NHL DFS Picks for October 15, 2026: DraftKings Stacks, Values and Goalies

The first decision on Thursday’s 11-game DraftKings slate is how much Edmonton you can afford. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl give you a direct route to a huge scoring night, but their combined price can hollow out the rest of a lineup. Vegas offers a more balanced stack, while Tampa Bay offers a power-play route through Kucherov, Point and Guentzel.

Our preferred starting points: Edmonton for the highest-priced ceiling, Vegas for a balanced primary stack, and Tampa Bay for a first-unit power-play stack. Minnesota and New Jersey are the tournament alternatives.

Late goalie update (after the 7 p.m. ET first lock): Daily Faceoff confirmed Philipp Grubauer as Seattle’s starter at 6:46 p.m. ET. Joey Daccord is not starting, and our earlier Daccord recommendation is withdrawn. Carter Hart and Daniil Tarasov remain confirmed.

Tonight’s DraftKings NHL slate

First lock: 7 p.m. ET. All times Eastern. Tonight’s schedule:

• 7 p.m.: Buffalo at Toronto; Islanders at Ottawa; Seattle at Tampa Bay; Vancouver at Florida; Rangers at New Jersey
• 7:30 p.m.: Philadelphia at Detroit
• 8 p.m.: Winnipeg at Chicago; San Jose at Nashville; St. Louis at Minnesota
• 9 p.m.: Utah at Edmonton
• 10 p.m.: Calgary at Vegas

Position note: Draisaitl is a winger on DraftKings for this slate.

Best NHL DFS stacks

Edmonton: McDavid, Draisaitl and Podkolzin

Connor McDavid, C, $9,300; Leon Draisaitl, W, $8,800; Vasily Podkolzin, W, $6,300. Total: $24,400.

This is the expensive bet on concentrated offense. The latest deployment puts all three together at even strength and on the first power play. That matters more than simply collecting three good Oilers: a McDavid-created chance can pay off through the scorer and the assists in the same sequence.

Lineup watch: Jason Dickinson is questionable; his absence could move Draisaitl away from McDavid at even strength.

Podkolzin provides the work around the crease and along the wall that complements the two stars. He is no longer a cheap attachment at $6,300, so the full trio needs a big night to justify nearly half the cap. Utah has enough offense to keep this competitive; We prefer Edmonton’s scoring pieces to treating its goalie as an automatic safe play.

Cheaper route: McDavid plus Kasperi Kapanen, W, $3,800, costs $13,100. Kapanen’s current first-unit power-play role supplies the connection, but he is on a different even-strength line. That is a power-play mini-stack with less five-on-five overlap.

Vegas: Eichel, Stone and Barbashev

Jack Eichel, C, $8,200; Mark Stone, W, $7,200; Ivan Barbashev, W, $4,100. Total: $19,500.

Our preferred balanced primary stack. Eichel carries the puck through the middle, Stone can keep possessions alive and find the next pass, and Barbashev gives the line a lower-priced finisher around the net. That mix can produce through sustained offensive-zone shifts rather than needing every chance to come off a clean rush.

The current alignment keeps this trio together at even strength. Eichel and Stone share PP1; Barbashev is on PP2. Against Calgary, We are comfortable prioritizing the five-on-five line, but the special-teams distinction should shape your build.

Power-play alternative: Eichel, Mitch Marner, W, $6,900, and Trevor Connelly, W, $3,700, total $18,800. Vegas is currently using a five-forward first unit. Connelly is the cheaper access point. Shea Theodore is not the PP1 quarterback in this setup.

Tampa Bay: Kucherov, Point and Guentzel

Nikita Kucherov, W, $8,500; Brayden Point, C, $5,800; Jake Guentzel, W, $6,000. Total: $20,300.

This version targets Tampa’s first power play. All three remain on PP1 in the latest Daily Faceoff deployment, but Kucherov and Point are on separate projected even-strength lines. Build around the special-teams connection rather than counting on three-player five-on-five overlap.

Even-strength alternative: Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, W, $7,300, and Anthony Cirelli, C, $4,400, total $20,200. Hagel and Kucherov share PP1; Cirelli is PP2. Gage Goncalves has been removed from our recommendations following the updated lineup report.

GPP stacks worth building around

Minnesota: keep the scoring connection

Kirill Kaprizov, W, $8,100; Joel Eriksson Ek, C, $5,700; Matt Boldy, W, $7,500. Total: $21,300.

The Wild’s top trio has both even-strength and PP1 overlap. Kaprizov and Boldy can work the puck across the zone while Eriksson Ek occupies the middle and competes for second chances. That gives the stack multiple ways to score from the same possession.

We like this as an alternative to paying for both Edmonton stars. The attraction is the shared offense, not an assumption that St. Louis will roll over. For a cheaper power-play version, replace Boldy with Max Shabanov, W, $3,200. Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Shabanov cost $17,000. Shabanov shares PP1 but is on another even-strength line, so this version is more dependent on special teams.

New Jersey: Hughes, Bratt and Gritsyuk

Jack Hughes, C, $7,900; Jesper Bratt, W, $6,200; Arseny Gritsyuk, W, $3,200. Total: $17,300.

New Jersey’s Wednesday review discusses the Gritsyuk-Hughes-Bratt combination. Hughes and Bratt can create entries with possession, then make the defense move laterally. Gritsyuk gives you inexpensive exposure to the chances those two manufacture.

This is also a matchup without injured Igor Shesterkin, according to the NHL’s injury analysis. That improves the appeal, but does not make the Rangers an automatic target. Hughes and Bratt share PP1; Gritsyuk is PP2 in the latest deployment. Check whether Luke Evangelista’s illness-related absence or a new line shuffle changes the third winger before lock.

Core one-offs and value plays

• McDavid, C, $9,300: Our first premium one-off when we cannot afford an Edmonton stack. You keep access to the offense’s central creator without forcing $24,400 into three spots.
• Point, C, $5,800: The most comfortable midrange center in this group. His PP1 connection with Kucherov makes the salary easier to fit than the top-priced centers.
• Jack Hughes, C, $7,900: A strong tournament one-off if your main stack comes from the later games. His skating creates a route to chances even when a set offensive-zone play breaks down.
• Arseny Gritsyuk, W, $3,200: A low-cost attachment to Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt at even strength. He is on PP2 in the latest deployment, so keep the power-play exposure separate.
• Shabanov, W, $3,200: Our preferred cheap power-play attachment. The salary lets you buy Kaprizov or Quinn Hughes without requiring the entire Minnesota top line.
• Connelly, W, $3,700: Tournament value tied to Vegas PP1. His third-line even-strength assignment means the power-play opportunity is a meaningful part of the case.
• Nate Danielson, W, $2,500: A conditional minimum-price punt. Detroit’s latest lineup report places him with Dylan Larkin and Viktor Arvidsson. He is not on either listed power-play unit. Only use him if that elevated line assignment survives today’s checks.

Defense: pay for the job, then the name

• Evan Bouchard, $7,800: The premium Edmonton attachment. His current PP1 position lets you add a defenseman to the McDavid-Draisaitl scoring chain, but this price often makes him an alternative to the third expensive forward.
• Quinn Hughes, $6,500: Our preferred upper-midrange defenseman. He runs Minnesota’s first unit and can connect several scorers through puck movement. He costs $1,300 less than Bouchard.
• John Carlson, $5,600: The Tampa power-play defenseman to target. The NHL identified his first-unit role, and the current alignment still has him there. Victor Hedman’s $3,000 salary is not a shortcut to that job.
• Luke Hughes, $4,300: Our favorite lower-cost offensive defenseman in this pool. He is currently on New Jersey PP1, while Dougie Hamilton is PP2. Pairing Luke with Jack Hughes or Bratt can capture a power-play scoring sequence without another expensive forward.
• Brayden McNabb, $3,100: A salary-saving option for builds that already have their offense. His top-pair and penalty-kill work offers a route through blocked shots. He is not a power-play upside play, and the peripherals still have to arrive.

Best, value and GPP goalies

Starter status matters more than the ranking. Daily Faceoff’s live goalie tracker has Hart and Tarasov confirmed. Grubauer is confirmed for Seattle; Daccord is not starting.

• Best win-path target: Carter Hart, Vegas, $8,400, confirmed. We prefer Vegas at home against Calgary when paying up. This is a bet on the team controlling the game, with the tradeoff that a quiet night may limit save volume.
• Value and confirmed option: Daniil Tarasov, Detroit, $7,900. He is another confirmed option and saves $500 from Hart. Philadelphia has opened 0-5-3, while Detroit is 1-3-2 on the official matchup page. The matchup is appealing, but Detroit’s own struggles keep this from being a free win. Do not automatically substitute John Gibson simply because he has the same salary.

Sample GPP lineup

Point and Kucherov form a Tampa Bay PP1 mini-stack alongside three members of Minnesota’s first power play. Confirm the skaters’ final assignments before entering.

• C: Brayden Point, TBL, $5,800
• C: Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN, $5,700
• W: Nikita Kucherov, TBL, $8,500
• W: Arseny Gritsyuk, NJD, $3,200
• W: Kirill Kaprizov, MIN, $8,100
• D: Luke Hughes, NJD, $4,300
• D: Brayden McNabb, VGK, $3,100
• G: Daniil Tarasov, DET, $7,900
• UTIL: Max Shabanov, MIN, $3,200

Total: $49,800. Remaining: $200.

Keep the 8 p.m. Shabanov in UTIL rather than an earlier skater to retain more flexibility if the contest allows late swap.

Final checks before lock

Recheck Tampa Bay’s revised lines, Gritsyuk with Hughes and Bratt, Danielson’s elevated assignment, and the cheap forwards’ power-play roles. Watch Dickinson’s status and the Edmonton line combinations. Zach Hyman is unavailable tonight. Do not build around Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Victor Olofsson, Brock Faber or Shesterkin while their current unavailable designations stand.

Keep the goalie confirmations separate from projections. The priorities are clear: choose the scoring group you want to bet on, preserve the meaningful line or power-play connections, and leave enough salary for players who will actually get the opportunity.