This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It'll be a busy start to the week with five games Monday. Note the Panthers, Canucks and Senators are all playing the first game of their back-to-back, and the Devils and Leafs are opening up their back-to-back, home-and-home series.
GOALIES
Jack Campbell, TOR vs. NJ ($8,600): The Leafs' comeback win against Detroit was impressive, and they get a chance to extend their winning streak to four games against the Devils, whom they've already beaten five straight times. The Devils can be sneaky good -- they lost to Tampa and Carolina by just one goal in both games -- but their goaltending hasn't been very good all season, and even at their best, they are still tiers below the elite teams. Campbell's play has faltered a little recently, but a four-day break might get him back on track.
Spencer Knight, FLA at CBJ ($8,300): Knight will probably draw the start and leave Sergei Bobrovsky to face the much tougher Rangers tomorrow. The Panthers backup has had an up-and-down season, and at one point was their No. 3 goalie, but has since returned and in his past two starts has allowed just two goals. The Jackets have scored 11 goals in their past two games in a surprising show of offense, and even if that continues against the Panthers, Knight should get enough goal support to earn the win.
Mikko Koskinen, EDM at OTT ($7,900): Koskinen has won three straight games with seven goals allowed, including a 44-save effort against the Flames, so it looks like he's back on a hot streak. Evander Kane won't solve all of their problems, but he's at least woken up their offense a little bit and Koskinen's career record against the Sens (5-1-1, .919 save percentage) is reason enough to feel confident in him for this matchup.
Thatcher Demko, VAN at CHI ($7,000): The Canucks are almost a full strength and one of the league's best defensive teams at 5-on-5, and opponents have scored more than two goals in regulation time just once in their past seven games. The Hawks, meanwhile, have really struggled and lost four of their past five. The Hawks dominated in the past, but since 2017 the Canucks are 9-3-1 against them with Demko sporting a 1.34 GAA and .953 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS
Ilya Mikheyev, TOR vs. NJ ($5,800): Michael Bunting ($4,900) is a good value play but not really a secret anymore, and Mikheyev arguably has more to work with playing with John Tavares and Mitch Marner. The oft-criticized winger has not scored in three games and played just 13:44 against Detroit, but he's got a good top-six opportunity and will also feature on the second PP unit.
Evander Kane, EDM at OTT ($5,500): Kane is a steal at this salary because he's a very good top-six winger. He played 17 minutes and scored a goal in his Oilers debut and will likely continue this uptrend playing alongside Connor McDavid. Kane played on the second PP unit but that may change if he takes over for Jesse Puljujarvi, who is an inferior offensive player.
Vasily Podkolzin, VAN at CHI ($4,100): It remains to be seen how much Podkolzin will play even though he's slated to play on the top line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Bruce Boudreau has been reluctant to play the Russian winger in a top-six role, but playing with the Canucks' top player and arguably their best goal scorer should rub off in a good way.
Owen Tippett, FLA at CBJ ($3,600): Tippett is expected to play on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe as Andrew Brunette attempts to balance out the lines a bit more. This is a good spot for Tippett to be in, who has not scored a point in five games, the second-longest drought of his season.
LINE STACKS
Blue Jackets vs. Panthers
Boone Jenner (W - $6,500), Gustav Nyquist (W - $5,100), Patrik Laine (W - $6,200)
Jenner scored three points in his last game with Nyquist adding a goal and Laine pitching in with two helpers. It's an underrated line stack most fantasy managers will overlook, but all three players have been scoring at a pretty good clip recently. The Panthers are good, but they also like to swap scoring chances, which can result in very high-scoring games. Note Jenner is listed as a winger even though he centers this line.
DEFENSEMEN
Evan Bouchard, EDM at OTT ($6,200): Bouchard offers up some good upside on a team that's starting to score goals again and the Sens are one of the league's worst teams. Bouchard has taking over as the top PP QB with Tyson Barrie unavailable.
Quinn Hughes, VAN at CHI ($5,900): It's been a quiet stretch for Hughes with one assist in four games, but based on his play all season, he won't be quiet for long. The Blackhawks offer up a much easier matchup, and Hughes' role won't be so taxing with a full lineup after he played a whopping 31 minutes against the Flames on Saturday.
