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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for October 28, 2025. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
32 teams, 16 games, so many hours of hockey action; tonight is the one night a year that the NHL schedules every team back-to-back in with start times every 15 minutes to highlight their sport. It’s so much fun if you love watching hockey, but it’s so difficult if you’re trying to win money in DFS.
With so many games on the slate, there is an infinite number of directions you can take your lineups. When slates get bigger, my player pool gets smaller. I’m only looking to use premium matchups because no team will be heavy chalk, so there’s no reason to get cute to avoid the most popular stacks. I also find that playing lighter is advisable because on a slate this big, the variance is out of control.
I aim to help you narrow your plays to get the most bang for your DFS buck. NHL Premium members can find members of the RotoBaller NHL family on Discord, where our chat is always active. I'll bring my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings for Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Be sure also to check out RotoBaller's awesome NHL tools, including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, and Heat Map.
NHL DFS Analysis And Picks For 10/28/25
Carolina Hurricanes (CAR1 - Nikolaj Ehlers, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis; $19400 DK)
Defensive Addition: Shayne Gostisbehere ($4900 DK)
The team that stands out the most for me on the Heat Map for this monster slate is the Carolina Hurricanes. They have been an absolute wagon at home this year, averaging 4.33 even-strength goals per 60 minutes. Even if the team regressed to their expected production, they would still have one of the two highest goal totals on the slate. Part of what makes this team so effective is its aggressiveness, averaging 14.22 high-danger chances per 60 minutes at home.
Sebastian Aho has recorded at least one goal or assist in every game this season, while Seth Javis has failed to do this in just one game all year. Nikolaj Ehlers went five straight games without a goal or assist to start the year, but has since recorded an assist in three consecutive games.
What’s special about Ehlers is that he takes so many shots that he can score well in fantasy without putting the puck in the net. Three times this year, he’s scored at least 10 DraftKings points without registering a goal or assist. Defender Shayne Gostisbehere should return from injury for this game, and he will quarterback the power play line that features all three of the top-line forwards.
Vegas doesn’t have a terrible defense, but there are spots where they can be attacked. The most generous defensive pairing is that of Zach Whitecloud and Ben Hutton. They have allowed 3.78 expected goals, 33.79 scoring chances, and 17.95 high-danger chances per 60 minutes on the road.
Backup goalie Akira Schmid, forced into action after an injury to starter Adin Hill, has been terrible against high-danger chances, saving just 71% of those shots he’s faced. He’s allowed three or more goals in three of five appearances, including both of his road starts.
Sebastian Aho - Carolina Hurricanes (4) pic.twitter.com/0EvWhMA3Ny
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 26, 2025
Colorado Avalanche (COL1 - Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen; $21300 DK)
Defensive Addition: Cale Makar ($7400 DK)
Admittedly, some lines have better defensive matchups, but none of those lines can match the talent level of the Colorado Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon may be the best fantasy asset on the planet, averaging 4.4 shots on goal and 1.4 goals and assists per game. He’s had multiple goals and assists in five of 11 games this year, scoring 14.5 or more DraftKings points in all but two games.
Martin Necas hasn’t had a goal or assist in two games, but he’s still averaging 1.2 per game despite that. Artturi Lehkonen has 11 goals and assists and is averaging over 12 DraftKings points per game. Defender Cale Makar averages 14 DraftKings points per game, making him the best fantasy player at the position in the sport.
Although tonight’s matchup isn’t the best, it’s not a bad one either. The Devils have given up 3.2 even-strength goals per 60 minutes on the road, which ranks among the highest on the slate. Goalie Jacob Markstrom has had a year to forget, giving up 1.39 more even-strength goals per 60 minutes than expected.
He’s failed a reasonably good defense in front of him, saving just 50% of the high-danger chances he’s faced. That’s a big problem tonight, as the Avalanche have had 15.61 high-danger chances per 60 minutes at home, the second-highest rate on the slate.
Boston Bruins (BOS2 - Casey Mittelstadt, Viktor Arvidsson, Pavel Zacha; $11500 DK)
No goalie has underperformed more this year than Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin. He’s surrendered at least three goals in each of his six starts, saving more than 90% of the shots he’s faced just once. Sorokin isn’t the only culprit for the Islanders' defense, as the pairing of Tony DeAngelo and Alexander Romanov has been terrible on the road.
They’ve allowed over five expected goals and 30 high-danger chances per 60 minutes; numbers that pop off the page. Romanov won’t play in this game, but whoever replaces him is a guy he beat out, so we shouldn’t expect DeAngelo to suddenly figure out how to stop opposing offenses with a new dance partner.
Boston’s offense has been better than expected this year, averaging 2.81 even-strength goals per 60 minutes at home. Pavel Zacha has been highly productive, recording a goal or assist in 70% of his games. He’s averaging twice as many DraftKings points at home this year as he does on the road. Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson have seven combined goals and assists over their most recent three games, each of which has been at home.
Want more NHL DFS tools and content? Our NHL Premium package includes our daily DFS Cheat Sheets, Research Station, Lineup Optimizer, and access to our VIP Discord Chatrooms. Doug Shain (@BanksterDFS) joined the NHL team in 2023 with his proven track record - join in on the winning!
Back-to-back @DraftKings Fantasy Hockey World Championship trips! Let’s get the main prize this year! Thank you to @banksterdfs for the amazing daily fantasy content! @NHL pic.twitter.com/dONSvJMtIR
— 🇺🇦Shockmain (@Shockmain) January 6, 2023
NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
St. Lous Blues (STL2 - Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Mathieu Joseph; $11700 DK)
John Gibson’s first season in Detroit hasn’t gone as well as he’d hoped, giving up four or more goals in three of his first five starts of the season. He’s struggled against high-danger shots, saving just 78.6% of those that he’s faced, and overall, he’s saved fewer than 90% of all shots he’s faced in all but one game. Their defensive pairing of Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka has been brutal on the road, giving up 4.26 expected goals, 40.63 scoring chances, and 17.88 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.
Despite Jordan Kyrou recording at least one goal or assist in each of his past six games, the second line for St Louis hasn’t played up to their potential this year. Much of their poor performance may be due to bad luck rather than poor play. The Blues have scored nearly a goal per game fewer than expected, suggesting positive regression is on the way.
The team has been relatively aggressive, averaging over 12 high-danger chances per 60 minutes at home. Kyrou and Joseph both scored last night, so it seems that things are finally turning around for St. Louis. I love riding a hot team with a good matchup!
Jordan Kyrou - St. Louis Blues (3) pic.twitter.com/akwDLl6dwc
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 28, 2025
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Spencer Knight (CHI - $7200 DK)
Few goalies have been better for fantasy than Spencer Knight, yet DraftKings continues to refuse to raise his price. Knight has scored 13 or more DraftKings points and saved 92% or more of the shots he’s faced in all but one start this year. He’s allowed fewer than three goals in each of his previous four starts, three of which saw him face more than 30 shots on goal. That’s the kind of combination that can lead to a massive score in DFS.
Ottawa has been playing potent offense, but with that comes a high volume of shots for Knight to face. They are also on the second night of a back-to-back after playing at home against Boston on Monday night. Knight isn’t the safest goalie for cash games given the difficulty of his matchup, but his price and ceiling potential are precisely what you’re looking for in a tournament, making him my top option at the position on the slate.
Others in consideration: Connor Hellebuyck (WPG), Jet Greaves (CBJ), Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA), Dan Vladar (PHI)
NHL DFS News and Injury Alerts
More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis
