We have three games today with some high-flying offensive teams or our NHL DFS lineups. Edmonton and Tampa Bay are going to be popular, but can we find some value elsewhere? Is Jordan Binnington an elite goalie option? Can we trust the Islanders to score goals? You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Wednesday, October 26th, but before you build those NHL daily fantasy lineups, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS projections, the NHL Value Finder, and the NHL DFS lineup generator. Let's now take a closer look at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS slate.

 

NHL DFS Top Picks October 26

New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders

We have a battle of the two New York teams to start the slate off! The Rangers played last night, but that doesn’t mean we should trust the Islanders to score goals. They haven’t been very good at that all season and it’s unlikely to change tonight. 

For the Rangers, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider are going to be popular plays, but I’m going to go ahead and fade both players completely. The Islanders are a great defensive team, and even if the Rangers are 3rd in the league in shots per game, that doesn’t mean that we are going to see goals. 

Instead, We look to target value on the blue line for both teams. Jacob Trouba had himself a night against Colorado yesterday, registering eight shots on goal and three blocked shots. We know that he can block shots, but the shots on goal are a nice bonus too. Should we expect something similar tonight? No, but we should expect him to hit value.

On the flip side, Alexander Romanov is where I want to invest my money. I know the upside of Noah Dobson is good, but I don’t want to spend over $6K on DraftKings for a defenseman who isn’t elite at blocking shots or doesn’t shoot the puck consistently. I don’t want to rely on just getting points, so we will pay down and go with Romanov. 

When it comes to forwards, Matthew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom are the only players worth considering. I don’t love either player, but they're both priced very well and have some upside. If you want some exposure to the Islanders’ offense, this is one route to consider.

All I care about for this game is Ilya Sorokin. His numbers on the season don’t look great, but he’s a good goalie playing on a team that thinks defense first. The Rangers can shoot the puck, which means we could see Sorokin hit value without having to register the win, as he did against New Jersey last week. His $7800 price tag is also reasonable, so there is a lot to love here. If you also want a piece of Jaroslav Halak, you can give it a go in a multi-entry GPP. He hasn’t been good this season, but the Islanders are just bad at scoring goals. If anything, he allows you to play up elsewhere.

Edmonton Oilers vs. St. Louis Blues

There is no team that is more dangerous up front than the Edmonton Oilers. They turned on the jets last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and scored five goals in the second period. St. Louis is off to a hot start this season, but can they control Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl?

Speaking of those two, I am off the McDavid train tonight. He’s gone two games without registering a point and really struggled the last time he played St. Louis. Betting against the world’s greatest player isn’t fun, but why pay $8600 for him when I can get Leon Draisaitl at $7100? That’s right, DK has Leon at a crazy low price. I get that Jordan Binnington has been good to start the season, but the German forward has 11 points on the season and is firing the puck with a ton of consistency. If you want exposure to Edmonton, Draisaitl is the way to go.

When it comes to wingers, Evander Kane is the only one I care about. He finished the last game with two points and nine shots on goal. He has recorded five or more shots on goal in four of the last five games. The only game he didn’t was against the Blues. With a floor so high, it would be foolish to fade him in any format. He doesn’t even need to score a goal to hit value.

When it comes to defensemen, Cody Ceci is the only player we can really look at. St. Louis is 30th in shots per game and I don’t expect them to control the puck very much tonight. Ceci is $3300 and was the only player to block three shots the last time these two teams went head-to-head. If anything, the salary savings alone is enough for me to consider him.

On the St. Louis side of things, Robert Thomas is an option to consider, but I hate that he has two shots on goal in four games this season. His $4300 price tag is excellent, but he can’t hit value if he isn’t shooting the puck. 

I’ll turn my attention to the wingers, where Vladimir Tarasenko and Jordan Kyrou are two names that immediately come to mind. Kyrou doesn’t shoot the puck much and is playing on the second power play unit, but we could probably get him at low ownership on such a short slate. As for Tarasenko, well he’s the best shooter on the team, which isn’t great, but still better than nothing. Any one of these two-wingers works for me.

On the back end, Nick Leddy and Justin Faulk are both going to be in my lineup. Edmonton will control the time of possession, which is good when you are rostering defensemen from the opposing team. Leddy blocked six shots the last time these two teams met and is a cool $3200, while Faulk is under $6K and does a lot more than Tory Krug ever will.

I don’t know how I feel about Jordan Binnington, but $7900 for him tonight is not something I will consider. I get that he’s been good, but I’m not spending my Wednesday night sweating a goalie going up against McDavid and Draisaitl. I’ll fade both goalies in this game.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Anaheim Ducks

This is the game of the night that I am focused on the most. Tampa Bay was pretty bad against Los Angeles last night, but the Ducks are a REALLY bad team and I don’t think they will be able to score goals. 

Let’s start with the obvious: Steven Stamkos. He hasn't scored a goal in the last two games, but has seven on the season and is shooting the puck a ton. I don’t know why he’s only $7400 tonight, but we will take it. I’ll even pair him with Brayden Point, who is skating on the top line and on the top power play unit. I don’t really care that they don’t skate together five-on-five, All I care about here is getting exposure to them.

On the wing, Nikita Kucherov is always a good idea, but I’ll lean more towards Brandon Hagel, especially since he is skating on the top line and is only $3300. He’s now scored goals in back-to-back games and is a nice value play on such a short slate.

On the blueline, Mikhail Sergachev is the only name ill consider. He has 21 blocked shots on the season and is capable of shooting the puck and finding the scoresheet. He’s a cheap version of Alec Martinez-- the king of shot blocking-- but with more offensive upside. I’ll gladly take him and his $4600 price tag tonight.

I hate Brian Elliott and his inflated price tag, but goalie options are slim tonight, so we might have to bite the bullet here. I still like Sorokin and Halak better, but if you want to try someone else, Elliott is a name to consider.

As for the Ducks, our boy Tory Terry is an option tonight. He’s the only forward who is finding the scoresheet consistently and is reasonably priced across most platforms. I’ll also take a stab at Mason McTavish, who is a good player, but just hasn’t found any consistency yet in the NHL. He is skating on the top power play unit and is $3000, so one point alone would almost be enough for him to hit value.

Anaheim’s defense is a flaming pile of dirt, so the only player we should be looking at here is Dmitry Kulikov. I don’t like him very much, but he’s $2800 and is capable of blocking shots. He’s also playing a healthy 20-minutes a night, so there’s a chance he finds a way to block three shots before the end of the game.

To finish this off, John Gibson is dead to me. I haven't played him in DFS this season, but the veteran net-minder is horrible and he can’t stop a beach ball. I really hope he plays tonight so Tampa Bay can take advantage and score a ton of goals.

 

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