This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's a good thing the Habs have played 10 of their first 15 games of the season at home, if you believe home-road splits are indicative of how good a team really is. With a 5-0 shutout win against Detroit last night, the Habs moved to a perfect 10-0-0 at home, and will take their 3-1-1 road record to the test Sunday in Chicago. Perhaps it's having the last change on home ice, that there's just a certain "je ne sais quoi" quality with the Habs faithful cheering behind the team, but for whatever reason, the Habs just seem much better at home.
Despite that success, the Blackhawks should have a good shot at a win since Al Montoya (not Carey Price) will be in net, as well as the fact that they've been great at home, too, with a 7-1-2 record. Backup goalies are backup goalies for a reason, and with the Habs, Rangers, Wild and Bruins playing the second half of back-to-back games, teams will be looking to take advantage.
GOALIE
Corey Crawford, CHI vs. MON ($9,400) – Crawford would be an inadvisable matchup if a) Price was at the other end of the ice and b) the game was in Montreal, but neither of those things are true. The Habs are coming off a 5-0 win against Detroit and the Blackhawks should be well-rested. Montoya will start against one of the league's best offenses on the heels of allowing 10 goals against Columbus. Artem Anisimov
It's a good thing the Habs have played 10 of their first 15 games of the season at home, if you believe home-road splits are indicative of how good a team really is. With a 5-0 shutout win against Detroit last night, the Habs moved to a perfect 10-0-0 at home, and will take their 3-1-1 road record to the test Sunday in Chicago. Perhaps it's having the last change on home ice, that there's just a certain "je ne sais quoi" quality with the Habs faithful cheering behind the team, but for whatever reason, the Habs just seem much better at home.
Despite that success, the Blackhawks should have a good shot at a win since Al Montoya (not Carey Price) will be in net, as well as the fact that they've been great at home, too, with a 7-1-2 record. Backup goalies are backup goalies for a reason, and with the Habs, Rangers, Wild and Bruins playing the second half of back-to-back games, teams will be looking to take advantage.
GOALIE
Corey Crawford, CHI vs. MON ($9,400) – Crawford would be an inadvisable matchup if a) Price was at the other end of the ice and b) the game was in Montreal, but neither of those things are true. The Habs are coming off a 5-0 win against Detroit and the Blackhawks should be well-rested. Montoya will start against one of the league's best offenses on the heels of allowing 10 goals against Columbus. Artem Anisimov is expected to return to the lineup, which means the Blackhawks should dominate puck possession with their superior forwards.
CENTER
Connor McDavid, EDM vs. NYR ($7,800) – Henrik Lundqvist will get the night off after facing the Flames last night, which is great for McDavid and his linemates. He'll run into some trouble against a good team that skates and moves the puck very well, but he's the best center in the league to step onto the ice Sunday. He has a chance to overtake good friend Mark Scheifele for the scoring lead if he puts up three points.
Derek Stepan, NYR @ EDM ($5,500) – No matter how Todd McLellan chooses to match up his lines, one of Derek Stepan or Mika Zibanejad is going to have their way with the Oilers' second line. Stepan's upside is slightly higher because Chris Kreider and Rick Nash have been consistently good this year, even if he has to go head-to-head against McDavid. The Rangers offense is a force to be reckoned with as a whole, making Stepan a nice value in the sub-$6,000 range.
WING
Artemi Panarin, CHI vs. MON ($7,000) – He's one of the NHL's leading scorers and a truly elite talent, going up against a backup goalie and a team that played last night. Even though Panarin averages five fewer minutes per game than Patrick Kane, both are tied for 17 points apiece, but the best part is that Panarin comes $1,500 cheaper than Kane.
Jordan Eberle, EDM vs. NYR ($6,600) – It's not a bad idea to load up on linemates because if one player scores, the other often draws the assist. It's a gamble, but it's a smart one if you're betting on Edmonton's top line, which will come into Sunday's game well-rested. Eberle has always been a streaky player, but thankfully he's been scoring again after a five-game hiatus from the scoresheet.
David Pastrnak, BOS at COL ($5,600) – He's making do with what little ice time Claude Julien gives him, and despite averaging 16 minutes per game, Pastrnak has 10 goals this season, second in the league only to Patrik Laine. The Avalanche defense hasn't improved a whole lot and Semyon Varlamov hasn't been very good all season, and the two teams also play a very fast north-south game that is sure to create a lot of offensive chances. Pastrnak's the best goal-scorer among players in the $5,000-$6,000 range.
Michael Grabner, NYR at EDM ($4,500) – Alain Vigneault has been known to be a stickler when it comes to line matching, and the Oilers just don't have enough depth to cover all four of the Rangers' lines, especially the fourth line with Grabner, Brandon Pirri and Jesper Fast, which found the scoresheet against last night against Calgary. Not only has that line been one of the league's best fourth lines, it's been one of the best in the league. Grabner notched his eighth goal last night and should get a few chances to pot his ninth against Edmonton.
DEFENSE
Shea Weber, MON at CHI ($6,200) – The scary part of Weber's play so far this season is that he's done it before, so it's no fluke. A goal against Detroit last night gives him six on the season, and there isn't a goalie in the league that enjoys facing his slap shot.
Torey Krug, BOS at COL ($5,300) – Hockey can be a funny game. Things can go wrong when you do all the right things, and just when you've given up all hope things start going right again. Case in point: through the first 13 games of the season, nothing was going right for Krug, as he was putting up zeroes across the board most nights despite firing shots on net at a pretty good clip. And just when fantasy owners had given up on the poor guy, he scores his first goal against Columbus and adds an assist the following game.
