This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday's normally a busy day across the NHL, but that won't be the case this time, with just three games on the schedule after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Flames and Lightning are both solid home favorites against the Blackhawks and Flyers, respectively. Sandwiched in between those games is a toss-up between the Oilers and Stars in Dallas, which is expected to be the night's highest-scoring game, with an over/under of 6.5 goals. There are plenty of pricey stars to build around despite this slate's modest size, so choosing the right lineup cornerstones will be essential to finding success Tuesday.
GOALIES
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. CHI ($8,100): There's not too much to deliberate here, with one of the league's top goalies taking on one of the worst teams. Markstrom's 7-3-4 record, 1.71 GAA and .942 save percentage includes five shutouts, and he'll be angling for a sixth against a Chicago team that's been outscored 58-39 this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. PHI ($7,900): Vasilevskiy has slipped up just a bit lately, allowing seven goals in his last two starts, including a 4-3 shootout win over the Flyers. There's not much to worry about, though, as he's 8-3-3 with a 2.38 GAA and .917 save percentage overall. That shootout loss to Vasilevskiy and the Lightning is actually the only time Philadelphia has scored more than two goals in the team's last eight games.
Marc-Andre Fleury, CHI at CGY ($7,300): He's a much riskier play than the two aforementioned options in net, but Fleury has some against-the-grain appeal here. After starting his Chicago tenure with a 1-7-0 record, Fleury has reeled off four consecutive victories, allowing only five goals during this strong stretch.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Connor McDavid, EDM at DAL ($9,600): It's usually an either/or decision between McDavid and Leon Draisaitl ($9,200) given both players' hefty salaries, though you can conceivably lock in both Oilers stars if you're willing to scrounge around in the bargain bin. Draisaitl's off to the hotter start, though McDavid's 12-20-32 line has him a respectable second in points across the league. Considering Draisaitl's shooting 31.0 percent to McDavid's 17.7, it wouldn't be surprising to see McDavid close the three-point gap between them as the season progresses.
Roope Hintz, DAL vs. EDM ($5,200): Hintz's slow start is now a distant memory, as he's returned to form with a 5-2-7 line over his past six games. He topped a point-per-game pace last season, so it's likely only a matter of time until Hintz's value starts to climb, and he's unlikely to slow down now that he's found his game.
Derick Brassard, PHI at TB ($2,900): Brassard has bounced around the league in the second half of his career, but he's still a highly skilled player capable of catching fire for a while. This certainly qualifies as one of those stretches, as he dished two assists against this Lightning team, then scored both of Philadelphia's goals in a loss to Boston. Despite the two-game, four-point streak, Brassard can be had for just $2,900.
Dylan Strome, CHI at CGY ($2,700): Strome frequently found himself in ex-coach Jeremy Collington's doghouse, but new bench boss Derek King is giving Ryan Strome's younger brother a chance to showcase his skills. Strome's getting top-six minutes and power-play time, and he's made the most of it with a goal, an assist and a pair of four-shot performances in the past four games. At just $2,700, Strome's a low-risk, high-reward option on the wing.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Oilers at Stars
Leon Draisaitl (C - $9,200), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (W - $5,800), Kailer Yamamoto (W - $2,800)
Building around the league's leading scorer is often a successful strategy. Draisaitl tops both the goals (18) and points (35) categories through 17 games, but there are three players with more assists. One is Ryan Getzlaf (18), while the other two are both teammates of Draisaitl's — McDavid (20) and Nugent-Hopkins (18). The affordable Yamamoto is an excellent lineup complement to the pricey Draisaitl, and Yamamoto has quietly heated up of late, with the entirety of his 4-1-5 season line coming in the last 10 games.
Flames vs. Blackhawks
Elias Lindholm (C - $6,200), Johnny Gaudreau (W - $5,400), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $6,100)
These guys may not be Draisaitl or McDavid, but Calgary's top line has been nigh unstoppable in its own right, and it should feast on a Blackhawks team that's allowing 3.22 goals per game. Lindholm's 8-12-20 line through 19 games includes six points during his active five-game point streak. Gaudreau has been even hotter of late, with a 4-3-7 line over the past four contests pushing him into the team points lead courtesy of an 8-14-22 line overall. Tkachuk has been the least productive member of this trio overall (8-9-17), but he's got a 2-4-6 line in his last five and can be relied on to accentuate his scoring with robust shot totals, having put three-plus pucks on net in five of his last six games.
Lightning vs. Flyers
Anthony Cirelli (C - $4,700), Alex Killorn (W - $5,300), Mathieu Joseph (W - $2,800)
Tampa Bay's affordable second line has chipped in plenty of secondary scoring recently. Cirelli's two-goal effort Sunday against the Wild boosted his line to 5-3-8 over the past 10 games. Killorn has been hotter and for longer, with a 5-10-15 line over his past 13 contests. Joseph's no slouch, either, with a pair of goals in his last four games and a point in four of the past seven.
DEFENSEMEN
Seth Jones, CHI at CGY ($6,900): Jones scores enough to make most forwards jealous, but he's also reliable in his own end, as evidenced by his 17 blocked shots over the past six games. His two-way production gives Jones an excellent floor, though his ceiling is also tremendous considering he ranks sixth among defensemen in points (15) and fourth in shots (54) through 18 games.
Esa Lindell, DAL vs. EDM ($3,300): Lindell's been in the giving spirit with Thanksgiving around the corner, handing out four assists during an active three-game point streak. He has supplemented that production with eight shots and nine blocked shots, so Lindell's playing his best all-around hockey of the season. Considering he posted an 11-21-32 line the last time the league played a full 82-game season, the affordable blueliner's capable of keeping his hot streak going for a while longer.
Ryan McDonagh, TB vs. PHI ($4,100): McDonagh's intimately familiar with the Flyers from his days as the Rangers' captain, and while Tampa Bay doesn't ask as much of him offensively, McDonagh remains a shot-blocking machine in his own end, having notched 13 in the past three games. He also has an assist and seven shots in that stretch, so McDonagh's more than just a stay-at-home shot-blocker.
Noah Hanifin, CGY vs. CHI ($3,200): Hanifin's another affordable blueliner who has found success of late. He has a 1-3-4 line in the past two games and continues to skate in a top-pairing role. Hanifin has been a bit of an underachiever since being drafted fifth overall in 2015, but he's still only 24 and might finally be learning how to make the most of his enticing physical tools.
