Prizepicks angles for NHL DFS top plays on Feb. 26

The NHL returns with 12 games tonight, and the DFS landscape is split into a main slate covering 10 games (7: 00 p. m. ET–9: 00 p. m. ET) plus an After Hours option for two later starts; players using prizepicks should factor Olympic minutes and back-to-back fatigue into lineups. The schedule and recent tournament performances create clear usage cases for several goalies and skaters on the board.

Main slate structure and game times

The main slate runs from 7: 00 p. m. ET through 9: 00 p. m. ET; two later games begin at 10: 00 p. m. ET (San Jose hosting Calgary) and 10: 30 p. m. ET (Kings hosting Edmonton) and are available on the After Hours slate. Twelve total games are on the card tonight, a dense night that pushes teams and workload considerations to the forefront for roster decisions.

Goalies to consider for DFS lineups

Juuse Saros (listed for Nashville vs. Chicago at $8, 000) arrives with strong international form, posting a 1. 66 GAA and. 940 save percentage in six Olympic appearances and backstopping a 6-1 win where he stopped 30 of 31 shots. Chicago ranks 26th in goals per game, a matchup detail that supports higher Saros ownership.

Stuart Skinner (Pittsburgh vs. New Jersey at $7, 600) has mixed season numbers but carries a 19-12-5 record with a 2. 79 GAA and. 890 save percentage across 36 appearances between two teams. New Jersey sits at the bottom of the league in goals per game (2. 48 this season) and has managed only three goals across its last four games, a scoring malaise that elevates Skinner's floor on tonight's slate.

Philipp Grubauer (Seattle at St. Louis at $7, 300) has posted an 11-6-3 record with a 2. 43 GAA and. 916 save percentage in 22 appearances for his club. The Blues rank 28th in goals per game (2. 56), making Grubauer an intriguing option in matchups where opponent scoring is weak.

Skaters and player-prop targets to watch

Connor McDavid is penciled in for a return tonight against the Kings and is a focal point for anytime-goal and points markets after an Olympic MVP performance. The player has scored against the Kings earlier this season and had 14 goals in 30 road appearances in '25-26, with four goals in his final seven contests before the break.

Auston Matthews returns to the lineup after Olympic action and has cashed the Over in assists in four straight games, compiling 23 assists this season; he's on the road for tonight's contest. Nikita Kucherov remains a major contributor with 94 points on the season and 64 assists, and he has been particularly productive at home with 44 points in 26 home outings. These performance markers support elevated rostership for both in slate formats that reward assists and multi-point games.

On value plays, Jonathan Marchessault (Nashville vs. Chicago at $4, 800) showed signs of life before the break with three goals and seven points across eight games and is in top-six minutes and on the first power-play unit. Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado vs. Minnesota at $4, 700) posted two goals and four points in five Olympic outings and recorded an assist in his return earlier in the week. Thomas Novak (Pittsburgh vs. New Jersey at $4, 600) has 11 goals and 31 points in 56 games and could see more responsibility while Sidney Crosby is unavailable (lower body).

Prizepicks strategy and roster signals

Fatigue will be a key roster signal: Colorado, Los Angeles, Edmonton, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Seattle are all playing the second half of back-to-backs and may show constrained deployment or lower scoring bursts. Conversely, Florida and Minnesota are rested and set to play again Friday, a combination that may affect usage patterns tonight. For prizepicks entries, prioritize players who either benefited from Olympic rest or who have demonstrated immediate post-tournament form, and weigh matchups where opposing teams rank low in goals per game.

• Key slate anchors: goalies facing low-scoring opponents or returning with strong Olympic form.
• Skater focus: top-line, power-play minutes and players with recent multi-point runs.
• Roster tilt: balance Olympic workload against back-to-back fatigue and scheduled rest ahead.

Forward look: monitor official lineups and any late injury confirmations before lock; if low-scoring trends for certain teams persist tonight, goalies in those matchups may provide a steadier floor while high-usage forwards returning from the Olympics remain the upside plays.