Nine games are featured this evening in the NHL and plenty of goals are projected to be scored. There is one game in particular which will be very popular. Although the game total has not yet been set, the Pittsburgh Penguins are traveling to Toronto in a game expected to bring fireworks. Two of the most dynamic offensive teams will go toe-to-toe with plenty of superstars taking the ice. Both have struggled on defense, which will lead to plenty of goals.
That being said, both teams have expensive players who are hard to fit into a lineup. In addition, there are 16 other teams playing tonight, all with high goal totals. Let’s take a look at this slate of games to find some of the best DFS options.

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Center

Auston Matthews (TOR): $8,600 vs. PIT
The Toronto Maple Leaf superstar is taking the league by storm right now, leading the NHL with 16 points. Averaging over two points per game, the Leafs center is expensive but in a fantastic spot this evening. At home, Mike Babcock likes to shelter the young phenom and will have the Nazem Kadri line out to shut down the Sidney Crosby line. John Tavares and company will likely see a lot of Evgeni Malkin, leaving Auston Matthews line-matched against the Penguins much slower and less skilled third line. Matthews will see plenty of chances on even strength along with time on the top power-play in the NHL. Although regression is in store for Matthews, this is a high-event game and getting exposure to the league leader would be wise.

Tyler Johnson (TB): $5,600 vs. DET 
Even though he is far from the best player on his team, Tyler Johnson is certainly playing like it right now. The young center is off to a scorching start, where he has five points in three games to start the season. Nikita Kucherov has moved down to the second line to play with Johnson which should increase his overall point totals. Look for the ambitious forward to take a big offensive step this year and provide some much-needed secondary scoring for one of the best teams in the east.

Wing

Kasperi Kapanen (TOR): $4,200 vs. PIT
Providing some salary relief is winger Kasperi Kapanen. Since being moved up to Matthew’s line, Kapanen has been that diamond in the rough for the Leafs during the absence of William Nylander. Kapanen has scored eight points in the five games with Matthews and will continue to contribute to the NHL’s best offense.

Phil Kessel (PIT): $8,000 @ TOR
A lot of talk around the NHL has been how amazing the Maple Leafs offense is. Which is all well and good, however, their defense has been suspect. They are allowing 3.29 goals against per game, which ranks 20th, in the NHL. Phil Kessel is one of the more dynamic forwards in the league. Playing alongside Malkin and the top power-play unit, Kessel has plenty of opportunities to score each night.

Ondrej Palat (TB): $5,200 vs. DET 
Alongside Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov on the second Lightning forward line is skilled forward, Ondrej Palat. Palat is off to a hot start, like Johnson, and will play power-play minutes with Johnson on the second unit. Palat is a great pair as part of a Tampa Bay stack against a weak Detroit team. The Red Wings have not been able to slow many teams down early in the season and tonight should be no different. Tampa Bay is a heavy favorite in this game and there will be plenty of offense to go around.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM): $6,200 vs. BOS
Most forget about the former first-overall pick when thinking about the Edmonton Oilers. However, Nugent-Hopkins is playing alongside the best player in the world and is quietly having a great start to the season. Connor McDavid was a part of the first nine goals the Oilers scored this season, which set an all-time NHL record. Nugent-Hopkins was in on five of those goals scored. Nuge has a ton of skill and has now found chemistry with McDavid, making them a very dynamic duo.

Defense

Morgan Rielly (TOR): $5,700 vs. PIT
Although he is expensive, Morgan Rielly is worth the cost. The defenseman is on a tear right now, scoring 13 points in his first seven games of the season. He is second, only to Auston Matthews, in the NHL for points leaders. Rielly is the quarterback on the most feared power-play in the league, which is where he chips in plenty of points. Logging over 20 minutes a night, Rielly has finally emerged as one of the better offensive defensemen in the NHL.

Henri Jokiharju (CHI): $3,900 vs. ARI 
Taking over for the aging Duncan Keith, Henri Jokiharju has become the number one power-play specialist on the team. He is logging heavy minutes on the back-end from also playing on the top defensive pairing. Already with five assists on the season and nearly 20 minutes of ice-time per game, Jokiharju is a great value play on FanDuel.

Goalie

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): $9,000 vs. DET 
The Lightning goaltender is the heaviest favorite on the slate tonight. Set at -305, Tampa Bay should be in for an easy game as they host the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit is closer to an AHL team than an NHL team at the moment as they have had to deal with a lot of injuries to start the year. The Lightning are playing at home and will look to beat up on a much weaker team. Lock Vasilevskiy in with confidence.

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Jeremy Maw is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jeremy, check out his archive or follow him @j_maw.