NHL Yahoo Cup: DFS strategy, lineups for Round 10

The 10th round of the free-to-enter NHL Yahoo Cup runs on Thursday, and there's still time to join the contest and win your share of $5,000 if you haven't already!

There are 10 games on the slate, which gives daily fantasy managers lots of options to choose from. With a number of NHL teams dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, however, it's extremely important to monitor the status of all players until the puck drops.

Here are three lineup options I recommend playing for this round of the tournament.

Option 1: Caniac Stack

The Carolina Hurricanes have won four of their last five games, and I expect the team to continue rolling on Thursday with a home date against the Detroit Red Wings.

The squad's most recent game, a contest scheduled for Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild, was postponed due to a surge of COVID-19 cases on the Canes. Six members of the team are currently sidelined in the NHL's COVID-19 protocols, but it seems like Carolina will give it a go on Thursday.

Due to absences to some key players like Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, others will take on expanded roles. The five members of the team I stacked above — Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Teuvo Teravainen, Martin Necas, and Tony DeAngelo — are who I project will see time on the top power-play unit. All, with the exception of Niederreiter, are currently listed on that unit and should get some opportunities against a Red Wings penalty kill that has succeeded on just 73.3 percent of its kills and has allowed more than four goals per game over its past six contests.

At centre, I've also included William Karlsson. He hasn't been lighting the league up, as he only has two points over his last four contests, but he continues to see a steady stream of minutes as a member of the top-six forwards and first power-play unit. His opponent, the New Jersey Devils, has surrendered 28 goals in its last seven games. At just $13, he's a nice little value.

On the back end, with some money to spare, I selected Victor Hedman. He's a do-it-all defenceman for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his team gets to face the Ottawa Senators. I know the Sens have been playing better and have won five of their last six contests, but they're still allowing the most goals in the NHL this year at 3.65 per game.

Between the pipes, I've selected Frederik Andersen and Andrei Vasilevskiy. They've have been two of the best goalies in the league this season and will be big home favourites on Thursday in their respective matchups.

Option 2: Oilers' Power-Play Stack

Things haven't been going well for the Edmonton Oilers lately, and during their most recent loss, a 3-1 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, a jersey was even thrown on the ice.

The team has lost six straight contests, but a get-right game seems to be in the cards for Thursday.

Edmonton will host the Columbus Blue Jackets, who appear to be the perfect team to cure the Oilers' woes. Over the past two weeks, Columbus owns the second-worst penalty kill in the NHL, posting a brutal kill rate of 55.6 percent during this stretch. The Blue Jackets' poor results when shorthanded are why I've included Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jesse Puljujarvi in my lineup. The four forwards are all featured on the top power-play unit, and figure to benefit from the clear mismatch.

Additionally, I've included Warren Foegele in my lineup as he's replacing the injured Zach Hyman on Edmonton's first line. Getting a player who's playing alongside McDavid for $10 is just too good to pass up.

On defence, I've gone with DeAngelo — for all the reasons listed in Option 1 — and Keith Yandle. The 35-year-old may not be a minutes muncher anymore, but it's the quality of his ice-time that makes him worth adding to a lineup. He's quarterbacking the Philadelphia Flyers' top man-advantage grouping and has tallied three power-play points in his last three games.

In net, I've gone with Cal Petersen and Mikko Koskinen. I selected Koskinen because there's value at his current price with the Oilers being pretty significant home favourites over the Blue Jackets, and I'm rolling with Petersen because I can't afford anybody else.

Update: Stuart Skinner ($28) is starting for the Oilers on Thursday, not Mikko Koskinen.

Option 3: Bolts Bounce Back Stack

This past Saturday, the Senators shutout the Lightning with an emphatic 4-0 victory, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Bolts standing tall over the Sens this time around.

After a loss that lopsided, it's unlikely Tampa Bay overlooks this game, which could spell some serious trouble for Ottawa. In this lineup, I've stacked four members of the Lightning's top power-play unit: Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, and Victor Hedman. All three of the forwards are featured in Tampa's top-six forward group, with Stamkos and Palat playing together, while Hedman mans the point and logs heavy minutes as the stalwart of the back end. Ottawa's 77.1 success rate on the penalty kill this year sits eighth-worst in the league.

In addition to the string of Lightning players that occupy the majority of my cap space, I've also included a Hurricanes skinny stack and Foegele, who just so happens to be an ex-Cane himself. For all the reasons stated in Option 1, I really like how Thursday's game sets up for Carolina, and Foegele is playing with McDavid, so there's a lot to like there.

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