NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 10/13/22

Hockey is back! The NHL gets the season underway this week with plenty of action across the league.

NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.

Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com and DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.

Let's jump in and take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.

Goalie to Target

Tristan Jarry ($8,100): The Pittsburgh Penguins open up the season as massive -420 favorites at home to take on the Arizona Coyotes. In not-so-shocking news, the Coyotes aren't going to be good this season, and we will routinely look to opposing goalies going against them since those goalies will have solid win equity.

Jarry is expected to start for the Penguins, and it's arguably the easiest home opener you can imagine. Last season, the Coyotes carried a 47.50 Corsi For (total shot attempts created) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which was the worst in the league. Jarry and the Pens should be able to come away with an easy win, and Jarry can pick up solid fantasy points along the way.

High-Salaried Skaters

Jack Hughes ($7,500): Jack Hughes is good. Actually, he's great -- or about to be great. Hughes is entering the season as one of the popular picks for a breakout season on offense, and we're going to be on board all year. The former number-one overall pick from 2019 averaged 3.3 shots on goal and 1.1 NHL points per game last season. As long as he stays healthy, he will 100% exceed those numbers this season.

Hughes will center the second line and skate on the first power play for the New Jersey Devils, who come in with a 3.17 implied total. He will be up against the Philadelphia Flyers, who finished last season in the bottom 10 of the league in Corsi Against (total shot attempts allowed) and goals allowed, both per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations.

Jack Eichel ($7,600): The Vegas Golden Knights own a juicy 4.14 implied total tonight and should be one of the more popular options in DFS. They are at home and taking on the Chicago Blackhawks, who were dismantled last night by the Colorado Avalanche, giving up five goals in a losing effort.

We're dealing with one-game sample sizes for these teams/players, so it can be tough to get a read on things this early in the season. However, the Blackhawks are not a good team, and the Golden Knights are -- as is indicated by the -375 moneyline in favor of Vegas. Eichel had a goal and seven shots on net in the first game of the season, a level he can continue tonight with this soft matchup.

Value Skaters

Tyler Toffoli ($5,700): The Calgary Flames are hosting the Avalanche, and the over/under is set at 6.5 goals, putting this as one of the best DFS game environments on the slate. These will likely be two of the best teams in the Western Conference when all is said and done, and they should bring plenty of fantasy production along the way.

Despite losing John Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk in the offseason, the Flames added Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, which should have their offense putting up a lot of points this season. Joining Huberdeau on the top line and the top power-play unit will be Toffoli. This should put Toffoli in a spot to be a beneficiary of the offensive players around him, which should lead to solid fantasy production.

Rickard Rakell ($4,600): As noted above, the Penguins are huge -420 moneyline favorites, and that gives them a slate-high 4.21 implied goal total. The Penguins and Golden Knights should be two very popular teams tonight in all formats.

Rakell is expected to be on the first forward line alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. To say that is a valuable role to have would be an understatement. Rakell's salary is too low given the offensive upside he has tonight.