This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
Happy Halloween! The scariest part of this week's schedule is that there are only three games scheduled for Monday. All six teams should be rested after taking Sunday off, and though the schedule is light, there's definitely some intrigue.
DFS players looking for high-scoring games should look to Kings at Blues. Neither team has impressed early this season even though expectations were relatively high. The Kings were expected to take another step but their goaltending has been very poor, and it's put even more pressure on an offense that already ranks seventh in GF/GP. The Blues stared off 3-0-0 but have dropped four straight, and the annual Jordan Binnington roller coaster remains intact.
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. LA ($7,700): Admittedly, it's a contrarian play since the Blues are on a four-game losing streak, but you never know when they'll snap out of it. It should be a close match, and historically, they've been low-scoring grinds. The Blues are 9-9-0 against the Kings at home with a plus-1 goal differential over the past 10 seasons, and in their past 11 meetings since 2021, they've only hit the over four times.
Ville Husso, DET at BUF ($7,500): Either Husso or Alex Nedeljkovic would be good value choices, though Husso is expected to get the start after beating the Wild on Saturday. The Sabres are favoured but it shouldn't be by a big margin since both teams have identical point percentages and share the weakness in goaltending. The good part is both teams are very good at generating shots and allowing shots, making it easy for both starters to pile up the saves. Both have small sample sizes, but neither Husso nor Nedeljkovic have ever lost to the Sabres.
VALUE PLAYS
Adam Erne, DET at BUF ($3,800): Michael Rasmussen will sit out one more game due to suspension, which means Erne gets a top-line role for one more game as a result of Derek Lalonde's line shuffling. Erne is on a four-game point streak with a good chance to extend it to five games with increased playing time, though the drawback is he doesn't play on the power play.
Trevor Moore, LA at STL ($4,600): This is a potentially high-scoring matchup and Moore is one of the cheapest second-line wingers available, playing opposite Viktor Arvidsson and with Philip Danault at center. Note Moore is averaging over three shots per game, a noted increase from last season's 2.49 average.
Anthony Mantha, WSH at CAR ($5,100): Mantha's not normally a value play, but note that T.J. Oshie left Saturday's game due to injury and Mantha is the most likely candidate to move into the top six. He can take either Oshie's spot on the second line or bump Conor Sheary off the top line, but in either case stands to benefit the most from moving up the lineup and possibly from PP2 to PP1 as well.
LINE STACKS
Red Wings at Sabres
Andrew Copp (C - $4,500), Dominik Kubalik (W - $6,000), David Perron (W - $6,600)
Having Kubalik and Perron gives you two of the Wings' best finishers, and both also play PP1. The Sabres are very talented but they also bleed shots. Dylan Larkin's stack is also a viable play with Erne and Lucas Raymond, but Erne can be a wild card playing further up the lineup than he normally does, while Copp's line is far balanced and predictable.
DEFENSEMEN
Brent Burns, CAR vs. WSH ($6,400): Burns is on a three-game point streak with two goals on 10 shots, finding his groove after starting the season without a goal in the first six games. Other than Rasmus Dahlin, there's a dearth of elite defensemen to choose from, but Burns has a really high offensive ceiling as one of the league's best volume shooters.
Dmitry Orlov, WSH at CAR ($4,300): Orlov would be the best bet to take John Carlson's spot on the top power play after Carlson left Saturday's game with an injury. Feeding pucks to Alex Ovechkin with the man advantage would be a dream job.
