We have a loaded 12-game slate tonight and a ton of options to go through! Over the first few days of the season, we've seen some wild results but that is to be expected so early in the season. As the year goes on, we'll see teams fall into some clear patterns, giving us some more consistency. 

 

NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, October 12th

Let's jump into some picks over on Sleeper Fantasy before we head to the DFS options for tonight. 

NHL DFS Pick'em Picks on Sleeper Fantasy

Dylan Guenther has been off to a blazing start this season with four goals in two games and while that scoring rate is not sustainable, the shot volume is. He has eight shots on goal over his first two games while seeing time on the second forward line and the first power-play unit. The goals will be variable but shot volume is something we can trust. 

William Nylander has been a bit quiet in the first two games with no points and just a single shot on goal. After averaging over 3.5 shots on goal per game in each of the last two seasons, I have no worries Nylander will find his stride and start piling up the shots. 

Nathan MacKinnon is a point machine, coming off a season where he racked up a career-high 140 in 82 games. He picked up right where he left off with two points in the season-opener against Vegas. Back at home with a 4.3 implied goal total versus the Columbus Blue Jackets should put him in a spot to continue that production. 

 

Saturday Salary Cap DFS Picks

Goalie Of The Day: Stuart Skinner - EDM

Bad games happen. That's really all you can say about Skinner in the season opener for the Edmonton Oilers when he allowed 5 goals on only 13 shots. It's a new day and the Oilers clock in as massive -360 home favorites against the Chicago Blackhawks, which should put him in a spot to pick up the win. 

He's expensive on both FanDuel and DraftKings, but we're dealing with a loaded 12-game slate, so there are plenty of value options out there to get into our lineups. 

Play Of The Day: Connor McDavid - EDM

Yes, the same thing I said above about Skinner is true for McDavid. Not only did McDavid not record any points in the opener, he didn't even have a shot on goal! 

The best player in the world was held off the scoresheet entirely but have no fear, that will change tonight. He's up against the Blackhawks, who are on the second night of a back-to-back and are always going to be worth targeting. 

Through just two games, the Blackhawks have a 65.69 Corsi Against per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the 10th worst in the league. Yes, it's a small sample size, but this bottom tier of teams is where we should see the Blackhawks all season. 

Value Play Of The Day: Cutter Gauthier - ANA, DraftKings

Cutter Gauthier is under $3K on DraftKings and set to see time on both the first forward line and the first power-play unit. While the Anaheim Ducks aren't going to be a good team this season, that is a premium offensive role and he gets a soft matchup tonight against the San Jose Sharks. 

 

Value Play Of The Day: Matthew Knies - TOR, FanDuel

Matthew Knies is looking solid to start the season with eight shots on goal but no points to show for it. He appears to be locked into that top-line role alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, putting him in a good spot to “fall into” some easier assists. 

The matchup versus the Pittsburgh Penguins looks to be one of the best on the slate, as they seemed uninterested in playing any defense this season. 

Stack Of The Day: COL PP1 (Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar)

A massive 4.3 implied goal total for the Colorado Avalanche should make them a popular target for stacking tonight. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are on the first forward line as well, giving us a nice bit of correlation overall. 

They've been a mainstay in terms of NHL DFS for a number of years and bring multi-point potential every night. We saw a bit of that on display in their opener against the Vegas Golden Knights, when Rantanen had a hat-trick, MacKinnon had two points, and Makar had two points. 

The Colombus Blue Jackets are going to be among the weaker defensive teams this season and that will be shown in full tonight. 

 

Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks

 

Player Pool

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Stacks

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