NHL DFS Lineup Picks for DraftKings, FanDuel (10/12): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks

Brandon Wampler's top DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS value plays and research for October 12th, including DFS analysis for goalies, power plays, stacks.

Welcome back to hockey season, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon and I write both “The First-Serve” and “The Kick-Off” for Tennis and Soccer respectively. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL which means it's time to sharpen our MLB skills and partake in NHL DFS! As always, I'll give you the best tools to succeed and the info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel for Tuesday, October 13th, 2020 at 7:00 PM. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets!

If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!

NHL DFS Intro & Overview

If you are new to playing NHL DFS, there are several things to know that will help you get caught up to speed. The first thing to know is that stacking lines is important and correlating your plays can pay off. In hockey, if someone scores a goal, there's a good chance that some on his team will receive an assist on that goal, so you want to build lineups around players skating together.

The idea behind stacking forward lines is that if when one skater scores there is a higher percentage and chance that either of his line mates would get credited with an assist, therefore, resulting in more fantasy points. You can then take the stack even farther and correlate it with the power-play, which at times provides even more rewards. 

Not only will you get even-strength points, when another player from the opposing team is in the box for a penalty, but you will also get power-play points too. These same ideas can tie right into MLB DFS if you are familiar with order stacking.

NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 10/13

We will kick-start the season with a mere two-game slate, featuring the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, Tampa Bay Lightning vs Pittsburgh Penguins and for the late showing, we have the two most recently added NHL clubs playing each other, as the Seattle Kracken take on the Vegas Golden Knights.

There is some news worth mentioning for those that have not kept up with preseason and news after roster lock. The Penguins are without Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby for at least the first three weeks of the season. However, things got even worse for the Penguins during the preseason when both Jake Guentzel and Zach Aston-Reese both went on the COVID-19 list. On the Seattle side of things, they too got hit by the injury/COVID-19 bug right before their inaugural game for the franchise. All players are expected to be OUT for their game: Jared McCann, Yanni Gourde, Joonas Donskoi, Marcus Johansson, Calle Jarnkrok and Jamie Oleksiak. That is an extremely extensive list for the Kracken and it will make things interesting after the morning skate. Stay tuned!!

Vegas Odds for the Day

NHL DFS Goalies

Andrei Vasilevskiy - DK $8K || FD $8.7K

Opponent - Pittsburgh Penguins

The King of the Crease welcomes a beat-up Penguins in his first matchup of the season. Coming off another stellar season campaign last year with a 0.925 save percentage, Vasilevskiy will look to do the same here. There could not be a better chance on the slate for a win and the possibility of a shutout.

Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Lehner (DK - $8.2K, FD - 8.4K)

NHL DFS Centers

Anthony Cirelli - DK $3.9K || FD $4.3K

Opponent - Pittsburgh Penguins

The former Erie Otter who is now a celebrated Stanley Cup Champion as well is coming into this season to make vast strides in his production with better linemates. Cirelli put together 9 goals and 13 assists through 50 games in the shortened season last year. That was also with below-average talent on his wings and he will now be gifted Steven Stamkos. He should easily be able to surpass his career-highs with the quality of talent on his wing and it helps the first game is against the Penguins.

Chandler Stephenson- DK $5.3K || FD $3.6K

Opponent - Seattle Kracken

Stephenson will be one of the top options from the lopsided game on the second-half of the slate. The center had his best season yet last year -- 14 goals and 21 assists through 51 games --. Now Stephenson and company will start the season at home against the Kracken who look to have caught COVID-19 at the wrong time. His price is even more criminal on FD where he is just above the minimum price.

Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Point (DK $7.3K || FD $7.6K), Carter (DK $6.1K || FD $4.9K), Karlsson (DK $5.2K || FD $5.4K), Wennberg (DK $5.1K || FD $3.4K)

NHL DFS Wings

Max Pacioretty- DK $7.1K || FD $7.3K

Opponent - Seattle Kracken

Mr. Vegas is hoping for a less injury-ridden season this year. The power forward had a point-per-game outing last season even with injuries and he will look to do it once again, but with a full 82-game slate. The best part about Pacioretty’s game is that he is not afraid to block shots if he has to and he has a relatively decent shooting floor. Thanks to the Tampa Bay game having both Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, Max Pacioretty might go lower-owned.

Corey Perry- DK $3.2K || FD $3.9K

Opponent - Pittsburgh Penguins

This is probably my favorite play of the slate. Perry looked great in preseason and he looks ready to win a Stanley Cup this season. For someone who has always been getting forechecked his entire career, now he gets to do the opposite and have less of a burden on his shoulders. I am not a fan of his linemates, but Perry does sit on the second power-play, which will only bolster his value.

Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Kucherov(DK $ 8K || FD $8.6K), Rust(DK $6.2K || FD $6.2K), Marchessault(DK $6K || FD $5.7K), Stamkos(DK $5.9K || FD $7.5K), Schwartz(DK $5K || FD $4.9K), Kapanen(DK $4.8K || FD $4.2K), Dadanov(DK $3.9K || FD $4.2K), Tanev(DK $3.6K || FD $3.7K), Heinen(DK $3.3K || FD $3.6K)

NHL DFS Defensemen

Mark Giordano - DK $5.6K || FD $4.6K

Opponent - Vegas Golden Knights

The old Flame continued his downward spiral last year before he was selected in the expansion draft by the Seattle Kracken. Now just before the season starts, he was officially named captain of the team as well. With multiple players most likely out of the lineup, a lot of the load will rest on his shoulders. Giordano has shown he could do it before. Will he resurrect his former self after a scenery swap?

Mike Matheson - DK $3.7K || FD $3.5K

Opponent - Tampa Bay Lightning

Matheson may end up being one of the best dmen on the slate. The former Panther who was traded to the Penguins last season is one of the best all-around players on the slate. Not only will Matheson contribute offensively, but he will also go in the lanes and block shots left and right.

Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Hedman(DK $6.3K || FD $6.7K), Pietrangelo(DK $6K || FD $6.4K), Letang(DK $5.8K || FD $5.8K), Martinez(DK $5.5K || FD $4.6K), Dunn(DK $4.9K || FD $4.5K), Sergachev(DK $3.4K || FD $4.8K) 

NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks

• TB1
• TB2
• VGS2
• SEA1

Brandon’s Stack of the Day

TB: Killorn-Cirelli-Perry

Chalk Stack

WPG: Palat-Point-Kucherov

Sneaky Stack

VGS: Patrick-Dadonov

NHL Player News and Updates

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis