This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
For a variety of reasons, there is a lot of lineup blending occurring across the league, and it's giving a lot of value to players who otherwise would be mostly avoidable in daily fantasy hockey. Here are some players who are being given prime opportunities to succeed offensively.
Left Wing
Leo Komarov, Toronto ($3,300)
Komarov returned to the NHL this offseason after a year abroad, and so far he's posted 10 points in 14 games. That's not the most intriguing part about Komarov; instead, it's his usage. Through the first 12 games of the season, Komarov cracked 16 minutes in ice time just three times, but he's since surpassed that mark in each of the last three games (via Hockey-Reference).
The biggest downside to Komarov are his zone starts. Even without power-play time, a player can carry value on FanDuel because of plus/minus. That plus/minus and offensive upside can be suppressed because of zone starts, and in Toronto's most recent game, Komarov had just three offensive zone starts to 11 defensive ones (via War On Ice).
Though the Leafs have a couple of tough games on the schedule with Boston and Pittsburgh, Toronto gets a Saturday meeting with Buffalo. That last game should be a prime matchup for Komarov.
Center
Jay Beagle, Washington ($3,400)
The top line for the Capitals has been jumbled quite a bit this year. Last week in this very column, I talked about Tom Wilson's opportunity to play alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. While he found success, he suffered an injury over the weekend in a game against Carolina. In the wake of the injury, it was Beagle who found his way to the top line for Washington.
Beagle has perennially been a third or fourth liner for the Capitals, but is getting a good opportunity right now. On the season, six of Beagle's nine games have produced at least two shots on goal, something that is a new trend for him. Beagle is averaging just 1.08 shots on goal per game for his career (via Hockey-Reference), but is sitting at 1.89 shots each contest so far this season.
While he's still not getting power-play minutes, Beagle is in a prime position for offensive success. Whether he lasts on that line is another question, but for now he's the guy with Ovechkin and Backstrom. With Washington getting games against a thoroughly-injured Columbus team and a struggling New Jersey team this week, Beagle carries a nice price at center.
Right Wing
Patrick Eaves, Dallas ($3,100)
Valeri Nichushkin was supposed to get every opportunity this season to thrive on the top line in Dallas with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Nichushkin, though, has been slowed by a lingering groin injury that has limited him to just four games. With Nichushkin back on injured reserve, there is an opening again on Dallas's top line, and that opening has gone to Eaves.
Dallas has had their problems this year, but the schedule is starting to get a little bit easier. This week, even though the Stars get Chicago and Los Angeles, they also get a lackluster Arizona team and a Minnesota team missing their top scorer. For reference, Los Angeles and Arizona are both giving up more unblocked shot attempts per 60 minutes at even strength than the Oilers.
Like Beagle, there is nothing special about Eaves or his particular skill set. All this is about is the offensive opportunity to play with two of the best offensive players in the world. Together, Benn and Seguin control 52.7 percent of shot attempts and 61.9 percent of goals scored at 5-on-5, numbers not dissimilar from last year. Eaves, like Beagle, is in a prime position at a near-minimum cost.
Defenseman
Kevin Bieksa, Vancouver ($3,600)
Bieksa is one of those in-between blueliners that can be relied upon for tough defensive assignments, but he'll also be put in a situation to succeed offensively. He is a defenseman used with some regularity on the power play, which is always a bonus at the position.
So far this season, Bieksa is averaging 2.31 shots on goal per game, the highest mark of his career since 2006-07. That's off the back of averaging 9.08 unblocked shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, after averaging 8.13 the previous three seasons (via Hockey Analysis). Bieksa is getting more pucks through than he normally does, and that's a boost to his value.
The biggest reason for the Bieksa recommendation this week is the schedule. Even with just two games in the next seven days, those two games are against Ottawa and Arizona. The only team that gives up more unblocked shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than Ottawa is Buffalo, and Arizona gives up more than Edmonton. Those are plus-matchups for Vancouver as a whole, and Bieksa could be a boon in plus/minus and shots on goal alone.
Goaltender
Alex Stalock, San Jose ($7,400)
It's been a fairly up-and-down season for the Sharks so far, as they have not been able to string together more than two wins for three and a half weeks, while also ranking in the bottom 10 of the NHL in unblocked shot attempts allowed per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. That mark is only slightly better than what the notoriously defensively-challenged Maple Leafs have done so far this season.
The goaltending situation has changed a bit in San Jose, as Stalock has started five out of 16 games for the Sharks so far this year, putting him on pace to start between 25 and 30 games (he started 18 last season). Stalock's .925 save percentage this year is building off of his .932 save percentage he had as a rookie a season ago, and if the Sharks can start to clamp down a bit defensively, his goals-against average should only improve.
This week, the Sharks have four games in six days with Florida, Tampa Bay, Columbus, and Carolina on the schedule. Those last two games are a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. It would seem that Stalock should get at least one of those two games on the weekend. On top of that, there's an outside chance that he gets the Panthers on Tuesday. Even if he only gets one start, Stalock will be more than worth his price on the weekend. If he gets two, there is the potential for Stalock to get two good matchups this week.
