There should be a lot of additional traffic this week for the NHL games on both Draft Kings and FanDuel.

We are right in the middle of the NBA All-Star break, so hockey is the only game in town until Thursday when basketball resumes.

As a result, DFS players are giving the NHL a shot, and a quick stop in the lobby will let you see how significant an impact these players are having.

Double Ups and Leagues are filling much quicker, and GPPs are boasting inflated prize pools. FanDuel is offering a $50k guaranty on the $2 buy-in Breakaway for a second consecutive day, a contest which normally reaches between $20k and $30k on weekdays.

So what does this mean for us? Use your hockey knowledge to your advantage! These games might be bigger, but they tend to be “softer” with regards to knowledgeable opponents.

For an example, “stacking” is not as important in NBA DFS, so newer NHL players may not be utilizing this technique to the best of their ability. Make sure to build rosters using solid line stacks so that one goal can lead to multiple points for you.

There were 7 games yesterday, so tonight’s 8-game slate is smaller than a typical Tuesday. But there is still a lot happening as we enter the stretch run of the season:

There are a couple teams already playing must-wins as they fight for their playoff lives. We have the best team in the league in action led by the greatest pure goal-scorer of this generation. Two teams playing on the second end of back-to-back days. And then of course, the most exciting player in the league right now lacing them up for the late game.

It’s definitely going to be a great night of hockey. Here’s tonight’s breakdown to help your lineup reflect the action!

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7 p.m. Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils

Philadelphia is one of those teams that find themselves in a must-win game at this point of the season. They went 0-1-1 over the weekend and find themselves 6 points back from the final wild card spot in the East.

One of the teams they are chasing is the Devils, who are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games despite playing without top offensive threat Mike Cammalleri.

I got to watch the Devils pretty closely this past weekend, a 2-1 overtime win over Philly on Saturday, and a 1-0 victory against LA on Sunday.

I hate to admit it, but this is a very good hockey team. They are playing a neutral-zone-trap style that will drive hockey purists wild, but the execution is flawless.

Cory Schneider is now one of the best goaltenders in the league. And that’s exactly what you need to employ a system like this, especially when your offense is ranked 30th out of 30.

Schneider is now a solid play in all DFS formats. He’s capable of stealing games, a perfect example being his shutout over a very strong Kings team on Sunday.

As far as offensive players, if Cammalleri is back he should get some GPP consideration, but not much else should be used except for value plays to fill out your lineup if you’ve paid up at other spots. Joe Blandisi comes to mind because he’s cheap and seeing first line minutes with Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak.

So how do you beat a trapping team? You need to be able to skate the puck through traffic consistently. The Flyers have maybe 3 players capable of this.

Claude Giroux is one of them. Jake Voracek is another. The third is defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

Gostisbehere is currently riding a 12-game point streak, the longest by a rookie defenseman in NHL history. He’s a strong play tonighteven with this tough matchup.

If the Flyers are to win tonight, it will be on the backs of these three players having a tremendous games. Therefore, they should get some GPP consideration along with linemate Wayne Simmonds. But if you take them, make sure you’re well aware of the risk you are taking with the high-ceiling payoff.

7 p.m. Los Angeles Kings at Washington Capitals

Stanley Cup Finals preview?

The Capitals continue to roll. 7-2-1 in their last 10 and 40-10-4 overall, best in the league. Their goal differential is an incredible +56, also best in the league. Second best? That would be Dallas at +33.

Alex Ovechkin is as matchup-proof as they come. Especially on the power play, where the Caps are converting 24.4% of opportunities. Also best in the league.

Ovechkin’s 35 goals are best in the league. His 14 on the power play are tied for best in the league.

We don’t need to crunch the numbers anymore on this one. The Washington Capitals are the best team in the league, and they continue to prove it night in and night out.

The thing about Ovechkin is, there are so many ways that he can beat you. He still scores the end-to-end highlight-reel goals. But he also can just flat-out overpower a goalie with a one-timer from the top of the circle or on the half boards. Even when everybody knows it’s coming. It’s been his trademark for the last decade.

Ovechkin is a safe play in all formats tonight. So are his linemates, TJ Oshie and Nick Backstrom.

Defenseman John Carlson, the quarterback of the PP1, is also a solid play. Either to stack with the top line or to play as a standalone. He has assists in 3 straight games.

Goalie Braden Holtby is 7-1-1 in his last 9 starts. He will be expensive but he is worth the salary.

The Kings are not a slouch team. They’re 33-19-3 and first in the Pacific Divison. But the Caps are just that good of a team that their elite players will be top plays against any opponent.

7 p.m. Winnipeg Jets at Carolina Hurricanes

I want to take a second to wish the best to Winnipeg Jets prospect goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Hellebuyck won myself and other NHL DFS players a good amount of money in December and early January with his stellar play and cheap salary. But the Jets reassigned him to the AHL over the weekend when Ondrej Pavelec returned from injury.

The Jets seem to have given up on this season, but the Hurricanes have a lot left to play for, and they continue to find ways to pick up points during their playoff push.

Top defenseman (and top scorer) Justin Faulk did not play over the weekend after colliding with a teammate in practice on Friday. If he’s not able to go, you can get cheap exposure to the Canes PP1 unit through defenseman Noah Hanifin.

The Hurricanes are a pretty balanced team, with three lines chipping in offensively consistently. If there’s one line to key in on tonight, it’s probably the top line of Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg and Elias Lindholm.

The Hurricanes are playing inspired hockey right now, and figure to get a win tonight to keep pace in the east. They haven’t named a starting goalie yet, but it figures to be Eddie Lack since Cam Ward suffered a minor injury over the weekend and did not practice on Monday.

7 p.m. Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets

Here’s a matchup made in Heaven.

The Bruins have scored the 3rd most goals in the league at 172. The Jackets have allowed the most at 178.

Get some Bruins in your lineup tonight and watch them put some points on the board.

Boston shuffled their lines again now that top center Patrice Bergeron is on the day-to-day shelf. This makes pinpointing a line to stack that much more difficult.

The best bet on a given night is probably Boston’s second line center David Krejci. He’s scoring at almost a point a game (44 through 46), and also plays a point on the PP1 unit. He looks to be skating with Matt Beleskey and David Pastrnak. Beleskey also sees PP1 minutes with Krejci. This line is a safe play in all formats.

Winger Brad Marchand is leading the team with 28 goals and is playing with Brett Connolly and Ryan Spooner. Should Bergeron make his return tonight, he will slot into the middle of this line and bump Spooner to the third.

Spooner, however, also sees top power play minutes, making a Spooner and Marchand stack an intriguing option should they stay together tonight.

7:30 p.m. Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators

If there was ever a time to take Buffalo skaters in your DFS lineup, it’s tonight.

The Sabres have won two in a row, while the Senators have lost their last 3. Ottawa has given up 11 goals over those 3 games.

This is a team not playing well defensively, and the Sabres have some talented forwards who are capable of scoring goals in bunches if the game turns into an open run-and-gun match.

But so can the Senators.

This is a game with two teams outside of the playoff bubble, but there could be some sloppy play and big numbers put up on each side. If you’re playing GPPs, you’d be wise to target some players from either side in this game.

The Sabres will be without Evander Kane tonight for disciplinary reasons. He normally skates with center Ryan O’Reilly and winger Sam Reinhart on the top line.

But tonight I think will be Jack Eichel’s time to shine. He’s centering the second line with Jamie McGinn and Justin Bailey.

Eichel has a modest 3 points in his last 4 games and a great matchup tonight. Eichel is a proud player with all the tools to be superstar in this league, and with the emergence of other first-year players (McDavid, Gostisbehere, Panarin), you can bet he wants to play his way back into the rookie of the year conversation.

I think that starts tonight. Eichel and McGinn is a smart duo to target for GPPs as they see even strength and PP1 minutes together.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is a solid play in all formats as well.

For Ottawa, the GPP play can probably come from the third line of Shane Prince, Bobby Ryan, and Mika Zibanejad.

Ryan is having a remarkable season with 20 goals and 46 points through 56 games. He’s also seeing PP1 minutes, and with the addition of Prince at even strength, this is an incredibly affordable stack to make works.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson is, as always, a solid play in all formats as well.

7:30 p.m. San Jose Sharks at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Sharks are on the road, which for some reason is where they thrive, going 18-8-2 away from San Jose this season. They are also 6-2-2 in their last 10 and continue to streak towards the playoffs playing some of their best hockey.

Joe Pavelski is a DFS stud and probably one of the most underrated players in the league. He has 52 points through 54 games. Eight powerplay goals and 8 game winners. He plays upwards of 20 minutes a night, and he’s playing to a +18.

These are elite numbers, yet he doesn’t get mentioned with the Kane’s, Crosby’s or Tarasenko’s of the league.

I guess that’s good news for DFS players because it leaves him under-owned every single night.

He’s playing on a line with Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton. Jumbo Joe is also having another solid year with 48 points in 54 games. They make a great stack because when Pavelski scores, Thornton typically has the assist.

Defenseman Brent Burns has become expensive again, and for good reason, because he’s the best puck rushing defenseman in the league. He also has 48 points and leads the Sharks with 231 shots on goal. He’s a safe play in all formats if you can make the salary work.

Another sneaky play for the Sharks tonight is third line center Logan Couture. He’s a top level talent who finds himself on the third line because, frankly, the Sharks had nowhere else to put him. Thornton and Patrick Marleau center the top two lines and are each having solid years.

Couture missed most of the first half with an injury, but he is making up for lost time. He has 8 points in his last 4 games. He makes a great standalone play in all formats, or a stack with Burns, because he sees PP1 time with Thornton, Pavelski, Burns and Marleau, but not with his even strength linemates.

8 p.m. Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues

Dallas has found their stride after their January speed bump. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 and Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are back to scoring points at will.

Seguin has a 5 game point-scoring streak currently, with 8 points over that span. Benn also has reached the scoresheet in 5 straight, with a goal and 5 assists.

The Stars placed Patrick Eaves on the right wing with these two and he has paid immediate dividends. He has 7 points over the last 5 games, including a hat trick in a win over Chicago.

This line is a safe play in all formats tonight and for the foreseeable future. The Stars are playing their best hockey of the season.

If there’s one thing the Blues have going for them, it’s that the Stars played last night in a tough matchup against Nashville. Fatigue could play a factor and the Blues can take advantage if they jump on them early.

The Blues got Jaden Schwartz back from injury on Friday and he responded with a goal and an assist in a win over Florida.

He’s playing on a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera. This line played together last year and have already built chemistry together. They’ll be a force for the Blues down the stretch, and can be considered a GPP play tonight.

9 p.m. Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers

There is not a more exciting player in the league at the moment than Connor McDavid.

He has only played in 20 games so far this year because of a shoulder injury, but he has amassed 9 goals and 24 points in that span. He should get another 25 games this season, and if he’s able to stay healthy, he should end the year with about 60 points. That’s incredible for a 19-year old rookie.

He has incredible hockey sense, and slippery hands that make defenders look at the puck when they should be watching the body. This is what feeds his ability to make defenseman miss when they try to check him, and it results in some highlight-reel scoring plays.

Tonight we will get to see what happens when McDavid plays against a physical, and somewhat dirty team.

The Ducks are no picnic to play against. They are nasty. And they’re also playing well at 8-1-1 in their last 10.

it’s not a good matchup for the Oilers to win, but it could still be a good game for McDavid and Jordan Eberle to hook up for a goal or two. And for this reason they remain on the fantasy radar, more geared towards GPP.

The Ducks on the other hand have a couple of standout players recently that are good plays tonight as well.

Ryan Getlaf has overcome his slow start to retake the team lead in points with 43. He has 9 points in his last 5 games, including 4 straight multi-point games.

Tonight will be another night for him to put up at the least 2 points. The Oilers are not good defensively, and Getzlaf is on a roll. He’s playing with David Perron and Mike Santarelli. This is an affordable stack and good in all formats.

Also good in all formats is defenseman Sami Vatanen. He’s a puck-mover who QBs the PP1 and has 3 points in the last 4 games. Look for him to play well down the stretch and pick up points in stretches. He has 27 points so far this year. He will end the year with around 50.