As I’ve mentioned before, this season we are providing content Monday-through-Saturday as long as there are at least three games in play. If there are only three or four games, we will only provide optimal lineups.

In general, three game slates are not the best for cash games, and do not have the most action. They will definitely have a lot of varience, so I highly recommend taking it easy tonight. On the other hand, there’s potential to make some good money in GPPs if you can find the right combination.

I’m going to provide a brief summary of things to consider for each game. Players listed in BOLD are preferred plays.

Chicago Blackhawks (+100) at Nashville Predators (-120) - 8:05 PM ET

Blackhawks Analysis:

The Hawks had a tough loss on Wednesday against the Blues at home at the United Center. The biggest issue with the Hawks is basically the salary cap. It has led to the club having to part ways with some very talented players. It has also led to them sporting a bottom two lines that, in my opinion, is subpar. Things always seem to work out for the Hawks, but this could be the year where they drop down to a wild card slot, or even worse, miss the playoffs (doubtful). When it comes to DFS, the main line you’re going to have to consider is Panarin-Anisimov-Kane. You can always consider Panik-Toews-Hossa, but the Kane line is going to have an edge from a fantasy perspective.

Blackhawks Players to Consider: Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane, Richard Panik, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell

Blackhawks Probable Starting Goalie: Corey Crawford

Predators Analysis:

Nashville is a team that has largely been kept in tact, and that’s a good thing, because they are very talented throughout the lineup. Obviously the biggest change took place thanks to the trade of Shea Weber to the Habs for P.K. Subban. Subban is a DFS beast and you can probably put him in the same class as Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson when it comes to his production. I do think that his ice time is going to shrink a slight bit in Nashville considering the Predators are much deeper at the blue line. They are also putting out three very good lines that all have the ability to put up some damage.

Any line with Mike Ribeiro is more likely than not getting the easiest competition at home. Ribeiro may not be getting power-play time this season, so the next best thing is his linemate, Craig Smith. Smith will tend to be overlooked with most in the industry preferring the highly skilled Filip Forsberg (Line 1), Ryan Johansen (Line 1), or James Neal (Line 2). 

Predators Players to Consider: Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Colin Wilson, Mike Fisher, James Neal, Craig Smith, P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, and Mattias Ekholm.

Predators Probable Starting Goalie: Pekka Rinne

Edmonton Oilers (+110) at Calgary Flames (-130) - 9:00 PM ET

Oilers Analysis:

These two teams faced each other on Wednesday and it was a high scoring contest like I imagined it would be. I’m going to say this a few times this season, so keep this on the tip of your head, Connor McDavid is in a class on his own and is in play EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. You could make an argument that he’s going to be the next Sidney Crosby. He may get a tougher assignment tonight against the Backlund line, but I don’t think it matters. The offense runs through him, especially on the power-play, and that’s not going to change. 

Oilers Players to Consider: Milan Lucic, Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl, Jesse Puljujarvi, Oscar Klefblom, and Andrei Sekera

Oilers Probable Starting Goalie: Cam Talbot

Flames Analysis:

The Flames definitely disappointed against the Oilers in Edmonton, and no line was more disappointing than the Gaudreau line. Gaudreau still looked his dominant self at times, but the biggest problem with them was the fact that they were struggling to contain the McDavid line, who they were matched up against throughou the game. The Oilers SHOULD be an improved team defensively, but let’s be honest, it’s not going to be a drastic change just from the additions of Adam Larsson and Kris Russell. 

Flames Players to Consider: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, and Dennis Wideman

Flames Probable Starting Goalie: Brian Elliott

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Los Angeles Kings (No Line) - 10:30 PM ET

Flyers Analysis:

Philadelphia will be without Brayden Schenn who will be serving the first game of a three game suspension after charging T.J. Oshie last April. There aren’t exactly a ton of changes to consider in Philadelphia. Their team will still run through Claude Giroux, who will still be with Wayne Simmonds on the first line. One of the more compelling secondary options is Travis Konecny, who is cheap throughout the industry, and should be getting power-play time with the second unit. He led the Flyers in scoring in the preseason and is in a good situation with Couturier and Voracek at even strength. 

By the way, you also cannot forget about Shayne Gostisbehere, who was outstanding in his rookie campaign last season. 

Flyers Players to Consider: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Streit, and Ivan Provorov.

Flyers Probable Starting Goalie: Steve Mason

Kings Analysis:

The Kings are in a tough spot. They lost their starting goalie in Jonathan Quick and knowing their tendencies, they’re going to probably try to compensate for it by playing a little TOO defensive. They are a very good puck possession club nonetheless and chances are going to happen naturally. Still, when you’re without Marian Gaborik and Tanner Pearson, the possibilities are fairly limited. 

In yesterday’s morning skate, Darryl Sutter pulled on the line swapping slot machine, and it gave us a crazy mishmash of head scratching.  There’s really two ministacks that I would consider at forward: Kopitar/Toffoli and Carter/Purcell. As for the defensemen, I think you have to stick with Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty, though you can make a case for Alec Martinez as well. 

Kings Players to Consider:  Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter, Teddy Purcell, Dustin Brown, Jake Muzzin, Drew Doughty, and Alec Martinez

Kings Probable Starting Goalie: Jeff Zatkoff