Welcome back to another edition of the FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
Monday had an action-packed seven game schedule for Columbus Day, in the U.S. That was an unusual amount of games in the NHL, for a Monday. We’re now pivoting back to the light schedule on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and a more robust schedule on Tuesdays and Thursday.
That’s why we have another seven games scheduled tonight. Hopefully we don’t have as many surprises as we did on Monday. Looking back, Cam Talbot continues to disappoint after his great opening night start of the season, and the Jets were one of the top teams to stack. Ovechkin appeared to take the night off last night, as he was quite, but T.J. Oshie suddenly caught on fire.
So, we take what we learned yesterday and focus on Tuesday’s action.  Here’s a look at the NHL schedule for Tuesday, October 10th:
Blues at Rangers (7pm ET)
Blue Jackets at Hurricanes (7pm ET)
Blackhawks at Canadiens (7:30pm ET NBC SN)
Flyers at Predators (8pm ET)
Red Wings at Stars (8:30pm ET)
Senators at Canucks (10pm ET)
Coyotes at Golden Knights (10pm ET NBC SN)
The Blues have a hot offense and are facing the Rangers struggling goal-tending. The Blue Jackets are starting off the season poorly, compared to last year, and face a tough re-built Hurricanes lineup.
The Blackhawks are hot, and may stay hot in Montreal. But while the Flyers are off to a great 2-1 road trip, they’re now in Nashville against the Stanley Cup runner-up Predators. The Red Wings hope to keep their winning swing alive in Dallas, and the last two games of the night could have some sneaky plays buried in there.
As always, we’ll look to update our picks and final lineups prior to lock on our twitter account @FantasyCPR so make sure to give us a follow for all the late breaking lineup news.
Now let’s start building our lineups by looking at the top centers for this slate…
Top FanDuel NHL Centers: Oct 10th
Carey Price may be one of the greatest goalies in a few decades, but he’s off to a rough start for the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens welcome the Blackhawks into Montreal tonight, and Price is going to get another shot at bouncing-back. Carey is now 1-2 with a sub-par .905 save percentage and 3.36 goals against average.
So the Blackhawks are in play tonight, and while they’re hot, they could be low-owned due to the Price match up. That’s why I like Jonathan Toews ($7,100) at center tonight. Toews has at least a goal and/or assist in each of the Hawks first three games, leading to a consistent 16.7 FanDuel NHL average to start the season. The top-line center for the Hawks should stay hot tonight.
In theory, I like Tyler Seguin ($8,300) each time he’s on the ice, but I don’t like the Stars offense, struggling out the gate this season, against a hot Howard in net. A more affordable option in that game is Red Wings veteran Henrik Zetterberg ($6,300).
In two games, the top-line leader is averaging over 21 minutes of ice time, has a blocked shot and goal on six shots. Zetterberg should get at least another four shots on goal tonight, and is a decent value for only $6,300. Another great option from the Red Wings is Dylan Larkin ($5,100).
In a similar situation as the Blackhawks, the Blues are off to a good start facing a tough veteran goaltender on the road. But like Price, Lundqvist is also off to a rough start. Henrik just shutout the Canadiens on Sunday, saving all 34 shots, but Montreal has the least amount of goals-per-game to star the season. So while that looks like a great bounce-back, Lundqvist struggled significantly against the hot Maple Leafs and Avalanche.
For that reason, Blues second lead leader Brayden Schenn ($5,900) and top-line leader Paul Stastny ($4,700) are hot plays tonight. In between these salaries, Bo Horvat ($5,200), a 22-year-old emerging star for the Canucks last season, is also a great value play.
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Oct 10th
With eight shots on goal in the first three games for the Flyers, all on the road, Wayne Simmonds ($6,900) has four goals already. Two of those goals were of the power-play variety. The Flyers are in Nashville tonight, facing a tough Predators team, fresh off a Stanley Cup loss to the Penguins last year. But Rinne and the Predators are struggling to start this new season, currently giving up four goals per game. This could be an opportunity for Simmonds to keep his hot streak alive.
Looking to get back to stacking options, we like the Blues in New York tonight, and Vladimir Tarasenko ($7,700) is one of the best players on the ice tonight. Tarasenko has three goals and one assist in the Blues first three games, and is averaging over 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game. If you’re playing Stastny, Vlad is a necessity. If you’re playing Schenn, plug in Jaden Schwartz ($5,600) for a better value option from the Blues second line.
He’s off to a slow start, but Gustav Nyquist ($5,300) should bounce back tonight against a bad Stars defense. If you’ve got Zetterberg in your lineup, Nyquist is a great hand-cuff. But if you’re playing Larkin, Anthony Mantha ($4,800) already has a goal and two assists in just two games this eason. Mantha is a great value play with Larkin.
Getting back to the Blackhawks match up, Brandon Saad ($6,600) has a fantastic four goals and two assists in three games, already this season. Saad was fantastic in Columbus last season, and is playing very well with Toews already, in Chicago. Brandon is averaging over 29 FanDuel point-per-game, currently, and should have a double-digit point floor this evening.
We didn’t mention any Hurricanes at center, but they should have a good night hosting the Blue Jackets, and 20-year-old second year player Sebastian Aho ($5,200) is an affordable way to get most of the scoring in that game.
Top FanDuel NHL Defenders: Oct 10th
With Karlsson out tonight, and Josi currently banged up, I’m going to avoid spending too much money on the defensive pick. But Alex Pietrangelo ($5,800) is on fire right now, and we love the blues tonight, so he’s an anchor at defense for most of my lineups. Pietrangelo has two goals and three assists, getting a least one of those in each of the first three games for the Blues. He’s also blocking two shots a game, and is getting five to ten shots on goal, while on the ice for 25 to 30 minutes.
If you’re using a Blackhawks stack over the Blues, flip your pick from Pietrangelo to 33-year-old veteran Duncan Keith ($5,800). Keith isn’t quite as dominate as Pietrangelo, who’s entering his prime years, but the vet will often get you a few assists, several shots on goal, and is always in the way of an opposing shot.
Not related to our stacks, but a nice tie-in with Horvat at center is Alexander Edler ($4,700). He’s the top player on the defensive lines for the Canucks, and is an ice-time hog. With over 25 minutes on the ice, Edler will often get you and assist, several shots on goal, and a few blocked shots for a reasonable price.
I’m not quite sure what the Flyers are this season, yet, but they’re hot right now. Especially for GPP plays, Shayne Gostisbehere ($5,100) and Ivan Provorov ($4,300) are each playing well manning the top second and top lines for the Flyers. Ghost is typically more active with shots on goal and in power plays, but Ivan is giving you a lot of value with a low salary but often is involved with scoring on their top line.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Oct 10th
The Chicago Blackhawks veteran net-minder, Corey Crawford ($8,700) is already off to a hot start this season. The Hawks opened the season against the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, at home, on October 5th. Crawford saved 28 shots, only gave up one goal, and piled up 30.4 FanDuel NHL points. Corey followed that up with another great performance, 32 saves, only one goal given up, and a second win over the Blue Jackets, totaling 33.6 FanDuel NHL points.
If it were the beginning of the 2016-2017 season, I would be worried about Crawford facing the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs offense was great last season, and they were disciplined on defense. But three games into the 2017-2018 season, the Canadiens are only averaging one goal-per-game of offense, the worst in the NHL. That sets Crawford up well for another great night, although with a fairly expensive salary.
If you can’t afford Crawford, consider Jimmy Howard ($7,900). The Red Wings goalie was hampered by injuries last year, but still played well, consistently, when healthy. Howard is off to a great start, like Crawford, and is facing a Dallas Stars team who’s only scoring 1.5 goals per game, slightly better than the Canadiens, but second worst in the NHL.
With Howard, we’re getting another shot at 30 to 40 points, on a fairly reasonable salary. Howard’s salary is likely lower due to the Red Wings struggles last season. But so far this year, the Red Wings seem to be healthier and are in a great position to beat the Stars in Dallas tonight.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Oct 10th FanDuel NHL:
CÂ Â Toews ($7,100)Â Â Â Â Â
CÂ Â Larkin ($5,100)
WÂ Â Simmonds ($6,900)
WÂ Â Saad ($6,600)
WÂ Â Aho ($5,200)
WÂ Â Mantha ($4,800)
DÂ Â Pietrangelo ($5,800)
DÂ Â Edler ($4,700)
GÂ Â Howard ($7,900)
Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the week. Â You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building FanDuel NHL lineups. Â We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.
Next: FanDuel NBA October 10th
Best of luck in your FanDuel NHL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across NHL, NBA, EPL, and NFL this fall!