This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The puck bouncing hasn't been favorable of late, but things are looking up. Five games starting at 7 p.m. EST with no true standout favorites when looking at the matchups.
We also have a few teams on the second-half of a back-to-back: Anaheim, St. Louis, Minnesota and Carolina. The Avalanche enter with the league's sixth-worst goals against (3.4) hosting the Panthers while the Wild will look to capitalize on their second-best offense (3.7) when they travel to Sin City.
GOALIES
Antti Raanta, CAR at VAN ($7,900): Raanta has been riding the rollercoaster of doom this season. However, there's no better time to stabilize the ship than against Vancouver. The Canucks have shown new life under Bruce Boudreau, but the Canes represents their toughest matchup under the new bench boss with the league's second-best goals against at 2.19.
VALUE PLAYS
Jordan Staal, CAR at VAN ($3,700): We'll continue with Carolina here. Staal hasn't been wildly successful over the past few seasons when analyzing scoring habits, though he's been able to continue to center Andrei Svechnikov. And at minimum salary, all you need is a single bounce of the puck to meet value.
Andre Burakovsky, COL vs FLA ($5,000): Florida hasn't recently looked solid defensively and it doesn't bode well playing against the Avs, who lead the league in average goals at 4.35. Gabriel Landeskog has yet to be cleared for tonight, leaving Burakovsky to once again slide into the wing alongside Nathan MacKinnon.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Rangers vs Predators
Ryan Strome (C - $5,800), Artemi Panarin (W - $8,900), Adam Fox (W - $7,300)
We're going to stray slightly from the typical line stack approach and instead focus on a power-play combo. Strome, Panarin and Fox have been doing serious damage over the past five matches with a solid 6-13-19 line and 29.0 shots. In a fast-paced matchup with the Preds, this looks to be a great spot for them to continue.
Golden Knights vs Wild
William Karlsson (C - $4,800), Reilly Smith (W - $5,300), Jonathan Marchessault (C - $6,700)
The Golden Knights are finally starting to become fully healthy again and the line of Karlsson, Smith and Marchessault has been reunited and are hungry for goals. In three outings since Karlsson returned, this trio has put together two goals, four assists and 22.0 shots. The Wild are playing a stingy type of game with a lot of offense and a solid defense, but will be playing on the second-half of a back-to-back. This is the perfect time to take your chance on this unit.
DEFENSE
Alex Pietrangelo, VGS vs MIN ($6,700): There aren't many value defenders for their production, but Pietrangelo represents one of them. He continues to offer a solid two-way game with 14.0 shots and 8.0 shots blocked over his last five appearances to go along with six assists during the same stretch. Even if Pietrangelo doesn't produce any points against the Wild, he'll still offer a respectable floor.
Matt Dumba, MIN at VGS ($4,700): This depends if teammate Jonas Brodin is healthy or not. If he isn't, Dumba is a massive play for his salary. He's struggled to find success this season, but he's managed two assists and four shots over his last two appearances. In an elevated role and power-play time, this is a great get-right spot for Dumba.
