-worst 71% of the high-danger shots he’s faced. In front of him will skate the defensive pairing of Mario Ferraro and Dmitry Orlov, who have given up 5.37 expected goals, 34.14 scoring chances, and 18.97 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Islanders have played very well at home, scoring 2.85 even-strength goals per 60 minutes. Their top line of Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, and Kyle Palmieri matches up against Ferraro and Orlov, and this could be their breakout game. Rookie defender Matthew Schaefer has been as good as advertised, recording one goal or assist in every game, while accumulating at least four SABS (shots and blocked shots) in three of five games. He’s a must in any Islanders stack today at just $5300.
Dallas Stars (DAL2 - Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Mavrik Bourque; $15,500 DK)
Defensive Addition: Thomas Harley ($5200 DK)
The Dallas Stars haven’t done anything eye-popping this year, but they’ve been solid, and that counts for something. At home, they’re averaging 2.79 even-strength goals and just under 11 high-danger chances per 60 minutes. Wyatt Johnston continues to develop into one of the best young forwards in the league, recording at least one goal or assist in every game this year, averaging 15.2 DraftKings points per game.
Jason Robertson has been even better, averaging 16.7 fantasy points per game, showing that last year’s down season was an aberration more than a trend. Defender Thomas Harley rounds out the trio of young studs, averaging 13.9 DraftKings points per game on the young season, producing three or more SABS in all but one game.
Tonight, they’ll line up against an overachieving Blue Jackets defense that has allowed 1.44 goals fewer per 60 minutes than expected on the road this season. Goalie Elvis Merzlikins has stood on his head all year, saving a ridiculous 94% of the high-danger shots he’s faced, a number that’s completely unsustainable given that the team has allowed 12.95 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road this season.
The defensive pairing of Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov has been particularly leaky, allowing over 14 high-danger chances per 60 minutes. They’ll be the duo who will try to stop the surging Dallas youngsters, a task that may prove too tall even for the dynamic Merzlikins.
Goals leaders since the Four Nations:
21 — Wyatt Johnston
19 — Alex Ovechkin
19 — Tage ThompsonOne bad playoff run and no one knows how to act about Johnston anymore... pic.twitter.com/rzaTCQ3gId
— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) October 19, 2025
Nashville Predators (NSH1 - Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, Luke Evangelista; $14,700 DK)
Defensive Addition: Roman Josi ($6,600 DK)
The Islanders and Stars are my preferred stacks, but that doesn’t mean we can’t differentiate on such a big slate, and Nashville is the next “big” stack worth looking at. They get the pleasure of hosting one of the worst offenses in the league, the Ducks. Anaheim has allowed 3.06 even-strength goals and a slate-high 16.03 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road this year.
Goalie Lukas Dostal has been susceptible to high-danger shots, saving just 79% of those that have come his way. The defensive pairing of Pavel Mintyukov and Drew Helleson has been the main culprit in making life difficult for Dostal, allowing 31.17 scoring chances and nearly 12 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.
The Predators haven’t put it all together yet this year, but it’s a line that is extremely talented. Filip Forsberg continues to be one of the more aggressive players in the league, averaging over three shots on goal per game. Defender Roman Josi continues to play well, averaging over 11 DraftKings points per game this year, averaging 4.5 SABS per game with room for upside.
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NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT2 - Evgeni Malkin, Anthony Mantha, Justin Brazeau; $11,900 DK)
Defensive Addition: Kris Letang ($3,700 DK)
Pittsburgh has been unlucky at home this year, averaging just two even-strength goals per 60 minutes at home, which is over a full goal fewer than expected. The team is hyper-aggressive, averaging a slate-high 16.51 high-danger chances per 60 minutes at home.
It’s only a matter of time before they pop off for a monster game. Veteran Evgeni Malkin has multiple goals and assists in half of his games this year, while youngsters Justin Brazeau and Anthony Matha have each contributed three games with double-digit fantasy points.
The Vancouver Canucks defense is due for regression, just like the Pittsburgh offense. They’ve surrendered nearly 1.5 fewer even-strength goals per 60 minutes than expected on the road this season, allowing 13.36 high-danger chances per 60 minutes. Goalie Thatcher Demko has saved 95% of those shots, and much like Merzlikins in Columbus, that’s an unsustainable number given the volume of shots he’s facing.
GENO GETS THE PENS ON THE BOARD pic.twitter.com/AMrkuC1xVo
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 17, 2025
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Jake Oettinger (DAL - $8,300 DK)
Jake Oettinger has been rock-solid this year, averaging 15.4 DraftKings points per game. He’s been helped out by shot volume, facing an average of 31.5 shots per game. He’s only played one game at home, but what a game it was. He allowed just two goals on 41 shots en route to racking up nearly 30 DraftKings points. Columbus takes nearly 27 shots on goal per game, so the volume should once again be there for Oettinger tonight.
The Blue Jackets don’t particularly look strong today, given that they’ve forced just 10.16 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on opposing goalies on the road this year. That should make things easier for Oettinger, who has saved about 85% of the high-danger shots he’s faced. He’s priced higher than I’d normally like for a GPP, but he’s in play tonight given that our favorite stacks are significantly cheaper than on a normal 10-game slate.
Others in consideration: Logan Thompson (WSH), Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA), Karel Vejmelka (UTA)
NHL DFS News and Injury Alerts
More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis
