This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
We have six games on the slate Monday, and we are fully immersed in the season at this point. Here are my recommendations to help you navigate the DFS landscape.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are three teams on the second leg of a back-to-back. One is the Flyers, who will be at home for both games, so it's not a huge deal. The other is the Kings, who are on the road in Vancouver. Also, what I feel are the two worst teams in the NHL are playing: Ottawa and Arizona. Their issues are on separate ends of the ice, though. The Senators are woeful defensively, while the Coyotes can't score to save their lives. They can benefit your offensive choices and your goaltenders respectively.
GOALIES
Braden Holtby, DAL vs. ARI ($8,400): Let's start with the goalie facing the Coyotes. Arizona has scored a mere 1.79 goals per game and out a paltry 25.6 shots on net per contest. This is truly a punchless offense, and you can't look at that lineup and believe it is going to change all that much. Plus, Holtby has been excellent when healthy, as he has a 2.30 GAA and .927 save percentage.
Mackenzie Blackwood, NJD vs. OTT ($8,100): Honestly, I would go with Holtby on Monday and build my lineup around him in net. However, you may be looking for other options, maybe to save some salary, so I will throw out a couple more names that could pan out. Blackwood hasn't been great, but he's mostly struggled on the road. At home he has a 2.17 GAA and .932 save percentage. Ottawa's defense is bad, but it also has a 2.59 GAA and has managed 28.7 shots on net per contest.
Justus Annunen, COL at PHI ($7,800): If Darcy Kuemper is still out Monday I think the Avalanche will go with Annunen over Jonas Johansson in net. He saw his first NHL action recently and stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced in relief. Annunen was the goalie of the month in the AHL in November, so there is upside here. Philly is in the bottom six in goals per game and on a back-to-back, so it might be a good place for Annunen to get his first start.
VALUE PLAY
Gabriel Landeskog, COL at PHI ($7,400): The Flyers are in the bottom five in shots on net allowed per game, and they are on the second leg of a back-to-back, so I like Landeskog even if Martin Jones is playing well this year. After all, the Swede has been impressive as well. Landeskog has a seven-game point streak going that could become eight Monday.
Evan Rodrigues, PIT at SEA ($4,900): Rodrigues has been playing on Pittsburgh's top line alongside Sidney Crosby, and it's helped him be quite active. Over the last four games he's put a staggering 25 shots on goal. Seattle doesn't allow a ton of shots, but it does have a 3.46 GAA.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Devils vs. Senators: Nico Hischier (C - $5,000), Pavel Zacha (W - $4,300), Jesper Bratt (W - $4,500)
The Senators have a 3.91 GAA and have allowed 34.9 shots on net per contest. Both are the worst in the NHL. They also have a bottom-five penalty kill. Two of these guys on Jersey's top line are also on its top power-play unit, which adds a little extra zest to this line stack. A 6.8 shooting percentage that will likely regress has limited Hischier to three goals, but he has 11 assists as well. Zacha managed 17 goals in 50 games last year and has eight in 22 games this season. Bratt has been the best of this trio, with 19 points in 22 games. Not only that, he's done that with a 9.2 shooting percentage which will likely improve.
Stars vs. Coyotes: Roope Hintz (C - $6,500), Joe Pavelski (W - $5,000), Jason Robertson (W - $5,600)
The Stars are trying to shake things up a bit, and these three are playing on a line right now. Being at home against the Coyotes is a good place to try and figure it all out. Arizona has a 3.63 GAA and has given up 33.7 shots on net per game. Hintz has been hot, with seven goals and two assists in his last six outings. Pavelski, meanwhile, has four multi-point games in a row. Then there's Robertson, who was up for the Calder last year with 45 points in 51 games. This year he has 17 points in 15 contests.
DEFENSE
Dougie Hamilton, NJD vs. OTT ($7,600): The Devils brought in Hamilton to goose their blue line, and it's worked with gusto. He's got 15 points and 77 shots on goal in 19 games. Now he gets to face a team with a 3.91 GAA? No salary is too high here.
Drew Doughty, LOS at VAN ($6,200): Doughty is back, which bodes well for the Kings' power play. Last year he averaged 3:20 with the extra man and tallied 17 power-play points. This year, the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill, so it's a good time for Doughty to have gotten back in the lineup.
Thomas Chabot, OTT at NJD ($5,900): The Senators don't have a ton going on offensively, but they have Chabot. He has 10 assists in 22 games, and eventually he will score a goal. After all, he's put 55 shots on net. Chabot has a career 5.5 shooting percentage, so eventually goals are going to go in the net.
