This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
First and foremost, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you daily fantasy players out there. Enjoy the time with family and friends, and be safe with the adult beverage consumption.
This column will be a departure from what is the norm. Typically, this column has one value pick for each of the positions, including a cheap tournament goalie. With the NHL on its Christmas break from Wednesday through Friday, it puts a small wrench into that plan. What lines are on Tuesday may be a far stretch from what lines are on Saturday.
For that reason, I will give a couple good value plays at each position for Tuesday night's action only. Usually, these are players that are under $4,000, but I will expand that parameter a bit to help the daily players out there. Unless otherwise indicated, the players mentioned are for cash game lineups (50/50 and heads-up games).
Left Wing
Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay ($4,100)
Drouin is one of the most highly-touted prospects in the NHL. Of late, he has been playing not only on the top power-play unit in Tampa, but also on the top line with Steven Stamkos. With Pittsburgh limping defensively, and playing their second game in as many nights, it could be a very good night for the Lightning.
Joakim Lindstrom, St. Louis ($3,200)
St. Louis has been going through its own injury problems this year, and the latest has been a broken foot for Jaden Schwartz. The result has been Alexander Steen moving to the second line with Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko, with Lindstrom up to the "first" line with David Backes and T.J. Oshie. With the Blues playing one of the league's worst five-on-five teams in Colorado, Lindstrom is a good way to get exposure to the Blues' top-six forwards at a punt-play price.
Right Wing
Cody Eakin, Dallas ($4,500)
It should go without saying, but whomever is playing alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn immediately has a lot of upside, both in cash games and in tournaments. Dallas is at home tonight against a defensively awful Toronto team. These two teams met in Toronto earlier this month, and that resulted in a Dallas loss. The Stars did put up 40 shots and three goals, though, to give a glimpse into what they could do tonight at home to the Leafs.
Justin Abdelkader, Detroit ($4,200)
The Detroit lines were shuffled recently, and the result was Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg being reunited on the top line for the Red Wings. The third wheel -- no pun intended -- for that line is Justin Abdelkader. With the Wings at home agaisnt Buffalo, and both Datsyuk and Zetterberg likely to be highly-owned -- Abdelkader represents good value at a relatively low price. It should be noted that Abdelkader is playing on the top power-play unit as well. He should be a staple of cash game lineups tonight.
Center
Antoine Vermette, Arizona ($4,200)
Even though Arizona is in Edmonton tonight, the fact that the Coyotes played last night might scare some people off of them in cash games. I'm not overly worried about that, however, as the Oilers have a penchant for not being very good, regardless of the team they're facing. Vermette has three points in four games already this year against the Oilers, and has a decent floor for a player that shouldn't be widely-owned tonight.
Kevin Hayes, New York Rangers ($3,200)
The Rangers are starting to get healthy, and that's shuffling the lineup a little bit. J.T. Miller had been a good value for a couple weeks (and still is). But his price has gone up -- though it's still not very high -- and that means Hayes looks to be a solid punt play at center. The Rangers are at home tonight to versus the Capitals, a team playing their second game in as many nights. With the assumption that the Capitals will be starting backup goalie Justin Peters -- a goalie who has allowed 22 goals in seven appearances this year -- it looks like it could be a very good night offensively for the Rangers. Hayes is on the third line with Miller and Carl Hagelin, which means easy competition, and hopefully a good offensive night.
Defenseman
Marco Scandella, Minnesota ($3,500)
Minnesota has struggled of late, but looking at their December schedule, it's largely been against other Western Conference teams. Against the East this month, which includes games against Boston, the Islanders, and Montreal, Minnesota is 2-0-1 and have outshot their opponents by an average of 13 in each of those games. I would have leaned Jonas Brodin tonight, but he should be matched up against the Claude Giroux line of Philadelphia. In that sense, I'd rather go with Scandella, who could see some power-play time, and will definitely see the easier competition, which provides a good floor through plus/minus.
Jakub Kindl, Detroit ($3,300)
It's been an odd season for Kindl, as he's been productive for the Red Wings in sheltered minutes, but has also been a healthy scratch at times. He's back in the lineup as of time of writing for the Wings, and that includes second-unit power-play time. With the Wings at home to Buffalo, this is a prime matchup for Kindl to at least not cost daily players points. That makes him a good punt play on defense tonight.
Goaltender
This is being written the night before the games, so who will be in net is still a bit of a crapshoot. I will just list a couple goalies I like for tonight's slate, and will add more in the comments as the day wears on.
Cory Schneider, New Jersey ($7,600)
It's almost hard to recommend Schneider at this point of the season, but the Devils are at home to Carolina tonight, and the Hurricanes have scored more than two goals once in their previous 11 games. If Schneider and the Devils can't win this one, shut the whole thing down. He's a decent cash play tonight, but there's no issue with sneaking him in a tournament, too.
Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota ($8,000)
It's been a rough season for Kuemper, but with the assumption that Minnesota can shut down Philadelphia's top line, it could be a good night tonight for the Wild goaltender. I would be more confident in using him in a tournament than a cash game, though.
