I can't welcome you to the 2025-26 NHL season, since I didn't write anything for Tuesday, but I can welcome myself to kick off my season writing NHL DFS articles. After Tuesday's tripleheader to open the campaign, we have four games Wednesday. There's no unusually early start to make a tripleheader work either, with the first puck dropping at 7 p.m. ET. And now, I get to what I came here to do (and will continue to come here to do all season): Make my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's the second day of the season, and we already have a team on the second leg of a back-to-back! The Kings have to be on the road in Vegas. Anze Kopitar is in his 20th season! Give him a break!
Additionally, of course we have essentially no data on this season, and last year's numbers (and numbers from seasons before that) can only tell us so much about this season. Something is more than nothing, though. Where lineups have changed I shall speculate, but we're all in the same boat in terms of learning what this season will be.
GOALIES
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. CGY ($8,100): Connor McDavid did the NHLPA dirty by taking a cheap deal and to show for it the Oilers' No. 1 goalie remains a guy who got yanked for Calvin Pickard in the playoffs last year. Fun! That being said, Skinner is at home, and the Flames only managed 2.68 goals per game last year. There's a good chance Skinner at least pulls out a win Wednesday.
Adin Hill, VGK vs. LOS ($7,800): It's the second day of the NHL season and a goalie is catching a team on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Hill only had a .906 save percentage last year, but thanks to Vegas' defense he had a 2.47 GAA. The Kings had a middling offense. While the Golden Knights don't have Alex Pietrangelo, the circumstances here are good for Hill.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Matthew Coronato, CGY at EDM ($4,800): Late last season, when many had stopped paying attention to the Flames, Coronato went on a tear that left him with 24 goals and 23 assists on the campaign. Not too shabby, especially for a guy in his age-21 season getting his first real taste of NHL action. Skinner is only 26, but he has a career .906 save percentage, and his save percentage fell to .896 last season.
Ivan Barbashev, VGK vs. LOS ($4,000): From the "nice work if you can get it" department, Barbashev may be in an even better place this season than last season. Now, he seems primed to share a line with both Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner. Those two combined for 141 assists last season. Barbashev, meanwhile, scored 23 goals in 70 games last year. The Kings usually play stingy defense, but they are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and the new backup goalie is Anton Forsberg. He had an .898 save percentage over his prior three seasons with Ottawa.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens
John Tavares (C - $6,600), William Nylander (W - $7,300), Bobby McMann (W - $3,700)
The Maple Leafs may be sans Marner, but the top line should be fine, and the second line looks as good as ever. There are those who speak highly of Sam Montembeault and, frankly, I don't get it. Last year what he did best was eat up a lot of playing time for the Canadiens. His .901 save percentage was below average for a No. 1 goalie, he's in his age-28 season, and he has never finished a campaign with a save percentage higher than .903. Kind of seems like he's, you know, not very good for an NHL goalie. Two of these three Leafs are definitely good, and the other has potential.
Tavares stuck around, unlike Marner, and he's coming off a stellar season. The future Hall of Famer had 38 goals and for the fourth season in a row put at least 200 shots on net. Plus, he and Nylander do get plenty of time on the top power-play unit. Speaking of Nylander, he just put up his third-consecutive 40-goal season. He's as productive and consistent as any goal scorer in the NHL. Nylander has also consistently been a power-play weapon, having notched at least 28 points with the extra man in each of the last four seasons. McMann is the player the Maple Leafs will be proving last year was no fluke. He scored 20 goals, but it was also his age-28 season. That being said, having good linemates can go a long way, and McMann's 11.78 shooting percentage last year was by no means unsustainable.
DEFENSEMAN
Jakob Chychrun, WAS vs. BOS ($5,500): Chychrun is early in his prime and John Carlson is 35, so one imagines the former shouldering a sizable offensive load, and ice time load, this season. The former Coyote probably won't score 20 goals again, as an 11.2 shooting percentage is tough to replicate for a defenseman. On the other hand, he had 27 assists for the second season in a row and he has four seasons with double-digit goals to his name. Most assume Jeremy Swayman will be better than last season, myself included, but we can't simply presume that to be true. After all, when all was said and done over 58 games, he had an .892 save percentage.
