This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
We're back to busy Tuesday slates with eight games on the docket. The highlight will be the Capitals at Panthers, though both teams are missing key players. Alex Ovechkin is arguably having the best season of his career and sits 17 goals away from tying Jaromir Jagr for third place all-time.
In other clashes, the Lightning and Blues begin the first game of a home-and-home series. It may be surprising to know that since 2010, the Lightning have only won five times in 17 matchups. Tampa is still missing two of its top-six forwards while the Blues are missing David Perron.
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark, BOS vs. DET ($8,600): It's a pricey pick for Ullmark, whose play has been inconsistent at best, and the Bruins are no longer an elite team and will also be without the suspended Brad Marchand. Still, the B's should be able to pull out a win by limiting chances for the Wings offense, which ranks 20th in GF/GP.
Cam Talbot, MIN vs. ARI ($8,200): The Coyotes survived a 46-save barrage in a shutout win against the Jets, and the odds are they won't be able to do it again. Karel Vejmelka is not expected to make back-to-back starts, which means Scott Wedgewood, who has allowed seven goals in his past two starts, will be Talbot's opponent and Talbot certainly has the edge.
Jake Oettinger, DAL vs. CAR ($8,000): No doubt the Canes should have the advantage, but the Stars are a different team when Oettinger is in net and they've now won six of their past seven games and limiting their opponents to two goals or fewer in all of their wins. The Canes have faltered a little and picking the Stars doesn't feel as much of a contrarian play as it would've been a month ago.
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. TB ($7,800): It's expected to be close since Andrei Vasilevskiy ($7,700) is very close in value. Despite his mercurial behavior and play, Binnington has been consistently excellent against the Lightning with a perfect 4-0 record and a .945 Sv% and 1.72 GAA.
VALUE PLAYS
Taylor Hall, BOS vs. DET ($5,800): Hall is the most likely candidate to play on the top line in Marchand's absence, and it gives him a huge boost in fantasy value. David Krejci left a big hole on the second-line and playing with Bergeron should certainly provide more chances for Hall, whose play has certainly declined but become a more efficient finisher with an 11.6 shooting percentage.
Aliaksei Protas, WSH at FLA ($3,000): The Belarussian rookie is riding shotgun on Ovechkin's line, and since getting promoted has managed to stay in that role and score three points in his past two games. With the Panthers missing their top two-way player in Aleksander Barkov and the dependable Gustav Forsling, the Caps may have a better chance at scoring despite the Panthers' league-best home record.
LINE STACKS
Wild vs. Coyotes
Ryan Hartman (C - $5,300), Rem Pitlick (W - $3,900), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $7,600)
It's obviously all about Kaprizov on this line. Not having Mats Zuccarello is unfortunate, but Hartman has been excellent with 16 points in 21 games, including a three-game goal streak. Pitlick's probably just happy to be there, but both him and Hartman are good value plays for Minnesota's first line, which should generate a lot of chances against the Coyotes.
Stars vs. Hurricanes
Roope Hintz (C - $6,500), Jason Robertson (W - $5,700), Joe Pavelski (W - $5,400)
There is zero coincidence between the Stars' recent success and the goal scoring their top line has provided. Hintz is on a four-game point streak, Pavelski has four points in two games and Robertson scored two points in his last game to extend his point streak to three games. This line was dominant when the Stars went to the Finals, and it's really starting to get into a groove. The Canes will be without three of their top-four defensemen in Tony DeAngelo, Ethan Bear and Brett Pesce, all of whom are in COVID protocol.
Ducks at Kings
Trevor Zegras (C - $5,600), Sonny Milano (W - $4,700), Rickard Rakell (W - $4,600)
They were held off the score sheet but Rakell and Zegras provided 11 shots on goal. They've been a very good second line while Ryan Getzlaf and Troy Terry have cooled off, and while both teams feature excellent goaltending, their matchups tend to feature more goals than usual; in their eight matchups last season, half of them featured at least one side that scored at least four goals.
DEFENSEMEN
Zach Werenski, CBJ at NSH ($6,200): Werenski's 14.49 fantasy points per game average makes him a solid value play relative to the other elite defenseman. While Werenski's offensive upside isn't the same as Roman Josi's or Dougie Hamilton's, he plays more minutes than either of them. Interesting to note the Preds were the only team Werenski failed to register a point again last season, though he has scored seven points in 10 games in his career.
Jaccob Slavin, CAR at DAL ($4,300): With DeAngelo and Pesce both unavailable, look for Slavin to handle most of the duties on the power play. It will change the dynamic because Slavin is a left-hand shot, but it should be a minor change for one of the better power plays in the league. The Stars PK has been an issue all season, but that has changed with Oettinger in net.
Moritz Seider, DET at BOS ($4,200): Seider's scoring has cooled off a little with only two helpers in five games, but he continues to handle duties on the top power play, which will face a Marchand-less penalty kill. Not having one of their best penalty killers should make Seider's job a lot easier.
