This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Huh, a Monday without football. Feels weird, but we need to get used to it. Fortunately, we have six NHL games to fill the void. The first games start at 7 p.m. ET. These are my DFS recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No team is on the second leg of a back-to-back Monday, but the two worst teams in the NHL are in action, so at least we have that going for us.
GOALIE
Thatcher Demko, VAN vs. CHI ($8,500): The Canucks top the NHL in goals per game, so Demko has not had to stand on his head to pick up wins. That being said, his 2.47 GAA and .919 save percentage are both quite good. The Blackhawks are threatening to hit the Sharks' level of offensive futility without Connor Bedard. They are down to 2.22 goals and 26.0 shots on net per game.
Tristan Jarry, PIT at ARI ($8,200): Jarry's 2.50 GAA and .915 save percentage are both a step forward from his struggles last season, and with the Penguins being middling offensively, the team has needed that. While the Coyotes are below average in terms of goals per game, they have also arguably been lucky. Arizona has averaged a mere 27.1 shots on net per contest, bottom four in the NHL.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Brock Boeser, VAN vs. CHI ($7,500): Boeser has gone four games without a point, but prior to that he had three multi-point games in four outings. On the year he's lit the lamp 27 times, including 10 times on the power play. Chicago has the 26th-ranked penalty kill, and also has allowed 32.5 shots on net per game.
Chandler Stephenson, VGK at NJD ($3,800): Jack Eichel and William Karlsson are injured, but Stephenson is still there and primed to produce. He's on a four-game point streak that could easily become five. The Devils have a 3.48 GAA, and while Nico Daws did look good in a few games early, he's allowed at least five goals twice in his last five starts.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kings vs. Sharks
Phillip Danault (C - $4,600), Trevor Moore (W - $6,000) Kevin Fiala (W - $5,700)
Only Fiala is on the Kings' top power-play unit, but in this matchup there's still plenty to like about the second line. The Sharks have a 3.96 GAA and have given up 35.4 shots on goal per contest. While Los Angeles has scuffled in the new year, this is the exact kind of matchup that can get a team on track.
Danault has eight points in his last eight games. That includes two with the extra man, and even on the second unit, facing the league's worst penalty kill is a perk. Moore has tallied 66 shots on net over his last 18 outings. That's helped him notch seven goals, with three assists for good measure. Fiala has long excelled at throwing pucks on net, and with 112 shots on goal through 43 games he's primed to go over 200 shots on goal for the third year in a row. While a 9.8 shooting percentage leaves him with 11 goals, the Swiss wing has 28 assists as well.
DEFENSEMEN
Drew Doughty, LOS vs. SAN ($5,400): With three goals over his last five games, Doughty has already hit double-digit goals, his first time doing so since the 2017-18 seasons. Sure, six of those goals have come on the power play, but that's no worry here. As I noted, the Sharks have the league's worst penalty kill.
Brandon Montour, FLA at NAS ($5,000): Montour has been productive since getting healthy, if also a bit unlucky. He's put 72 shots on net through 29 games, but has only one goal thanks to an 1.4 shooting percentage. On the other hand, he's averaged 3:51 per game on the power play and has six assists with the extra man. The Predators have a bottom-10 penalty kill, and Juuse Saros surprisingly has a .902 save percentage.
