NHL Lineup Optimizer
Cap-legal DraftKings Classic lineups off our nightly projections. Stack a team, lock or fade anyone, and export straight to DraftKings.
- C＋ tap a player to add
- C＋ tap a player to add
- W＋ tap a player to add
- W＋ tap a player to add
- W＋ tap a player to add
- D＋ tap a player to add
- D＋ tap a player to add
- G＋ tap a player to add
- UTIL＋ tap a player to add
4 games· filter the pool to one game, or stack a team
How the NHL DFS lineup optimizer works
Nine players, $50,000. The solver is exact. It checks every cap-legal combination, so the lineup it hands back is the highest-projecting one on the slate, not a greedy guess. It also enforces the two rules people forget: players from at least three teams, and no skater facing your own goalie. Ask for several lineups and each one stacks a different club, best offenses first. That's where real variety comes from. Re-rolling the same solve just gets you the same lineup.
The projections come from the same per-60 rates behind our NHL player prop boards. We take each skater's shots, goals, assists and blocks, adjusted for the opponent and the game's projected score, and simulate his night 4,000 times. A 3.9-shot winger clears five shots about a third of the time, so the 5+ shot bonus is worth about a point to him. We don't pretend it's zero or three. Goalies are simulated as one game: shots faced, saves, goals against and the result, so a shutout is always a win.
How good is it? In a walk-forward test over the first 60 nights of the 2025-26 season, our skater projections missed by 4.49 DraftKings points on average. A player's season-to-date average missed by 4.52. That's a real edge and a small one, and we're still tuning it. Hockey is noisy: one bounce is 8.5 points. Treat the numbers as a sharper starting point, not a promise.
Goalies
The goalie is the biggest single call on an NHL slate, and the starter isn't confirmed until the morning skate. Every goalie in the pool carries a start chance. Until a club confirms, only its most likely starter is eligible. We reprice every hour in the four hours before puck drop, and a confirmed starter goes to 100%.
NHL DFS optimizer — FAQ
What is the best free NHL lineup optimizer?
MatchWiz's NHL lineup optimizer is free and runs on our own projections — shots, goals, assists and blocks for every skater, and saves, goals against and win chance for every goalie, simulated game by game. It builds cap-legal DraftKings Classic lineups with team stacks, player locks and excludes, exposure limits across multiple lineups and a salary floor, then exports straight to DraftKings' upload CSV.
How does the DraftKings NHL Classic roster work?
Nine players under a $50,000 cap: two centers, three wingers, two defensemen, one goalie and one UTIL. The UTIL takes any skater — center, wing or defense — but never a goalie. DraftKings lists wingers as LW or RW; both fill the W slots. Your lineup has to include players from at least three different NHL teams.
How does DraftKings score NHL?
Skaters get 8.5 per goal, 5 per assist, 1.5 per shot on goal and 1.3 per blocked shot, plus a 3-point bonus each for a hat trick, 5+ shots, 3+ blocks or 3+ points. Goalies get 6 for a win, 0.7 per save, −3.5 per goal against, 2 for an overtime loss, 4 for a shutout and 3 for 35+ saves. Our projections price every one of those bonuses as a probability, not a flat add.
What is a stack in NHL DFS, and should I use one?
A stack is several skaters from one team — ideally the same line or power-play unit. It works because a goal pays the scorer 8.5 and up to two assisters 5 each, so linemates score on the same event. That correlation raises a lineup's ceiling, which is what tournaments reward. For cash games a straight points-max build is usually fine. Pick a team on the games bar and the optimizer forces at least three of its skaters in.
Why won't the optimizer pick the backup goalie?
A goalie's projection is what he scores IF he starts. Before the starters are confirmed, a cheap backup can look like the best value on the slate and still play one night in five. So by default only each club's most likely starter is eligible. Turn off "Likely starting goalies only", or lock the goalie you want, to override it. Once a club confirms its starter, his start chance goes to 100% and the rest drop to zero.
Why can't I put a skater against my own goalie?
Every goal that skater scores is 3.5 points off your goalie, so the two pull against each other. The optimizer leaves out skaters facing your goalie. If you lock one anyway, it keeps him and tells you why a lineup might not solve.
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Projections and salaries for research. Not betting advice. DraftKings isn't affiliated with MatchWiz.