This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT and features two games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Jets are favored at home over the Canucks in a battle of slumping North Division foes, while Bruins-Capitals is close to a toss-up. This will be the last game of the season for both Boston and Washington, so both teams may opt to rest some regulars. Conversely, the Canucks and Jets still have more games to go, especially Vancouver. Both matchups have over/unders of 6.0 goals.
GOALIES
Jeremy Swayman, BOS at WAS ($7,700): Swayman has been spectacular since being called up midseason, with a 7-2-0 record, 1.44 GAA and .946 save percentage. He'll be motivated to put in another strong effort against the depleted Capitals here to ensure he earns the postseason backup role over Jaroslav Halak.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. VAN ($8,100): It's been a struggle recently for Hellebuyck and the Jets, but a matchup with a Canucks team that had gone 1-7-0 in its last eight games prior to beating the Hellebuyck-less Jets on Monday should offer a nice opportunity for both the goalie and his team to right the ship. Of course, Hellebuyck will only be a viable option if he suits up, and his status is still a question mark after he missed both Sunday's practice and Monday's game.
Pheonix Copley, WAS vs. BOS ($6,500): Copley was called up to Washington's taxi squad Monday and could be a candidate to start this game if Washington wants to rest its regulars in net. Locking Copley in at just $6,500 would maximize your spending power at other positions, and he's proven he can hold his own at the NHL level with a career 16-8-3 record, 2.98 GAA and .901 save percentage.
Braden Holtby, VAN at WPG ($7,200): Holtby's had a rough go of it lately, but then again, so did Thatcher Demko before he led the Canucks to a 3-1 win in Winnipeg on Monday. The Jets have remarkably been even worse than the Canucks of late, as they fell to 1-9-0 in their last 10 games with Monday's defeat. Using Holtby here is the equivalent of betting on Winnipeg's skid extending for another game.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Brad Marchand, BOS at WAS ($7,400): Marchand has a 16-17-33 line in 23 games since the start of April, including multi-point performances in each of the past three. As long as he plays close to his usual complement of minutes, Marchand should be a strong option to build your lineup around.
Daniel Sprong, WAS vs. BOS ($3,900): Sprong has played well down the stretch, lighting the lamp six times in his last seven games. With Washington battling numerous prominent injuries up front, Sprong should play major minutes in this one.
Mathieu Perreault, WPG vs. VAN ($2,800): Perreault's the most affordable member of Winnipeg's top-six forward group, and he had an assist on the team's lone goal in Monday's loss to the Canucks. He should offer strong bang for the buck as a standalone option or as part of a larger Jets stack.
Bo Horvat, VAN at WPG ($5,400): Horvat scored his 17th goal and 36th point through 50 games in Monday's win. He holds sole possession of second on the Canucks in the former category — four back of Brock Boeser — and pulled into a tie for third with Quinn Hughes in the latter, trailing only Boeser (41) and J.T. Miller (39).
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Jets vs. Canucks
Mark Scheifele (C - $6,900), Kyle Connor (W - $6,700), Blake Wheeler (W - $5,800)
The Jets have struggled lately but seem to be on the verge of a breakout performance, as they carried play with a 40-31 edge in shots Monday but were stifled by Demko, who shut the door besides a Kyle Connor goal. A Canucks team that's allowing 3.26 goals per game is unlikely to limit Winnipeg again in this rematch. Scheifele easily leads the team in points with a 20-39-59 line through 54 games, while Connor leads in goals (23) and Wheeler's fourth in points with 40, trailing Scheifele, the injured Nikolaj Ehlers (46) and Connor (45).
Bruins at Capitals
David Krejci (C - $4,900), Taylor Hall (W - $5,600), Craig Smith (W - $4,200)
This line has been tremendous since Hall arrived in Boston, and its members are less likely to see their ice time throttled down than Boston's top-line forwards are. Hall scored two goals in Monday's win over the Islanders, giving him an 8-6-14 line in 16 games with the Bruins. Krejci has a 6-15-21 line over that same 16-game span, including three helpers Monday. Smith's been more of a passenger on this line while the other two do the heavy lifting, but he's been generating chances lately with 20 shots in his last six games, and Smith had a hat trick in one of those contests.
Canucks at Jets
J.T. Miller (C - $5,300), Brock Boeser (W - $5,500), Nils Hoglander (W - $4,100)
This line features Vancouver's top two point scorers in Boeser (20-21-41 in 50 games) and Miller (13-26-39 in 47 games) coupled with the team's hottest forward in Hoglander. The 20-year-old rookie has a 12-14-26 line overall after leading the way in Monday's win with two goals on six shots, and Hoglander's production includes a 3-3-6 line over his last five games.
DEFENSEMEN
Jack Rathbone, VAN at WPG ($2,700): Coach Travis Green pledged to give Rathbone more offensive opportunities — including on the power play — down the stretch, and Rathbone capitalized by stuffing the stat sheet with an assist, three shots and four blocks Monday. The 21-year-old blueliner had nine points in eight games with AHL Utica prior to being called up and has added a 1-1-2 line through four NHL contests, so his $2,700 valuation is likely to climb substantially before long.
Dmitry Orlov, WAS vs. BOS ($4,000): Orlov struggled to score early in the season but has come on down the stretch, with a 3-9-12 line in his last 14 games. He's been seeing more power-play time lately with John Carlson (lower body) sidelined, and that trend's likely to continue in Washington's season finale.
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. VAN ($5,100): Morrissey's being asked to carry an even heavier load while Neal Pionk (undisclosed) is sidelined — he had five shots in a game-high 25:09 of ice time Monday, 3:41 of which came on the power play. Winnipeg's offense as a whole has nowhere to go but up from the team's recent results, and Morrissey will likely come along for the ride, especially if Pionk's not there to siphon off power-play time.
Mike Reilly, BOS at WAS ($3,600): Reilly's helper Monday was his eighth in 15 games with Boston and 27th in 55 games overall. He's an affordable source of blue-line offense and is in little danger of seeing his minutes cut to rest for the playoffs since he isn't one of Boston's core contributors.
