NHL DFS Picks for October 10: Top DraftKings Stacks, Values and Goalies

Colorado is where we want to spend Saturday, and Carolina gives us several ways to make the salaries work. The Avalanche’s first unit offers a particularly useful discount through Nazem Kadri, while the Hurricanes have scoring options across two lines against a depleted Chicago team.

The October 10 DraftKings main slate has 10 games and locks at 7 p.m. ET. Toronto at Colorado, Dallas at Pittsburgh and Carolina at Chicago all start with the main window. The final games are Anaheim at Calgary and Los Angeles at Vegas at 10 p.m. ET. Minnesota at Florida belongs to the earlier slate.

Colorado’s game carries a 6.5-goal total, with the Avalanche favored. Our other priority is Carolina’s matchup advantage. Early-season percentages still come from tiny samples, so we’re putting more weight on who shares the ice, who gets the power-play work and what each combination costs.

Top Stacks

Colorado power play vs. Toronto

Nathan MacKinnon ($9,000) + Nazem Kadri ($5,000) + Cale Makar ($7,600)
Combined salary: $21,600

Kadri makes this build work. He is $2,400 cheaper than Martin Necas ($7,400), and Colorado’s current alignment places him beside MacKinnon at even strength and on the first power-play unit. Necas retains PP1 but plays on the second line. We prefer the cheaper forward who can connect with MacKinnon in both situations.

Makar supplies the defense slot and completes the power-play stack. Colorado has scored 23 goals in four games, while Toronto allowed 43 shots in its most recent game at Vegas. That gives us a clear reason to attack the matchup, although Colorado’s 17.8% shooting rate is too hot to treat as sustainable. We are paying for the role and the combination, rather than expecting another seven-goal night.

Carolina power play at Chicago

Sebastian Aho ($6,900) + Andrei Svechnikov ($6,200) + Shayne Gostisbehere ($4,700)
Combined salary: $17,800

This is our preferred alternative when Colorado’s price squeezes the rest of the lineup. Aho and Svechnikov play together at even strength, and Gostisbehere connects them on PP1. Svechnikov scored twice on the power play Thursday, with Gostisbehere assisting on both. That is the scoring relationship we want to buy.

Chicago’s penalty kill has stopped just 66.7% of opposing opportunities through five games. More importantly, Connor Bedard remains injured and Frank Nazar is suspended, leaving the Blackhawks thin down the middle. Carolina should have more opportunities to sustain pressure. Seth Jarvis is still working back from shoulder surgery, preserving the current opening on the top unit. We favor Gostisbehere’s PP1 role over chasing Sean Walker’s ($4,100) four-assist game from PP2.

GPP Stacks

Dallas first line at Pittsburgh

Wyatt Johnston ($7,100) + Mikko Rantanen ($6,600) + Sam Steel ($2,600)
Combined salary: $16,300

Steel brings the full line below the cost of several two-star combinations. He shares even-strength shifts with Johnston and Rantanen, while the two expensive pieces also play together on PP1. Steel has no regular power-play assignment, so his value depends on that top-line job holding.

Rantanen participated in all four Dallas goals Thursday, but the Stars produced only 18 shots. We should not mistake efficient finishing for overwhelming volume. The better argument is Saturday’s opponent: Pittsburgh just allowed 46 shots in Columbus and returns home for the second half of a back-to-back. At these prices, we can target that vulnerability without needing Dallas to produce another four-goal performance on so few chances.

Los Angeles first line at Vegas

Quinton Byfield ($5,500) + Artemi Panarin ($7,100) + Adrian Kempe ($6,700)
Combined salary: $19,300

This is our tournament swing away from the favored offenses. All three Kings share the first line and first power-play unit. In their October 3 game at San Jose, the trio controlled 20 shot attempts to four at five-on-five. Each also finished with a goal and an assist.

Vegas is the more difficult assignment, and Los Angeles has yet to win. Still, the Kings’ top line has already shown it can create together, and Byfield keeps the three-man price manageable. We prefer committing to the connected trio over adding an unrelated expensive winger and hoping both offenses break our way. This is a ceiling-based alternative, without assuming it will be lightly rostered.

Value Stacks

Carolina second-line pair at Chicago

Logan Stankoven ($5,400) + Taylor Hall ($4,000)
Combined salary: $9,400

Hall and Stankoven share a line and PP2, and Hall assisted on Stankoven’s power-play goal Thursday. Stankoven’s hat trick included an even-strength goal, a power-play goal and a short-handed goal. That variety shows the opportunities he is getting, but three goals is no reasonable baseline for Saturday.

Jackson Blake ($5,300) completes the even-strength line for $14,700. He has the additional appeal of PP1, plus five assists over a four-game point streak. The two-man version saves more money; the three-man version buys broader exposure to Carolina’s scoring. We like both, with the understanding that Blake separates from his linemates on the power play.

St. Louis second-line pair vs. Columbus

Mason McTavish ($4,200) + Connor McMichael ($3,900)
Combined salary: $8,100

These are useful savings without dropping into a fourth-line role. McTavish and McMichael share the second line and PP2. McTavish had five shots Thursday and assisted on McMichael’s goal. Columbus now travels after playing Pittsburgh on Friday, while St. Louis had the night off.

We prefer this as a small secondary stack. The Blues have only nine goals in four games, so a large investment would ask too much of an offense still finding its footing. At $8,100, one connected scoring play can help the pair support a more expensive primary stack.

One-Offs and Salary Savers

• T.J. Hughes, Colorado ($3,300): Hughes had six shots in 16:26 Thursday, including 2:42 of power-play time. His current PP1 assignment makes him our favorite inexpensive addition to a MacKinnon build. His third-line even-strength role adds volatility, so retaining that power-play spot matters.
• Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay ($8,600): Our premium one-off when we move away from Colorado. Kucherov has six points through four games and occupies both the first line and PP1. He can fit beside a cheaper St. Louis or Carolina pair, though his salary demands a multi-point ceiling.
• Sam Steel, Dallas ($2,600): The cheapest player in our core pool. His appeal is access to Johnston and Rantanen at even strength. We would remove him from this group if he drops out of that line.
• Devon Toews, Colorado ($4,100): A $3,500 saving from Makar for builds that cannot afford both premium positions. He shares Makar’s defense pair but plays PP2. The two-goal outing Thursday is a bonus, not a reason to price his opportunity like Makar’s.

Goalie Tiers

Best matchup: Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina ($8,500), projected

Carolina’s matchup makes Kochetkov our first look for win potential, provided he gets the start. The drawback is save volume: Chicago averages 20 shots per game, while Carolina allows 21, both through five games. At the slate’s highest goalie price, he may need a very clean result to separate. Brandon Bussi also costs $8,500 if Carolina turns to him instead.

GPP: Jake Oettinger, Dallas ($7,900), projected

Oettinger has consecutive shutouts, including 26 saves against Buffalo Thursday. Pittsburgh has averaged 30.4 shots through five games, offering more potential save work than Chicago. We like the $600 discount from Carolina, with the trade-off that the Penguins carry more offensive danger. His starting assignment still needs confirmation.

Value: Daniil Tarasov, Detroit ($7,000), announced starter

Todd McLellan named Tarasov for Saturday. He subsequently made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief Friday. Detroit is traveling on a back-to-back after allowing six goals, so this is a salary-saving tournament choice with meaningful downside. The $1,500 saved from Carolina can materially improve the skaters, but we would not treat Tarasov as the safest goalie simply because his start was announced first.

DraftKings GPP Lineup Example

• C: Nathan MacKinnon, COL, $9,000
• C: Logan Stankoven, CAR, $5,400
• W: Nazem Kadri, COL, $5,000
• W: Jackson Blake, CAR, $5,300
• W: T.J. Hughes, COL, $3,300
• D: Cale Makar, COL, $7,600
• D: Shayne Gostisbehere, CAR, $4,700
• G: Daniil Tarasov, DET, $7,000
• UTIL: Sam Steel, DAL, $2,600

Total: $49,900. Salary remaining: $100.

We get four members of Colorado’s first power-play unit, Carolina’s Stankoven-Blake connection and a cheap piece of Dallas’ first line. Tarasov creates the room for Makar, but also carries much of this lineup’s risk. Before lock, the decisive checks are Hughes retaining PP1, Steel staying with Dallas’ top line and Detroit sticking with Tarasov. If any changes, rebuild the affected pieces rather than forcing the original lineup.