Welcome to the Daily Fantasy Hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks article for April 14th of the 2015/2016 NHL season. Each day we'll be providing you with a handful of forward, defensemen, and goaltender picks for DraftKings and FanDuel GPP and cash games.

If you enjoyed the three games to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs last night, you are in for another treat as we have four games tonight. The home teams had the edge last night with the Penguins winning 5-2 over the Rangers and the Lightning beating the Red Wings 3-2 in a very close game. As of writing this the Blues/Balckhawks game is tied in the third and has the feel of the first OT game of the post season.

Tonight we could see much of the same home dominance with the Capitals(-255) and Stars(-185) are huge favorites on home ice. The Panthers (-140) and Kings(-140) are not far behind in what could be two very close games. Five of the eight teams playing tonight own Top 10 defenses so don't be shocked to see some overtime hockey on Thursday.

Expect all eight teams to throw out the obvious choices for starting goaltenders. Only Martin Jones for the Sharks is confirmed, so be sure to check LeftWingLock prior to lineup lock.

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NHL DFS Picks for Thursday, April 14th

A couple strategy notes. For cash game construction look for players who can contribute to your score when they are not providing offense. Examples are guys who take a ton of shots, defensemen who block a lot of shots(DraftKings). Also, look for guys who get powerplay time and especially Top 6 forwards. You can find value in players who join a new line due to an injury or just get a promotion and more ice time.

For large field tournaments (GPP's) you want to find payers who have multi point upside and can grab double digit fantasy points. To stack the most upside in your forwards a common strategy is to punt the defense position. This doesn't mean just grab anyone. Try and look for a D man who will be playing more PP time or might get a boost in overall playing time due to an injury.

Let's take a look at some solid plays for today's action.

Kari Lehtonen - Goaltender, Stars (Draftkings - $7,400  FanDuel - $8,500)

He is a great value at a nice discount from the top options tonight and the second biggest favorite on the board. He closed out the regular season with three straight wins and is the #1 of the 1 and 1A goaltending system in Dallas. He picked up two wins in three starts vs. the Wild in the regular season, and now the Wild will be without Zach Parise and Erik Haula for at least the first two games. The Stars should be able to handle this series in a timely fashion.

Aleksander Barkov - Center, Panthers (DraftKings - $6,900  FanDuel - $7,400)

The rats are back in Florida. The Panthers won the Atlantic Division in large part to their dominant first line of Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, and Jonathan Huberdeau. Barkov has really found himself in the NHL in his third season as he tallied 59 points in 66 games including an impressive +18 rating. The Panthers get a favorable first round matchup vs. the Islanders who they beat two out of three times. In those games Barkov recorded five points.

Jamie Benn - Winger, Stars (DraftKings - $8,200  FanDuel - $8,400)

The Stars and their #1 offense  get a favorable matchup to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs as they face the Wild who are missing some key players.  The Stars had the Wild's number this season taking four out of five games in which Benn recorded nine points(three on the powerplay and one short handed) with a +6 rating. Look for the Stars to come out flying at home tonight with word that Tyler Seguin will be ready to go for this tilt.

Tanner Pearson - Winger, Kings (DraftKings - $3,700  FanDuel - $4,300)

During the Kings practice on Wednesday, Pearson skated with Milan Lucic and Anze Kopitar who have been red hot coming into the playoffs. Pearson himself has points in two straight and has been averaging around two shots on goal per game. His value goes up if he remains on the top line for game #1.

John Klingberg - Defense, Stars (DraftKings - $6,300  FanDuel - $6,000)

Getting as much Stars exposure as possible will be the popular play on a four game slate and difficult to fade. The situation is perfect as the Wild are banged up and coming playing mediocre hockey. In five games vs. the Wild this season Klingberg has tallied six points and a +4 rating. Great play in any format right around the $6K range on both sites.

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