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Get today's top DraftKings daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for October 7, 2025. Doug's expert NHL DFS goalies picks, value plays, stacks, and power play picks.
Welcome, RotoBallers, to NHL Opening Night 2025! The season begins with a three-game slate, featuring some of the NHL's biggest stars. Sidney Crosby, Connor Bedard, and Nathan MacKinnon highlight a trio of games that will ease us into the NHL season. DraftKings has the night’s biggest prize pool, with its $5 Puck Drop featuring a $50,000 top prize.
The season kicks off with the defending champion Florida Panthers, ravaged by injuries, hosting Conner Bedard and the plucky Blackhawks. The second game features Sidney Crosby leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to MSG to take on the New York Rangers. The finale of the slate will see the high-flying Colorado Avalanche running up against the brick wall that is Darcy Kuemper and the Los Angeles Kings' stifling defense.
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 7, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST. Be sure also to check out RotoBaller's awesome NHL tools, including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, and Heat Map.
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NHL DFS Analysis And Picks For 10/7/25
Florida Panthers (FLA1 - Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe; $20300 DK)
Defensive Addition: Seth Jones ($5000 DK)
It only makes sense to start the year the way we ended it, and that’s by talking about the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers. When we last saw the champs, Sam Reinhart was netting four goals against an overmatched Edmonton Oilers team. Reinhart features here as part of a new-look Panthers’ top line along with playoff hero Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.
The injuries to team captain Alekasander Barkov and top goal scorer Matthew Tkachuk necessitated these changes. However, Florida is as deep as anyone, and their top two lines should still be strong. The Blackhawks have been notoriously weak on the road the past few seasons, and although they’ve revamped their defensive pairings, it should take some time for the team to find its footing.
One wouldn’t expect miracles in a hostile environment against one of the best offenses in the league. Former Panther Spencer Knight is the worst goalie on tonight’s slate, having allowed three or more goals in 67% of his 15 starts after being acquired by Chicago. He only saved 80% of the high-danger chances he faced last year, and Florida is one of the most aggressive teams in the league.
81 points, Selke Trophy finalist, #StanleyCup champion... what can't Sam Reinhart do?
The @FlaPanthers star winger comes in at #️⃣ 2️⃣ 3️⃣ on our #NHLTopPlayers list! pic.twitter.com/otpL2USsIr
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) September 25, 2025
New York Rangers (NYR1 - Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere; $17600 DK)
Defensive Addition: Adam Fox ($6500 DK)
Few pairings in the NHL are more in sync than the duo of Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox. The duo has combined for so many goals over the last few years, especially on the power play. Last year, they had a total of 150 goals and assists, nine of which came in four games against the Penguins. Panarin was banged up this preseason and didn’t play, but he’s trending towards being ready for this game.
The rest of this line played limited minutes, but had success with a combined five goals and assists over three games. While that may not seem overly impressive at first glance, it becomes far more so when you realize that Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere, and Fox played an average of about nine minutes per game in those three games. It’s looking like the top line for the Rangers will match up against Pittsburgh’s third defensive pairing of Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton.
Both of them are new to the team, yet they played together for under one minute this preseason. Both are veterans, but without that ice time together, there could be communication issues while they learn each other’s games. Goalie Tristan Jarry won’t be much help, having allowed 3.29 goals per 60 minutes and saving fewer than 88% of the shots he faced on the road last year. This is a juicy matchup for New York, and even without Panarin, it’s one worth using on this short slate.
Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT1 - Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, Ville Koivunen; $17800 DK)
Defensive Addition: Erik Karlsson ($5100 DK)
Sidney Crosby may not be “the Kid” anymore, but he is still playing at an elite level. Last season, he totaled 96 goals and assists in 84 games, averaging 13 DraftKings points per outing. He struggled against New York last season, but historically, he has played well against them, averaging 1.24 goals and assists per game over his career.
Crosby is a little expensive at $7,000 on DraftKings, but his linemates help offset that cost, as Rickard Rakell and Ville Koivunen cost a combined $10,800 (an average of $5,400). Defenseman Erik Karlsson is another cheaper piece at $5100, and he plays a ton of minutes, including on the power play with Crosby and Rakell.
Their line should be matched up against the defensive pairing of Uhro Vaakanainen and Braden Schneider, who allowed 2.96 expected goals, 30.25 high-danger chances, and 15.13 scoring changes per 60 minutes in the preseason. That would make them the most generous defensive pairing on the slate. Those high-danger chances could be a problem, because goalie Igor Shesterkin saved a slate-low 78.8% of the high-danger shots he saw at home last season.
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— 🇺🇦Shockmain (@Shockmain) January 6, 2023
NHL DFS Value Stack of the Night
Chicago Blackhawks (CHI2 - Frank Nazar, Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen; $12700 DK)
Chicago’s top line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato may be flashier, but their second line has the better matchup and finished the 2024-25 season playing well. The duo of Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi combined for nine goals and assists over the season’s final four games. This preseason, the trio (including Teuvo Teravainen) combined for four goals and seven assists as they rode the momentum of their strong finish to last season.
Frank Nazar was the Blackhawks' best player in the preseason — with 5 points in 4 games — but he wasn't satisfied.
"I think I can be a lot better... I need to stop on pucks, go through guys and stop reaching."
That and more preseason takeaways: https://t.co/4JC42e3cCK
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 5, 2025
Nazar led the team with four goals, while no other player had more than one. They should get matched up against Florida’s third defensive pairing of Dmitri Kulikov and Jeff Petry, who allowed a slate-high 16.07 high-danger chances per 60 minutes this preseason. This line costs a combined $12,700 on DraftKings, making it a great secondary stack that will allow you to spend up on a top stack.
NHL DFS One-Off Value Plays
Sam Rinzel (CHI - D; $4.1k DK): Sam Rinzel came up late last season and went on a bit of a heater, picking up an assist in each of the season’s final four games and averaging three SABS (shots and blocked shots) in his nine-game run.
Ville Koivunen (PIT - W; $4.9k DK): We never like to see anyone get injured, but the reality is that injuries happen, and they can open up opportunities for someone else to step up. In this case, Bryan Rust's injury will allow Ville Koivunen to move up to the top line for the Penguins alongside Sidney Crosby.
Last season, Koivunen recorded seven assists over the season’s final six games after a late-March call-up, scoring double-digit fantasy points in three of his final four games. Now he’s getting top-line minutes. Tasty!
NHL DFS Goalie to Target
Darcy Kuemper (LAK - $7.8k DK)
The best goalie in the NHL last year was Darcy Kuemper, who performed exceptionally well at home. He allowed just 1.82 goals per game in Los Angeles last year, including four shutouts, while saving nearly 93% of the shots he faced. More impressively, Kuemper saved over 94% of the high-danger shots at home, showing how strong he plays when under pressure.
He looked sharp this preseason, allowing just 0.73 goals per game, while saving 96.6% of the shots he faced over two games. It doesn’t hurt that Kuemper has one of the best defenses in the NHL playing in front of him. The team played well in the preseason, allowing a slate-low 6.77 high-danger chances per 60 minutes.
Colorado took nearly 30 shots on goal per game last year, meaning that Keumper should get enough value to return value even if he lets a couple of goals in. He’s the safest netminder on the slate for cash games, and his $7800 price point isn’t cost-prohibitive for tournament lineups.
Others in consideration: Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA), Spencer Knight (CHI), Scott Wedgewood (COL)
NHL DFS News and Injury Alerts
More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis
