This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a busy Tuesday with 11 games. Marquee matchups include Panthers at Penguins, Golden Knights at Devils and Capitals at Avalanche.
Note the Sabres and Panthers are playing the second half of their back-to-back while the Canucks are playing their first game of their back-to-back. The Bruins and Avs will be looking to extend their winning streak to six games while the Canucks are looking to avoid their fourth straight loss in new head coach Rick Tocchet's coaching debut.
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. FLA ($8,400): The Pens are a different team when Jarry is in net, who has allowed just three goals on 70 shots (.957 Sv%) since returning from injury. Fatigue might be a factor for the Panthers, who will be travelling late after losing to the Rangers on Monday. Spencer Knight is expected to start after returning from injury and backing up Alex Lyon against the Rangers. It will be Knight's first game in two weeks and the first time in his career he's faced the Pens.
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. WSH ($8,300): Alex Ovechkin is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and his status for this matchup is questionable. If he doesn't play, the Avs are going to have a huge advantage on offense. Georgiev has been excellent lately, allowing just two goals on 64 shots in his past two starts.
Ville Husso, DET vs. SJ ($6,900): Husso allowed five goals against the Avs but has since bounced back in his two most recent games, allowing four goals on 60 shots. The Sharks have had a lot of trouble scoring lately, scoring more than three goals just once in their past six games, five of which were losses. In five career appearances against the Sharks, Husso has gone 4-0-1 with a 2.67 GAA.
Spencer Martin, VAN vs. CHI ($6,800): There should be a slight bump with Tocchet making his Canucks debut behind the bench, and the immediate impact should be felt on defense. The Hawks come in red-hot with six wins in eight games, but they will also need to score a lot of goals to win since the Canucks offense has been one of their few bright spots.
VALUE PLAYS
Craig Smith, BOS at MON ($3,500): It's been an up-and-down season for Smith but he's on a hot streak with an assist in three straight games. He's skating with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on Boston's top line and it's a lopsided matchup with the Habs missing seven (!) of their regular forwards, including top goal scorer Cole Caufield, and starter Jake Allen is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Michael Eyssimont, SJ at DET ($3,700): Ever since Eyssimont was promoted to the top six, he's been consistently putting pucks on net. He has not scored a goal since Nov. 21, but he should get at least a few opportunities skating alongside top players Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier. There's some added value with Eyssimont playing PP2.
Michael Rasmussen, DET vs. SJ ($4,400): The Wings' latest lineup shuffle sees Rasmussen skating on the top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Rasmussen is a big power forward who has scored just seven goals this season, but the Sharks bleed scoring chances and they've allowed at least four goals in five of their past six games, all of which were losses. The drawback is Rasmussen does not play on the power play.
LINE STACKS
Canucks vs. Blackhawks
Elias Pettersson (C - $9,400), Ilya Mikheyev (W - $5,500), Andrei Kuzmenko (W - $6,400)
Pettersson is the Canucks' best player, and both him and Kuzmenko play on a top-notch power play unit. Their chemistry has been fantastic and they'll be facing a Hawks PK that ranks 24th in the league. Tocchet hinted in his first press conference that he might scale back J.T. Miller's ice time a little bit, which will hurt the value of Miller's stack with Bo Horvat and Conor Garland.
Ducks at Coyotes
Mason McTavish (C - $4,900), Adam Henrique (W - $5,700), Troy Terry (W - $6,600)
This should be a nice under-the-radar value stack. McTavish will serve as the team's top center while Henrique has arguably been their most consistent forward this season, and he's on a five-game point streak. The Ducks-Coyotes matchup should feature more goals than average due to both teams' mediocre defenses.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF at STL ($8,600): Dahlin's goal against the Stars on Monday extended his point streak to three games and he remains one of the league's most dangerous offensive defensemen. Dahlin will find the scoresheet should Jordan Binnington falter, and it's happened quite a bit this season with the Blues allowing 3.53 goals per game, eighth-worst in the league.
Devon Toews, COL vs. WSH ($5,900): Cale Makar's status is questionable, and if he doesn't play, expect Toews to take over on the power play once again. Toews obviously doesn't offer the same kind of offensive upside as Makar, but he plays a ton of minutes in all situations and he's consistently provided shots and blocked shots all season. Toews has one of the highest floors in fantasy and the Avs with Nathan MacKinnon are once again scoring goals with ease.
