The NHL has a seven-game schedule this evening, with Eastern Conference teams taking center stage. Boston, Florida and Ottawa are huge all battling for the final Eastern conference wildcard spot and have huge games tonight, while the same is true for Winnipeg in the west, as they host the New York Rangers.

For daily fantasy hockey tonight there are several teams that can score big, and this will make for a very interesting night. In today’s article we’ll break things down and help to identify the top teams and players to target for both cash game (50/50, head-to-head) and tournament lineups.

Game Review – 3/31

Top Teams to Target Tonight for Daily Fantasy Hockey

1. Tampa Bay Lightning – The Lightning are the top scoring team in the league this year with 249 goals (3.23 per game), and they are very deep offensively with three lines that can score. Tampa Bay scored five goals last night in Montréal and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do against a much inferior opponent in Toronto. The Leafs are giving up 3.9 goals per game in March (dead last) and are playing awful hockey. Any of the Lightning top three lines could be stacked tonight, and players from different lines should be included a cash game lineup. To go against the grain a bit, look to stack one of their top power play units instead, as they pull players from different lines and the Leafs’ penalty kill ranks near the bottom of the league.

2. Columbus Blue Jackets – Columbus is the hottest team in the league right now, winning six straight games and scoring 26 goals in that period. What’s been even more surprising is that five of those wins have come against very good Western Conference teams (St. Louis, Chicago, Anaheim, Vancouver, Calgary). The Blue Jackets should continue that streak tonight in a game against the Devils who are also eliminated from the playoffs. While the Devils do play a strong defensive game, the same could be said of the Blues and Blackhawks, who Columbus just scored nine goals against. The Blue Jackets players are definitely great options for tournaments tonight, and in this matchup they’re actually good plays for cash game lineups also.

3. Washington Capitals – The Capitals’ offense can run hot and cold and we’ve seen a lot of both this season. With 11 goals in the past three games, it’s a time to target the Capitals players, and especially with a home matchup against Carolina. The Hurricanes are one of the worst road teams this season with an 11-21-4 record and ranked 24^th in goals against; they’ve been out of the playoffs for a while and are just playing out the season. The Capitals are led offensively by the duo of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom and both are great targets tonight. Look to the Capitals’ top power play also with Marcus Johansson, Troy Brouwer and John Carlson. Washington has the top power play in the league at 24.4%. At first glance, the Hurricanes’ penalty kill has been very good this year (4^th in the league at 85.2%), but they’re actually second last in the month of March at only 71%.

OTHER TEAMS AND LINES TO STACK FOR GPP tournament lineups:

Predators’ top power play unit, Red Wings’ top line, Jets’ top power play unit, Maple Leafs’ top line, Canucks’ top line

Recommended Players for FanDuel

Here is a list of recommended players to use tonight in your hockey lineups on FanDuel.

Please note that several factors are considered for these recommendations, including FanDuel salary, expected number of goals for the team and their opponent, and the player’s situation (i.e. minutes played, linemates, power play time, recent performance, split stats, etc…).

TOP GOALTENDER PLAYS

[NOTE: Remember to double-check the Starting Goaltenders for the night to ensure the netminder you’re targeting is playing]

1. Sergei Bobrovsky ($9,300) – Bobrovsky has won his past five games (all against playoff teams in the west) and is on top of his game right now, reminiscent of his Vezina trophy winning season two years ago. Since the Blue Jackets also give up a lot of shots, Bobrovsky’s save totals are high, which drives up his FanDuel points. The Blue Jackets beat the Devils 3-2 earlier this month in New Jersey with Bobrovsky in goal, and they match-up again this evening in Columbus. Although Columbus isn’t as big a favorite as some other teams tonight, they are still in a great position for the win, and Bobrovsky is a goaltender we know to target when he’s playing well (March numbers – 9 wins in 11 starts, 2.45 GAA, .927 SvPct). If you’re looking for a cash game goaltender that might be a safer bet for the win, Holtby is someone to target (Washington is biggest favorite tonight), however Bobrovsky is also a great choice for all game formats.

2. Ondrej Pavelec ($8,100) – All teams in contention for the playoffs are playing their top goaltender down the stretch, so there is going to be a lack of good value goaltenders for the next week or so. As a GPP option on this seven game schedule, Pavelec is a good choice tonight at a medium ranged salary. Winnipeg is in a position where every game is a must win, and Pavelec has been coming through lately with six straight big games, prior to a loss last game. He has a tough test tonight against the Rangers, however the Jets are at home and the game is a coin flip for the win.

Other Recommended Goaltenders – Tuukka Rask, Braden Holtby, Pekka Rinne, Andrei Vasilevskiy

TOP DEFENSEMEN PLAYS

1. Erik Karlsson ($6,800) – The Senators are in a must-win situation now, this late in the season and a few points out of the playoffs. They’ve dropped their past three games and will look to their captain to get things turned around. Karlsson leads all defensemen this season in points and shots on goal, and he’s been especially productive over the past month with 16 points in his past 16 games. In three previous games this year against Detroit, Karlsson has two goals, three points and 13 shots. The Red Wings are not playing well lately with just three wins in their past 10 games, and they’ve given up 16 goals in their past four games. The Ottawa / Detroit game might be high scoring, and Karlsson is the player you want in your lineup from the Senators side.

2. Seth Jones ($3,300) – Jones has not had the offensive breakout that some predicted this year, and that is largely due to the Predators’ depth on the blueline with Shea Weber and Roman Josi leading the way. With Weber out of the lineup though, Jones’ playing time increases dramatically both for even strength and moving up to the top power play unit. If Weber is still out for tonight’s game, Jones makes a great VALUE play, and even if Weber does return, Jones could still be considered.

Other Recommended Defensemen – Dustin Byfuglien, John Carlson, Roman Josi, Torey Krug, Anton Stralman, Niklas Kronwall, Kevin Connauton, Marek Zidlicky, Tyler Myers

TOP LEFT WINGER PLAYS

1. Ondrej Palat ($6,700) – Palat has had a great season with 59 points in 70 games and a +32 rating, and he has 12 points in his past 10 games. Many Lightning players are good targets tonight against an awful Maple Leafs team. Palat has been one of the better left wingers all season long for cash games due to his consistency, and that continues tonight in this match-up.

2. Drew Stafford ($4,800) – Stafford is currently riding a nine-game point streak which is the longest active streak in the league and one of the longest of anyone this season. Stafford joined the Jets at the trade deadline and has been playing on a line with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele, the trio have really clicked. That line is definitely a good stack for tournament lineups tonight, and Stafford himself is a good VALUE play.

Other Recommended Left Wingers – Alex Ovechkin, Andrew Ladd, Scott Hartnell, Tomas Tatar, Filip Forsberg, Jonathan Huberdeau, Alex Killorn, Jonathan Drouin, Mark Stone

TOP CENTER PLAYS

1. Pavel Datsyuk ($7,300) – Datsyuk returned from injury on the weekend and then promptly had a big game on Sunday (power play goal, assist, three shots). The Red Wings’ offense is rolling with 16 goals in their past four games, and Datsyuk returning is a big boost to that making the team very deep. He is one of only five players averaging over a point per game this season (60 points in 59 games) and if he had been healthy all year he’d be in the discussion for top players in the league. Tonight the Red Wings face the Senators who are struggling defensively, giving up 13 goals in their past three games. There should be goals on both sides in this game, and we can expect Datsyuk’s name to be on the score sheet at least once.

2. Artem Anisimov ($3,600) – With the Blue Jackets’ recent scoring surge, many players have been productive offensively and that includes Anisimov who is playing on the second line with Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky. Anisimov has nine points in his past 10 games and despite that his salary remains very low. That second line is a good stack option for tournaments, and Anisimov is also a nice VALUE play as a single player to complete a tournament stack.

Other Recommended Centers – Nicklas Backstrom, Valtteri Filpulla, Patrice Bergeron, Mike Ribeiro, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tyler Bozak

TOP RIGHT WINGER PLAYS

Steven Stamkos ($9,400) and Vladislav Namestnikov ($3,000) – Two Right Wingers for the Lightning, at opposite ends of the price scale. Tampa Bay is well positioned for a big scoring game against Toronto and many Lightning players are in a great spot to score. Stamkos absolutely owns the Leafs during his career with 31 points (15 goals) in 24 games, and that includes five points in three games this season.

The top VALUE play of the night is Namestnikov at minimum salary on FanDuel. With an injury to Tyler Johnson, Namestnikov was put on the line with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat and the result was a monster game last night with two goals, an assist and a +3 rating. If Johnson is out again on Tuesday (game-time decision currently), we can assume the line on Monday will stay together and Namestnikov has big upside again in a game against Toronto.

Other Recommended Right Wingers – Blake Wheeler, Radim Vrbata, Nikita Kucherov, Nick Foligno, Cam Atkinson, Marcus Johansson, Justin Abdelkader, Troy Brouwer, David Pastrnak, Alexander Wennberg, Luke Glendening

FanDuel Lineups

Finally, let’s put all of the information together and look at a couple potential line-ups that we could use in FanDuel tonight.

Lineup for Cash Games (50/50s, Head-to-head):

In today’s cash game lineup, we’ll spread out our roster across several teams that are in good match-ups tonight, including players from each of the teams listed as top targets above, and a few other players in good spots.

CASH GAME LINEUP:

LW - Drew Stafford, WPG, $4,800
LW - Mark Stone, OTT, $3,700
RW - Steven Stamkos, TB, $9,400
RW - Nikita Kucherov, TB, $6,300
C - Nicklas Backstrom, WAS, $7,600
C - Ryan Johansen, CLS, $6,800
D - Tyler Myers, WPG, $3,700
D - Seth Jones, NSH, $3,300
G - Sergei Bobrovsky, CLS, $9,300

GPP Tournament Lineups:

There are many different ways to build a tournament lineup tonight, with plenty of teams that are great options for tournament play.

NOTE: these are sample line-ups and could be used as the base for creating a tournament lineup. For multi-entry tournaments with big fields, create several different lineups using the teams to target and GPP line stacks listed above and put them into the same tournament.

Here are two examples below:

GPP LINEUP #1 (a Lightning/Blue Jackets pairing, with Pavelec in goal):

LW - Alex Killorn, TB, $5,500
LW - Boone Jenner, CLS, $5,600
RW - Steven Stamkos, TB, $9,400
RW - Cam Atkinson, CLS, $6,000
C - Ryan Johansen, CLS, $6,800
C - Valtteri Filppula, TB, $6,000
D - David Savard, CLS, $3,900
D - Tyler Myers, WPG, $3,700
G - Ondrej Pavelec, WPG, $8,100

GPP LINEUP #2 (The Capitals' power play, with Predators' top line ):

LW - Alexander Ovechkin, WAS, $10,100
LW - Filip Forsberg, NSH, $5,400
RW - Marcus Johansson, WAS, $5,000
RW - Craig Smith, NSH, $5,500
C - Nicklas Backstrom, WAS, $7,600
C - Mike Ribeiro, NSH, $4,700
D - John Carlson, WAS, $5,900
D - Nikita Nesterov, TB, $3,000
G - Roberto Luongo, FLA, $7,800

Good luck to everyone playing Daily Fantasy Hockey today!

-Sean

DFS alias: maxdout

Twitter: @maxdoutDFS