With NBA on the horizon, the NHL is finally getting into its typical rhythm of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday games. They leave Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to the NBA and everybody respects NFL’s Sunday. So today is Tuesday, the first day you can play daily fantasy sports after getting paid out from NFL’s contests. There are 10 games on the slate and lots of good options. Many people will be playing hockey without knowing what to do and there are juicy contests across the industry.

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If you don’t know how to play DFS hockey, read this article I wrote about how to play DFS hockey. You’ll be a step ahead of everybody else. Then play these guys, add in some studs, go forth, and profit on sites like FanDueland DraftKings.

For cash games, I’m looking for guys who spend a lot of time on the ice for teams expected to score a bunch of goals. With our second 10-game slate of the season, we have options tonight. There are four teams with totals around three and if I can help it, my cash game lineup will be made entirely of guys from these teams since 2.79 is the next closest team total.

For some great hockey analytics, check out war-on-ice.com. This chart comes from there:

First on the list tonight is the Boston Bruins at home against Arizona on the tail end of a back-to-back. Boston is projected to score 3.02 goals and their skaters are way too cheap. Arizona is third worst in the league in Corsi For at 46%, while Boston is average at 50.2%.

Arizona’s hot streak comes from the highest PDO (Save % + Shot %) in the league at 107. One-hundred is the league average and where most teams trend to over time. Mike Smith isn’t a bad goalie, but he isn’t good either, sporting an adjusted save % of 91.60 in the last two seasons. This includes his hot start of over 95% this season. Oh, and Arizona kicked Calgary’s butt in Calgary last night. That means they flew to Boston and landed really late East Coast time last night.

Boston players are cheap because their scoring is spread out. Spooner skates on their first power play unit, but also records little time on ice overall (10:24 last game) with the fourth line. Brett Connolly might be the best value on the night at 2800, skating on the top line with Bergeron and Marchand and getting time with the second power play unit. His minutes have climbed from 13 a game to 17.5 last game with the new promotion. Lock him in.

Next we examine the Stars at home against the struggling Ducks. I don’t understand why Anaheim has been so bad on the ice and according to Vegas this year. They’re ninth in the league in Corsi For at 51.9%. They have much of the same lineup as last year, including their three superstars in Getzlaf, Perry, and Kesler. They have their defensive core. They have their keepers. I don’t get it.

Regardless, tonight they face the eighth best Corsi team on the road and I don’t like their chances again. I do like the Ducks for GPPs though, as I could see this game turning into a shootout. Dallas has a solid team total of 3.00 and Anaheim is at 2.5. I would be wary of this game on +/- sites like FanDuel.

Patrick Sharp is still way too cheap on DraftKings at 5700. I have been playing him every day while he skates alongside Benn and Seguin regardless of the matchup until his DraftKings price corrects itself and tonight he has a juicy matchup. That whole top line makes a great GPP stack, as they all skate on the first power play unit together, but Benn and Seguin are expensive and popular probably because they’re the best duo in hockey and now instead of cycling through scrubs to skate with them, they have playmaker Patrick Sharp. This line will score more goals than any other line in the NHL this year.

Next, with a team total of 2.99 is the Panthersof Florida. They face my favorite team the Avalanche. Colorado is worst in the league in Corsi For at 39.6%, 5.2% behind the next worst, Detroit. Florida isn’t so good at possessing the puck either with a CF% of 48.5, but I’ll take anybody against the Avs this season. All the Avs’ players are way overpriced and strangely too popular. I might be willing to take a prop bet saying the Avs are more popular than the Panthers tonight.

Florida lost Barkov to an injury against the Blackhawks on the 22nd, opening up a promotion for Nick Bjugstad to the top line and power play unit. He’s skated an extra 2.5 minutes last game because of it. He’s not cheap because he’s good and on fire this season, racking up three goals and three assists on 17 shots skating with Trocheck and Pirri. He’s young and quick and gets to center Huberdeau and Jagr now. I reckon the timeless Jagr will be happy to pass him the puck and watch him skate fast. I’ll take him at 5900 because of the matchup and promotion. I love that line for GPPs.

Lastly, let’s look at the St. Louis Blues with a team total of 2.97. They’re home, which is nice but they face the tough Tampa Bay Lightning. St. Louis has the best CF% in the league at 58.1, while Tampa is at 50.4. This game is much like the Stars/Ducks game as I fear it on plus/minus sites.

The top STL (Steen now, not Schwartz, who is out) line is the second best in the NHL. The only thing they lack is firepower from Jori Lehtera. What he lacks in shooting he makes up with assists, and he has plenty of opportunities to rack them up with Steen on his left and Tarasenko on his right. I like him at 3900 for cash and I only like him in GPPs as part of a stack. Steen and Tarasenko are excellent plays too if you can afford them.

Colton Parayko is a great play again at 3100 playing defense. He had another great game two days ago, booking a goal, an assist, 4 blocked shots, and 6 shots on goal against the Islanders. He dropped out of the University of Alaska this summer to be here, it’s supposed to be his senior year. He got 23:39 on the ice last game and quarterbacks the top power play unit.

For net-minders tonight, I’ll be looking to Minnesota v. Edmonton, Philly v. Buffalo, or Boston v. Arizona based on their odds to win. I want safe goalies in cash games: likely to win and not likely to give up many goals. We don’t know who is starting for them yet, so be sure to check for starting goalie information (as well as line and time on ice information).

For GPPs, I will be looking toward goalies who are favorites but will be facing tougher teams, which means more shots and more possible fantasy points (and more risk). I like Jake Allen starting for the sick Brian Elliott and the Blues vs. Tampa Bay at 7100 on DraftKings.

Good luck out there. Have fun watching hockey tonight!