NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Saturday 10/14/23

NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.

Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters.

Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com and DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.

Let's jump in and take a look at today's slate, find a goalie, some stacks, and some value plays for your NHL DFS lineups on FanDuel.

Goalie to Target

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders ($8,200)

In the mid-range, it's not a bad proposition to get a -146 home favorite with one of the best netminders in hockey.

Ilya Sorokin ($8,200) led the NHL in goals saved above expectation last year (51.36) and carried the New York Islanders into the playoffs. There's really no doubt about his ability, and for fantasy purposes, it wasn't the worst thing for him that the Isles ceded the 10th-most Corsi For per 60 minutes to their opponents (59.6). Sorokin was busy, but he handled it just fine.

In New York's season opener, the upstate Buffalo Sabres are a pretty solid matchup. They were 18th in Corsi For per 60 (57.6) as an offense last year, which is a nice middle ground between dangerous shot volume and too poor of an offense to generate chances.

numberFire's DFS projections slot Ilya as the fourth-best netminder per dollar with a projection of 21.0 FanDuel points. Many of the chalkier alternatives have a higher salary or are on the road; he's the best middle ground near the top.

Stacks

Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights have defended their crown with pride thus far, amassing a +6 goal differential in two games already. They're in a great spot to continue that momentum here.

John Gibson and the Anaheim Ducks await the defending champs on Saturday, and Gibson is projected to cede the most goals on the main slate (3.92) by numberFire's model. This wouldn't be a total shocker when Gibson posted -2.31 GSAx last season behind a defense that ceded the most expected goals per 60 minutes (3.89) in the league.

Vegas is never a perfect offense to stack, but there is enough correlation to latch onto their studs. Jack Eichel ($7,700) and Jon Audy-Marchessault ($6,700) are linemates on the top even-strength and power-play unit, so they're the obvious building blocks, but they also play with Chandler Stephenson ($6,600) and Mark Stone ($6,200) when holding the man advantage. Defenseman Shea Theodore ($5,300) anchors the four of them on the power play.

Projected as the best offense on the slate, they're hard to pass up at mid-range salaries.

Minnesota Wild

As I mentioned when discussing player props, I do want to see if Ilya Samsonov's slow start for the Toronto Maple Leafs continues tonight.

Samsonov let 5 of 24 shots behind him in Wednesday's wild, 6-5 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens, and he really shouldn't have. Montreal only posted 2.71 expected goals per 60, but Samsonov let in 5.27 per 60 when factoring in the time he left an empty net. It was an ugly opener.

The Minnesota Wild aren't the world's most explosive offense, but I did look toward Kirill Kaprizov ($8,500) as a goal-scorer in a prop market, and he's a high-shot-volume stud to anchor your lineups tonight. Kaprizov shares an even-strength and power-play line with Mats Zuccarello ($6,100) as an obvious stacking partner.

However, similarly to Vegas, the pair join second-liners Joel Eriksson Ek ($6,200) and Matthew Boldy ($5,600) atop the Minnesota power play, and there are various salary-friendly combinations between them. Calen Addison ($3,600) is a super saver that mans the points on that man-advantage unit.

Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken offense hasn't really dissipated in 2023-24; it's just run into a pair of brick walls.

Vegas' Adin Hill and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators are top-six netminders in GSAx to begin the year through meetings with the Kraken, which means they've really deserved better than a single goal to start the campaign. After all, this offense was sixth in goals per 60 minutes (3.42) a year ago with the same core of players.

I like their chances to get back on track against Jordan Binnington. The St. Louis Blues ceded the sixth-most expected goals per 60 minutes last season (3.62), and Binnington (-6.45 GSAx) didn't exactly clean up the mess.

Seattle also has the best correlation yet of these stacks mentioned. Jared McCann ($6,100), Jordan Eberle ($5,600), and Matty Beniers ($4,900) all play on the team's top line and power-play unit at tremendous salaries following the slow start. There isn't a true defensemen of note with them, but Vince Dunn ($5,000) will see the most minutes on the team and plays with the second power-play unit.

They're a perfect stack to use with some of the top individual studs of the day; Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon with some friends fit quite easily.

Value Skaters

Sean Monahan, W, Montreal Canadiens ($3,900)

In a prior era, Sean Monahan ($3,900) topped the Calgary Flames' top line and power-play unit as a guy that I used quite often in DFS. He's probably a one-off in this new role with Montreal.

Monahan anchors the third even-strength line for the Habs, but he was fourth among all Montreal skaters with 18:51 TOI in his season debut. Notably for this salary, he spends time with Nick Suzuki ($5,200) and Cole Caufield ($5,000) on the top power-play unit, and that type of scoring equity is hard to pass up.

Even with Connor Bedard in the mix, the opposing Chicago Blackhawks should still struggle defensively in 2023-24 after allowing the seventh-most expected goals per 60 minutes last year (3.33).

Monahan is projected for 12.0 FanDuel points tonight, per numberFire's model. He and Caufield both grade out amongst its top per-dollar values.

Tyson Barrie, D, Nashville Predators ($3,800)

Defense is a tricky position that can be punted to the sub-$4,000 range for defensive stats, but a power-play captain in this area is a gift.

That's exactly what Tyson Barrie ($3,800) appears to be for the Preds this season. It's not a huge surprise when he's previously held the role for the high-octane Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers. The real surprise is that Nashville is choosing to run two defensemen with its top power-play unit; captain Roman Josi ($7,000) is on the other side.

Josi's salary might be a bit prohibitive in this matchup with last year's defensive goal standard, the Boston Bruins. I'm still willing to go here with Barrie because it shouldn't shock anyone if Boston slips down the defensive ranks this year after losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement.

If you need a punt-level blue-liner, Barrie fits the bill seeing man-advantage time. He's also logged at least 19:45 TOI in Nashville's first two games, which is among the reasons he's projected by numberFire for a healthy 10.7 FanDuel points in this game.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.