This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's always nice to have a reason for a little extra pep in your step on a Monday. Winning some cash playing NHL DFS would definitely do that. There are six games scheduled for Monday night around the league. Here are some lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
We have zero teams on the second leg of a back-to-back Monday. We also have four teams in the bottom 10 in GAA. As such, even without any teams playing their second game in as many days, there are good matchups available to target.
GOALIES
Logan Thompson, VGK at CLM ($8,600): Thompson has the best mix of personal numbers and matchup Monday. He has a 2.48 GAA and .920 save percentage, and the Blue Jackets are tied with the Blues at 2.90 goals per game, lowest of the teams in action. The Jackets, though, are banged up, and they also have arguably the worst defense in the NHL, including the chances of Thompson winning.
Ville Husso, DET vs. TOR ($8,400): There are some porous defenses in action Monday, but not truly bad offenses, making the goaltending picks a little trickier. Husso is at home, and, in his first season as a Wing, has a 2.39 GAA and .919 save percentage. The Leafs and the Rangers, both in action Monday, have both averaged 3.00 goals per game, but the Rangers have peppered the net with shots (34.0 per game) while the Leafs have not (30.7).
VALUE PLAYS
Brandon Hagel, TAM at BUF ($6,000): Hagel has gotten the chance to skate alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov on Tampa's top line. That shouldn't hasn't hurt en route to 15 points in 20 games, including two in his last contest. The 41-year-old Craig Anderson has held up so far, but over the last six seasons he has a .901 save percentage so I don't see that continuing for all that long.
Tyler Seguin, DAL at STL ($5,900): Seguin has embraced the role of the playmaking center this season, as he has 14 assists in 22 games. He has seven points in his last six outings for good measure. Meanwhile, Jordan Pinnington has allowed 10 goals over his last two starts, and he now has a 3.05 GAA and .901 save percentage.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Golden Knights at Blue Jackets
Jack Eichel (C - $9,400), Mark Stone (W - $6,700), Chandler Stephenson (W - $6,300)
This is one of those occasions where shelling out the salary for a top line makes sense. The Blue Jackets represent a great opportunity for Vegas' leading trio. Columbus has a 4.20 GAA, and it has also allowed 36.6 shots on net per contest. Only the Ducks are giving the Jackets a run at the title of worst defensive team in the NHL. The Golden Knights will be happy to pay them a visit Monday as a result.
Why did the Golden Knights trade for Eichel? Well, because he's the kind of player who can tally 11 goals on 83 shots on net and add 15 assists in 23 games. The former Sabre also has seven power-play points. Stone has been able to stay healthy this year and has already matched his goal total from last season with nine. He's added nine assists to that as well. Stone also has five goals in his last six outings. Somewhat quietly, Stephenson had 21 goals and 43 assists last season. This year he has six goals and 13 assists, and he's also a disciplined player who stays out of the penalty box (four penalty minutes all season) and stays on the ice for his squad. The more you're on the ice, the more you can produce.
Panthers at Oilers
Anton Lundell (C - $5,100), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $7,900), Sam Reinhart (W - $5,300)
The Oilers have a 3.57 GAA and have allowed 33.7 shots on net per contest. However, just how good this matchup is depends on who is in net for Edmonton. Often, that's Jack Campbell, and that's the projection for Monday. Campbell has a 4.04 GAA and .875 save percentage in his first campaign as an Oiler. With Aleksander Barkov banged up, the Panthers' lineup has shifted, leaving this as the current second line.
Lundell is the guy getting the biggest chance to step up, and he has a goal in each of his last two games. However, he still has a 6.0 shooting percentage, so more puck luck should be coming his way. Verhaeghe has been doing the most goal scoring and puck shooting of these three. He has 12 goals on 66 shots on net in 21 games. In fact, he's put at least four shots on goal in nine of his last 11 games. Reinhart one-ups his teammate Lundell with two points in each of his last two games. He's tallied five goals on the power play, and the Oilers have the 27th-ranked penalty kill.
DEFENSEMEN
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at CLM ($7,500): Pietrangelo has routinely been a defenseman who has put up 40-to-50 points and over 200 shots on goal in a season. This year, the former Blue has 21 points and 50 shots on net in 23 games. As I noted, the Blue Jackets have a 4.20 GAA, and in his career Joonas Korpisalo has a .901 save percentage.
Miro Heiskanen, DAL at STL ($6,700): Heiskanen has 15 points in 19 games, including three in his last two outings. In fact, two of those three points came with the extra man. Power-play time could be key for the Finnish defenseman, as the Blues have the 30th-ranked penalty kill.
