RotoBallers, welcome back to our daily fantasy hockey (NHL DFS) lineup picks for FanDuel and DraftKings. Below you will find our NHL cheat sheet - DFS lineup picks, sleepers and stacks for Thursday, March 9 of the 2016/2017 NHL season.

The All-Star game and trade deadline are now a thing of the past and with less than 20 games to go before playoffs, every game is crucial. The Colorado Avalanche are the only team mathematically eliminated so some credit should be given to the NHL brass for the re-alignment that has created tremendous parity in the league.

It has been a great year for offense as there are currently five players with 70 or more points and no one really pulling away. There are also 11 players averaging over a point per game after we only saw five at the end of last season. Tonight we have a  nice 10 game slate with just one team (OTT) playing on a back to back nights and just two teams(OTT, NYR) playing their third game in four nights.

NHL Daily League Lineup Picks for Thursday, March 9

For those that are new to this, each day we'll be providing you with a few of our top DFS lineup picks for daily league cash games on FanDuel and DraftKings. We will also provide you with one of our favorite teams to stack for GPPs. You can grab the rest of our Premium DFS lineup picks and stacks through the NHL Cheat Sheet and DFS Premium Pass below.

Jonathan Toews (C, CHI)

DraftKings - $6,900, FanDuel - $7,400

The Blackhawks have been hitting on all cylinders lately winning seven straight and 12 of their last 13 games. They have done so on the back of their offense that is producing over four goals per game since the beginning of February. Toews has been a major contributor with six goals and 15 points over his last 10 games with 30 shots on goal. The matchup isn't great on paper vs. the Ducks Top 10 defense but they have allowed 3.5 goals per game in their eight losses since the beginning of February.

Filip Forsberg (W, NSH)

DraftKings - $6,700, FanDuel - $7,700

He has seen a rise in price due to his torrid pace over the past few weeks but is still an elite play, especially on DraftKings here he is seventh in salary at the position. He tore it up at the end of February with a streak of five games with a goal including back to back hat tricks. While he carried over the success into March with points in back to back games with a whopping 14 shots on goal.

Jake Muzzin (D, LAK)

DraftKings - $4,300, FanDuel - $4,300

Muzzin comes with an excellent low $4K price tag, best used in cash games with limited upside but safe in all formats at home tonight. He has recorded four points over his last 10 games while skating over 22 minutes per contest. The floor is what we are after with Muzzin and he provides that with a nice balance of shots and blocks. In those last 10 games, he has 21 blocks and 20 shots for an average of 2.4 DK/8.3 FD points per game.

Stacking Option

Ottawa Senators - Derick Brassard, Alexandre Burrows, Mark Stone

With the Senators playing back to back and their third game in four nights they are most likely going to be lower owned than most teams tonight. That makes them a nice higher risk GPP stack that won't be short of upside tonight. They get a matchup vs. the Coyotes who rank 28th in defense and have given up 3.4 goals per game since the start of February. Another positive with this stack is the low cost which gives you access to a top goalie and some top forwards tonight.

NHL & DFS Premium Subscription

Get an edge on your NHL DFS competition, every single night of the week:

• DFS Cheat Sheets and Lineup Picks: Access to 10 deeply researched lineup picks, and sample lineups. Includes advanced stats to unlock NHL player values, and boost DFS success.
• DFS Optimizer Tool: Generate optimal DFS lineups in seconds. Use advanced features and stats for including/excluding players, cash games vs. GPPs, stacks and more.
• DFS Value Picks: Our Optimizer helps you find, sort and filter the best lineup values and DFS sleeper picks. Premium stats like "DvP" and "Points/$1K" give you a leg up on the DFS competition.
• Daily NHL Projections: Our secret sauce - the Optimizer Tool provides DFS points projections for FanDuel, DraftKings and Yahoo scoring.

Lineup Optimizer/Generator & Sleepers Tool

Click image to see a full size version of the tool

Click image to see a full size version of the tool

Click image to see a full size version of the tool

Premium NHL DFS Lineup Picks & Cheat Sheet

Want to know what the Premium NHL DFS Cheat Sheets looks like? Below is a sample. We go above and beyond standard daily fantasy hockey analysis.

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Bonus: General NHL DFS Strategy Notes

For cash games, look at players who can contribute to your score even when they are not providing offense. Some examples are guys who take a ton of shots and defensemen who block a lot of shots. Also, look for guys who get power play time. You can find value in players who join a new line due to an injury, or just get a promotion and more ice time. It is also recommended to spread out your exposure to three or four different lines, and not put all your eggs in one basket.

For large field tournaments (GPPs), find payers who have multi-point upside and can grab double-digit fantasy points. If you want 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 defenseman who will get power play time, or a playing time boost due to an injury. For a contrarian approach, paying up at the defense position can be a great strategy - but it also comes with more risk. GPPs bring a great opportunity for goaltenders in the value price range - you can look for backups on good teams.