Tuesday was a goal-scoring explosion.

Now that we’re more than halfway through the NHL season, you can expect more of the same going forward.

The NHL season is long. Eighty-two games is a lot for a game as physically demanding as ice hockey. Bodies break down and get tired. Players get sick and play through injuries.

In my experience, this tends to lead to some sloppy play. And sloppy play usually leads to pucks in the back of the net.

So what can we do about it?

Find the goal scorers. Plug them in. And roster the goalies with the best chances for stopping the puck. NHL DFS can be that simple if we let it be.

Tonight we’ve got a monstrous 10-game slate. It’s the biggest one that the NHL has hosted in a while. There are lots of players to choose from when building your roster, and there will be many diverse lineups if you choose to play GPPs.

As always, i’ve got you covered. Let’s get into tonight’s games.

7 p.m. Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins

Boston is charging before the All-Star break, winning their last 3 games. Vancouver is looking uninspired lately going 2-4 in their last 6 games.

Vancouver is also still without top center Henrik Sedin.

Look for Boston to be all over this one at home.

The Bruins are also supposed to get center David Krejci back. They had been scoring goals pretty regularly even without him in the lineup, and now the top-6 has gotten even stronger.

I think Krejci is a strong play tonight if he gets the OK to play. He’s been working with the first power play unit and playing on a line with Loui Eriksson and Matt Beleskey.

His return also makes the third line better, as Ryan Spooner figures to drop back with Frank Vatrano and Jimmy Hayes. This is a decent GPP play as they’re likely be under owned on this monster slate, and are also very cheap. if you’re looking to spend up at other positions, consider plugging in two guys off of this line. Just keep in mind that these are third line grinders, even though they are more talented than your ordinary third liners.

7 p.m. Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils

One thing we should learn from New Jersey’s 4-2 win over Calgary on Tuesday, is that we should never write-off the Devils as DFS options.

Now to be fair, other than Corey Schneider, they shouldn’t ever be our main target of the night. But players like Lee Stempniak and Adam Henrique are cheap plugs who can put up decent numbers from time to time. Mike Cammalleri rejoined the top line and Stempniak responded with a goal and an assist.

Cammalleri makes this line dangerous, and they’re a solid GPP play, and decent cheap plug option for cash games.

Ottawa does have some dangerous pieces that are worth a look as well. It’s a tough match-up against the stingy Devils defense. So let’s talk about what kind of player is able to get solid looks at the net against the Devils.

New Jersey is good at clogging the middle of the ice and taking away chances. So to beat that kind of team you need a big body who is also skilled enough to get shots off in tight spaces.

Bobby Ryan is exactly that kind of player.

He’s on pace to have his best season since leaving Anaheim. 39 points through 45 games is solid production. And with 3 points in his last 2 games he’s looking to get going on one of his hot streaks. Points come in bunches for Ryan throughout his career. So take a good look at him and his center, Mika Zibanejad, when building your lineup.

7 p.m. Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins

Somehow this is the first meeting between these two division rivals this year. Which means they will be seeing a lot of each other during the stretch run.

Games between the Flyers and Penguins tend to get a bit out of hand. There will be a lot of penalties and if all goes as planned, there will be a lot of goals.

Sidney Crosby is a notorious Flyers killer. Maybe the reason he had a first half “slump” is because he hadn’t faced the Flyers yet. Kidding obviously. But maybe there’s some truth to that? I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a multiple-point effort tonight.

Since we’re expecting penalties, then we should probably focus on the power plays for players to target in this one. The PP1 unit for Pittsburgh is a doozy. You’ve got Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and defenseman Kris Letang.

That’s a lot of firepower on one sheet of ice. My recommendation would be if you take Crosby, also take Hornqvist as they see even strength minutes together. If you take Malkin, then take Kessel for the same reason.

Either one of these pairs is a great stack with Letang, who came back from injury on Monday and clocked two assists in his return.

The Flyers also boast an impressive array of talent on the PP1. Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jake Voracek, Brayden Schenn, and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere.

Giroux, Simmonds and Voracek play together on the PP and also even strength, and are a very good play tonight in all formats. Gostisbehere is obviously another easy play as he remains hot with another goal on Tuesday.

Whichever way you decide to go with your decision on this game, there’s one thing i’m certain of: Fade the goalies!

7 p.m. Calgary Flames at Columbus Blue Jackets

If there’s another thing we learned on Tuesday, it’s that targeting against Columbus can pay off handsomely.

Now given, the Washington Capitals are one of the best teams in the league. But the sentiment remains the same. If a team has a talented offensive corp, they are a good target when they play against the Jackets.

Calgary has a talented offensive corp.

The top line got on the board on Tuesday with a power play goal, and they’ll definitely get opportunities for production tonight.

Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are safe bets in all formats. So is defensemen Mark Giordano.

The second line of Sam Bennett, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik remain a high-ceiling GPP option.

7:30 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning

This is going to be an incredible game, as the two hottest teams in the league go at each other.

The Hawks have won 12 straight. Tampa has a winning streak of their own at 6 games.

Somebody’s streak will end tonight, and it will be decided over a fast-paced great hockey game.

There is so much to like in this game, but it’s tough to decide if this will be a high-scoring affair, or a game dominated by defense and goaltending.

I’m thinking a little bit of both. Maybe a 3-2 or a 4-3 final score with some amazing plays and a couple players with big nights.

As always, Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, and Artem Anisimov are a safe play in all formats. When the Hawks are hot, so is this line, so you need to ride them until they cool off.

Defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are solid options as well as they’ve been known to contribute from the back end.

The second line of Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw have also been creating chances on this current Chicago streak. They’re a decent GPP option, and also should get some cash consideration. Because a team playing as well as the Hawks right now usually find scoring from everywhere.

Tampa is in much of the same situation. Steven Stamkos has been leading the charge and his line mates, Ondrej Palat and Vlad Namestnikov, have been picking up points as well. They’ll probably get some decent opportunities in this one, especially off of the rush and power play.

Nikita Kucherov has been a steady producer all season for Tampa, so he deserves a standalone consideration, or together with line mates Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn.

Above all else, enjoy watching this hockey game tonight if you get the opportunity to. Two teams that might be there again in the end battling while playing their best hockey of the season.

7:30 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs

In my mind, the Hurricanes really only have two fantasy relevant players on their roster right now.

The scoring is pretty balanced, with 7 players over 20 points, and only 1 player above 30 points.

That one player is defenseman Justin Faulk, and he does make for a great standalone play in all formats tonight against Toronto.

Defensemen are easier to play as standalones on your roster, as they see the ice with all of the different forward lines and usually only stack well with power play forwards.

The other player on Carolina that I always want to be mindful of is third line winger Jeff Skinner.

Skinner doesn’t see any power play time, yet he’s leading the club with 17 goals. He only has 8 assists to go with them, but goals pay out at a higher value on DFS sites than assists do.

Skinner and Faulk are hard to stack together since the former doesn’t see PP time and Faulk sees all of it. But they are serviceable plug ins today if you find yourself with an open spot in your lineup.

For Toronto, this could be a good night to target them, especially in GPPs where they’ll again be under-owned.

They pulled off a solid 3-2 win over the Flyers where they were clearly the better team that night. They also had a goal overturned by a challenge, so it could have just as easily been a 4-2 victory rather than a last-second nail biter.

I think a decent place to start with your targets for Toronto would be PA Parenteau and Tyler Bozak. They play on the 2nd line together and the PP1 unit. If you want their other lineman, they see even strength minutes with Michael Grabner in JVR’s absence. Defenseman Dion Phaneuf is also a solid option as he runs the PP1.

This is a cheap stack to make work, so if you want to explore it in GPPs, you’ll have plenty leftover to buy top notch forwards and goalies.

8 p.m. Nashville at Winnipeg.

Oh Nashville, you just aren’t what we thought you were.

Coming into this season i thought they would be contenders for the cup. I thought they’d ride their incredible defense and developing forward lines into a 100-point season and a deep playoff run.

They hit a rough patch, panicked, shipped off Seth Jones, and haven’t turned the corner since, going 2-6-2 in their last 10.

I like Winnipeg in this game. I think if Connor Hellebuyck is a great goaltending choice should he get the nod, and the top line of Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler, and Bryan Little are safe plays in all formats.

Also making DFS noise tonight should be Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Big Buff plays tons of minutes and sees PP1 minutes with the line mentioned above.

Look for Winnipeg to score a few goals in this game. And they’re only 3 points behind Nashville right now, so a win gets them 1 point away from climbing out of the basement.

8:30 p.m. Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars

Edmonton has some very exciting young pieces. It’s fun to imagine what the season could have been like had Connor McDavid and the rest of the Oilers offense had stayed healthy this year.

They might not have been on the outside-looking-in of the tight playoff bubble.

Regardless, the Oilers will have their day very soon. But tonight it looks to be Dallas at home getting a win, and finally some big-time production out of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.

Benn and Seguin haven’t been exactly “quiet” lately. Benn has 4 points in his last 4 games, and Seguin has 3 in his last 5. But these aren’t the numbers we’ve become accustomed to with players of their caliber, and they’ve let Patrick Kane create a commanding lead in the scoring race.

Tonight might be a good night to pay up for Benn and Seguin. They seem to be playing together on a line with Jason Spezza. That’s a scary-good line and will have a lot of chances to score in a high-tempo game.

The Oilers like to play run-and-gun hockey. It’s the only style of hockey that they know. Dallas can play that game and they can play it better. Look for the top line to score some points and defenseman John Klingberg to also get some points joining the rush.

9 p.m. San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes

Arizona has cooled off, losing two straight, and the Sharks are one of the best road teams in the league at 15-6-2 away from San Jose.

i don’t say this often when talking about my beloved Coyotes, but the Sharks are the better target tonight in this game.

Much like the young Oilers, Arizona likes to create offense and play run-and-gun. The problem with this is that for every opportunity they create on the rush, they give up one the other way in return.

That’s the style of hockey that San Jose players Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, and Patrick Marleau were made for.

Burns can be played standalone or with a stack in all formats. The Sharks power play moves the puck so quickly and so well. They are always a threat to score. I like taking Pavelski with Joe Thornton because they see PP1 and even strength minutes together. Marleau and Logan Couture round out the PP1 unit.

Thornton and Pavelski play on the top even strength line with Tomas Hertl. This is a line that can succeed in a game that will be played heavily in transition, because Pavelski and Hertl are quick players with great hands around the net, and Thornton is one of the best passers in league history who can get them the puck. They’re a safe play in all formats tonight.

Marleau, Joel Ward, and Matt Nieto are a decent GPP option. Sometimes Couture jumps onto that line in Nieto’s spot, so if you’re looking for a PP stack, taking Couture and Marleau together could turn out to be idiotic or genius on a night like tonight.

Let’s not discount Arizona. They still have a decent chance to win this game. And even if they don’t win, they will have a lot of chances to still score goals. And since we are playing DFS, we don’t care if they win unless we’re rostering their Louis Domingue.

It looks like another line-shuffle has taken place, which has become common-place for the Yotes. I’m loving the top line of Max Domi, Antoine Vermette, and Mikkel Boedker. You can still take them with confidence tonight, along with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larson. Just be warned of the risk, especially if you play on FD where +/- is a factor.

10:30 p.m. Minnesota Wild at Los Angeles Kings

All of a sudden the Wild are having trouble scoring goals. They’ve only scored 4 goals in their last 5 games, all losses.

Let me say that again. The Wild have only scored 4 goals in their last 5 games. You’re not going to win a lot with numbers like that.

They also played last night in a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Minnesota is an obvious fade tonight, especially against the Pacific Division leading Kings.

I love taking a look at Kings players tonight, as I’m always looking for a solid late-night option where you have time to make up ground on DFS teams that have no player minutes remaining.

There’s no better feeling than watching your team climb the leaderboard during the last game. Just as there’s no worse feeling than watching your team get jumped over after you thought you had a decent night with nobody left to go.

The Kings are a great place to put some of that late-night magic to work tonight.

The first one is obvious, Anze Kopitas has been red-hot during LA’s current 7-2-1 stretch, and his line mates, Milan Lucic and Tyler Toffoli, are great to stack alongside him.

But the second one is a sneaky one, that might not be a secret anymore.

Vincent Lecavalier is experiencing quite a resurgence in LA. He has scored a goal in 3 straight games, and he’s seeing regular time on the PP1 unit.

This kind of production always makes me wonder, what was happening on his previous team that they weren’t able to tap into this offense? Philadelphia certainly needs consistent secondary scoring, why was he not getting the chance to produce there? I digress.

Lecavalier is a very solid option, along with Jeff Carter, who has been moved to the wing so Lecavalier can play his natural position of center. Tanner Pearson plays the other wing on this line, and it should be more of the same for these three. Expect scoring chances and some goals.

LA1 is the safer option and I would probably take them in cash games. LA2 is the classic risky with high-upside move. It really comes down to what kind of risk tolerance you want in your late night stable.

Defensemen Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty are also safe plays for LA in all formats, if you’re looking to stack lines from the earlier games, try to work one of these two into your D spot so you have at least someone going in the late game which figures to have some goals scored in it.