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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for October 17, 2026. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
I don’t remember ever seeing a 10-game Saturday slate this dry. We aren’t looking at teams like Colorado, Toronto, Edmonton, or Tampa Bay for primary players, so many other teams will have to step up. With well-known players like Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid off our radar, we shouldn't have to worry much about ownership when building our tournament lineups.
Colorado and Tampa Bay aren’t even on this slate, and the Maple Leafs and Oilers aren't in matchups we want to exploit. I love slates like this because we can get very creative, and that creativity plays very well in multi-entry tournaments.
I aim to help you narrow your plays to get the most bang for your DFS buck. NHL Premium members can find the RotoBaller NHL family on Discord, where the chat is always active. I'll bring my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for DraftKings NHL DFS contests on Saturday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Also check out RotoBaller's awesome NHL tools, including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, and Heat Map.
NHL DFS Analysis And Picks For 10/17/26
Vegas Golden Knights (VGK1 - Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Mark Stone; $19500 DK)
Defensive Addition: Shea Theodore ($4700 DK)
I am nothing if not a man of my word. On Thursday, I said I'd keep writing about Vegas as long as they proved me right with their play, and they did. The defending Western Conference champions put up six goals in a rout of Calgary. Their top line of Mark Stone, Ivan Barbashev, and Jack Eichel was phenomenal, combining for 89.5 DraftKings points.
While we can’t expect that level of production every game, the trio averages just shy of 40 fantasy points per game, which is a nice floor for their sub-$20,000 price point. That number matches Thursday's, despite their explosion, making the team a value given their high level of performance.
Vegas goal!
Scored by Mark Stone with 07:50 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Noah Hanifin and Ivan Barbashev.
VGK: 5 | CGY: 1
#CGYvsVGK #VegasBorn #Flames https://t.co/EhhXd20t1f
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 16, 2026
I expect them to line up against Pittsburgh’s defensive pairing of Erik Karlsson and Declan Carlisle, who have not been the worst unit in the league, but give up a generous 12.49 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road. In net will be Sergei Murashov, who has allowed nine goals over three starts and lost all three. The Penguins are playing their second game in as many nights, which will leave their legs tired, exactly what we want to pick on. Give me Vegas again as our late-night hammer, pulling us across the cash line if all else fails earlier in the night, as they did on Thursday.
Montreal Canadiens (MTL1 - Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky; $20700 DK)
Defensive Addition: Lane Hutson ($5800 DK)
We oddly haven’t seen much of Montreal on the nights when I write articles, so this may be the first time we’ve written them up all season. The team hasn’t looked great at home, scoring just 1.71 even-strength goals per 60 minutes, 1.11 fewer than expected. They are still an aggressive team, averaging 12 high-danger chances per 60 minutes, and a breakout should be coming.
Buffalo has given up 3.32 even-strength goals per 60 minutes on the road this season, and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has regressed since last year, allowing three or more goals in five of six games. He faced Montreal earlier this year and allowed three goals on 38 shots. In that game, Nick Suzuki had one of his best games of the year, scoring 18.1 DraftKings points on a shot bonus.
Cole Caufield was even better, taking five shots for his third shot bonus of the season and scoring 25.5 DraftKings points. Defender Lane Hutson chipped in 17.8 DraftKings points and is a must given his power-play role with Suzuki and Caufield. Like Tuesday's game, this one will also take place in Montreal, so the matchups should remain the same, making the Canadiens one of the premier stacks on tonight’s slate.
MR. SATURDAY NIGHT RIGHT ON CUE 🚨
COLE CAUFIELD SCORES FROM A CRAZY ANGLE TO MAKE IT 1-0 😱 https://t.co/QDXqcKDZXK
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 10, 2026
Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ1 - Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Valeri Nichushkin; $13000 DK)
Defensive Addition: Zach Werenski ($8000)
We've seen the Columbus Blue Jackets even less than Montreal this season. They have a home matchup against the Rangers, who are coming off one of their worst games of the season. Goalie Dylan Garand allowed as many goals against New Jersey on Thursday (4) as he did in his previous four games combined.
Perhaps some of the shine is coming off Garand, and we are starting to see the guy who the Rangers cut before the season started. The Rangers have struggled on the road, allowing 3.06 even-strength goals per 60 minutes. Their defensive pairing of Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson has been the team's most generous, surrendering 3.27 expected goals on 14.82 high-danger chances per 60 minutes when they leave the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden.
Columbus's top line, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and Valeri Nichushkin, hasn't broken out this season, but they're cheap. You can use them in a variety of ways and pair them with multiple teams. They aren't a value stack because any Columbus lineup must include defender Zach Werenski, who breaks the bank at $ 8,000.
He's the Blue Jackets' best offensive player, producing at least 11 DraftKings points in every game. He provides a high floor with four or more SABS (shots and blocked shots) in every game, plus four assists in five games. He’s worth the price of admission, but this stack is slightly less of a value than a team like Detroit.
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NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
Detroit Red Wings (DET2 - Alex DeBrincat, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Emmitt Finnie; $13700 DK)
Like Vegas, Detroit is a team I wrote up Thursday night that I’m going back to the well with. Unlike Vegas, this line didn't perform the way I expected. Once again, they have a fantastic matchup against a Sharks team that has surrendered 2.53 even-strength goals and 16 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road. They are due for negative regression as they were expected to allow a full goal more per 60 minutes, while the Red Wings are scoring nearly half a goal per 60 minutes fewer than expected at home.
San Jose has a couple of defensive pairings worth picking on, but I want to take swings on Alex DeBrincat and his line against Dmitri Orlov and Michael Kesserling. That duo has given up 4.2 expected goals, 34 scoring chances, and over 20 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road. Goalie Yaroslav Askarov has been downright awful, allowing 6.02 goals per game at even strength on the road while saving just 73.7% of the shots he’s faced.
He has allowed at least three goals in each of his five starts and has never saved more than 90% of the shots he’s faced. I wish he were facing a more potent offense, but we can take solace in the fact that Detroit is due for the positive regression I referenced earlier, and 2/3 of this line are extremely inexpensive. The Red Wings pair nicely with Vegas for a balanced lineup that lets you spend up at goalie without overly punting defense.
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Karel Vejmelka (UTA - $7900 DK)
I love using Karel Vejmelka in tournament lineups tonight. Who in their right mind would spend nearly $8000 on the goalie facing the Edmonton Oilers? His ownership alone makes him a viable tournament play, but he’s a double whammy because any success he has will take away from what should be a fairly popular Edmonton team.
Sean mentioned this in Discord the other day: the Oilers will consistently beat up on lower teams, but may struggle against quality goalies while Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are injured. The team has also been extremely lucky on the road, averaging 2.28 more even-strength goals per 60 minutes than expected. Regression is coming, and facing a quality netminder could speed it up. Vegmelka has proven to be just that, allowing 0.62 even-strength goals per 60 minutes at home this year and saving 96.2% of the shots he faces.
He just played Edmonton on Thursday night, allowing only two goals on 24 shots. That volume isn’t ideal, but I will take my chances that the Oilers will ramp that up going forward, as they are one of the more aggressive teams in the league. You can get a lot safer in cash games, but I’m forging ahead with Veggie when I can afford him in tournaments
Others in consideration: Jake Oettinger (DAL), Linus Ullmark (OTT), Jeremy Swayman (BOS), Carter Hart (VGK)
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