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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for October 20, 2026. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
San Jose, Toronto, Colorado, and Edmonton are on tonight’s slate, yet you won’t see any of those teams in tonight’s article. I look at matchups and trends, and none of these teams look like they’ll be worth the click at their price points. If the data is correct, that’s a huge advantage to us, as these teams are very public plays and should carry high ownership.
If and when our teams pop, they should move up tournament leaderboards rapidly. That’s not to say you can’t use players from these premium teams, but because their matchups don't align with their costs, I don’t view any of them as stacks worth diving deeper into.
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 Tuesday, October 20, 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 10/20/26
Vegas Golden Knights (VGK1 - Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Mark Stone; $19100 DK)
Defensive Addition: Shea Theodore ($4600 DK)
The Vegas Golden Knights are the greatest franchise in pro sports history. Stop me when I’m telling lies. Since their inception, they have made the playoffs 89% of the time, reached the Stanley Cup Finals 33% of the time, and won it all 11% of the time. No other team in sports history can match that kind of success. It’s good to be a Knights fan.
Why am I telling you this? Maybe it’s because I’ve already given you every other piece of relevant data on the team this season, as they continue to feature in this article and keep producing. The team has scored three or more times in all but two games, averaging 2.79 even-strength goals per 60 minutes on home ice.
Jack Eichel and Mark Stone average 32.1 combined DraftKings points per game, rising to 36.2 in home games. The Knights have scored 17 goals over their prior three games, seven of which have come from their top line if you include defender Shea Theodore.
On the Heat Map, the Lightning don’t stand out as a team we want to pick on, but they’ve struggled on the road. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, normally a rock-solid wall, has surrendered 10 goals in three road games, never allowing fewer than three.
His name value alone will keep the ownership low in Vegas, and given how well they’ve performed this year, that’s a huge bonus. I love using the Knights as a late-game hammer, and I'll do it again tonight. They are a bit pricey, but they pair well with value teams like New Jersey and Carolina, so you can fit them into a lineup.
Montreal Canadiens (MTL1 - Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky; $20300 DK)
Defensive Addition: Lane Hutson ($5600 DK)
Although it’s not Saturday, forevermore known as Cole Caufield Will Score Day, we are still going back to the Canadiens, who have a great home matchup against the Sharks. San Jose is on the second night of an East Coast back-to-back, and they are one of the worst defensive road teams in the NHL. While they’ve allowed just 2.25 even-strength goals per 60 minutes away from home this year, advanced data suggests they should have given up nearly a full goal more. Their defense has allowed 14.17 high-danger chances per 60 minutes, and while goalie Alex Nedeljkovic has started the year well, he’s historically struggled against high-danger shots.
San Jose’s defensive pairing of Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesserling has surrendered 2.95 expected goals, 39.42 scoring chances, and 14.08 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road. Although Montreal’s second line has a slightly better matchup, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky are far more talented, and the Nurse/Kesserling matchup still plays heavily in their favor.
GOAL CAUFIELD CALLS GAME! 🚨
He wins it in @Energizer overtime for the @CanadiensMTL! 🔵⚪️🔴 https://t.co/3iEWgjKfiq
— NHL (@NHL) October 18, 2026
This pick isn’t just about matchup; Montreal is due for a big game. They’ve scored a full goal fewer per 60 minutes than expected at even strength at home, and this is exactly the type of game where they can start to turn things around. Even with their slower-than-expected start offensively, Suzuki still has a point in all but two games, while Caufield and Slafkovsky have combined for five multi-point games. There’s upside here, and they pair well with Dallas for a strong, balanced lineup.
Dallas Stars (DAL2 - Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin; $16300 DK)
Defensive Addition: Miro Heiskanen ($6100)
No team is more primed for a breakout game than the Dallas Stars. The team has scored 2.6 even-strength goals per 60 minutes at home, but advanced data suggests they should have scored well over three. They are one of the most aggressive teams, having recorded 14.72 high-danger chances per 60 minutes at home, and that kind of pressure will eventually break a goalie.
Meanwhile, the Bruins have played nearly a goal better per game on defense than expected, despite having allowed 13.13 high-danger chances per 60 minutes. Dallas is trending up, and Boston is trending down; a perfect time to hop on the Stars train. Boston’s defensive pairing of Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy hasn’t been taken advantage of enough this year, but they've allowed 3.13 expected goals per 60 minutes. Even juicier are 35.02 scoring chances and 15.7 high-danger chances allowed per 60 minutes on the road. Dallas will line up their second unit against them, featuring Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, and superstar Jason Robertson.
Power play goal for Dallas!
Scored by Jason Robertson with 15:02 left in the 2nd. Assisted by Mikko Rantanen and Thomas Harley.
CHI: 0 | DAL: 1
#DALvsCHI #Blackhawks #TexasHockey https://t.co/44wcovWxOH
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 18, 2026
Hintz and Seguin have combined for four goals over their past four games and have been extra aggressive, with 21 shots on goal. Robertson is a stud, and although he hasn’t had a true ceiling game, he’s recorded at least one point in five of his past six games. More importantly, he’s averaged four shots on goal per game over that span. This line isn’t overly expensive, making it a strong building block for well-balanced tournament rosters.
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— 🇺🇦Shockmain (@Shockmain) January 6, 2023
NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ1 - Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Matthew Knies; $14800 DK)
Defensive Addition: Zach Werenski ($8000)
Completing our trio of teams making a repeat appearance from Saturday’s article is Columbus. The Blue Jackets didn’t come through as strongly as I'd hoped, but Adam Fantilli scored one goal, and defender Zach Werenski added an assist. I’m not going to let one bad game pull me off my process, though, and the process has the top line back as a play we want to run against Columbus.
They’re up against a Maple Leafs team on the second night of a back-to-back, running their second-string goalie, Anthony Stolarz. The team has been awful on the road, allowing 3.88 even-strength goals per 60 minutes. We generally want to attack whoever is playing against Morgan Reilly’s pairing, but the data is pointing to Jake McCabe and Darren Raddysh as the pairing we want to play against on the road.
Regardless of which pairing ends up as the worst, the Blue Jackets are at home, so they can match lines and put their top guns against whoever they think is most vulnerable. Given how poorly Toronto has played, I’ll take any top line playing against them at home. Former Leaf forward Matthew Knies should have extra motivation after getting traded on the eve of the season, and while narrative plays aren’t backed by data, they are real and only make me want to stack the Blue Jackets more.
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Ilya Sorokin (NYI - $7500 DK)
What in the world is Ilya Sorokin doing being priced so cheaply? Anaheim has a good offense, but they are on the second night of an East Coast back-to-back, which is a bad spot. Even if it were a good spot, I would still think that this price is ridiculous given how well Sorokin has played this year. Sorokin has surrendered just 1.27 goals per 60 minutes at home and has saved 95% of the high-danger shots he’s faced.
He's scored 15.8 DraftKings points in four of six starts, twice exceeding 20 points. More importantly, he’s been blown out just once, allowing four goals to the Lightning. Outside of that game, he’s given up two or fewer goals in every game. That’s exactly the kind of consistency we want from a goalie in cash games, and getting that at a value price point is amazing.
Sorokin doesn’t often see enough shot volume to be a great tournament play, but given his two ceiling games already this year, we know he has it in him. I’m comfortable using the Islanders netminder in all lineup types tonight.
Others in consideration: Jake Oettinger (DAL), Jake Allen (NJD), Devon Levi (EDM), Joey Daccord (SEA)
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