This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
GOALIE
Antti Raanta, NYR at DET ($8,300) – Henrik Lundqvist's hip injury will keep him in the press box for the next couple of weeks, which means Raanta is the new No. 1 and gets a soft matchup in his new role. The Red Wings' 25-year playoff streak is seriously in danger of ending, and offense has been a consistent problem since Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk retired from the NHL. Although Henrik Zetterberg is putting up an incredible season at age 36 with 41 assists and 55 points, Raanta has been excellent all season, registering 13 wins and sporting a .922 save percentage.
CENTER
Logan Couture, SJ vs. DAL ($6,700) – The criminally underrated Couture has a good chance to fill the stat sheet when the Stars visit, and with 23 goals and 46 points, he's third on the team in both categories. The Stars, by the way, have allowed at least five goals in three of their past six games, so even though Couture remains stuck on the second line, there will be plenty of opportunities. The Sharks will get last chance on home ice, too, which may prevent Lindy Ruff from shielding some of his young and inexperienced defensemen.
Alex Galchenyuk, MON at EDM ($5,900) – The good news is that Galchenyuk skated with Max Pacioretty at practice, which means Claude Julien is once again switching up his lines in hope of an offensive spark. Chucky has certainly been doing his part, scoring three goals and five assists in his past seven games, although his ice time continues to average in the mid-teens. Cam Talbot is a good goalie, but he's appeared in a career-high 60 games so far and has lost three of his past five starts, perhaps indicating that fatigue is starting to affect him.
WING
Jamie Benn, DAL at SJ ($8,200) – How can you not take one of the most complete offensive players in the game? He's been an absolute beast since the calendar turned, scoring 29 points in 25 games, and in 31 career games against San Jose has scored 10 goals on 86 shots.
Max Pacioretty, MON at EDM ($7,400) – Selecting Galchenyuk makes taking Pacioretty the next logical step, seeing how the two were paired up again at practice. Even though Pacioretty hasn't scored in five games and has just two assists in his past three, he's been shooting the puck a lot more, averaging more than five shots per game in his past seven.
Jason Spezza, DAL at SJ ($6,400) – The days of the Pizza Line seem just like yesterday, but the 33-year-old is clearly no longer a top-line player with 40 points and a minus-13 rating this season. The good news is that he's clearly forgotten about that fact in recent weeks, scoring four goals and three assists in his past five games, including a two-point, seven-shot effort against the normally stingy Senators.
Chris Kreider, NYR at DET ($5,900) – Rick Nash is expected to return, which somewhat dampens Kreider's value, but Kreider has three goals and four points on 17 shots in his past four games. Detroit's defense is severely banged up, and prior to a 4-2 triumph over Chicago, the Wings were on a four-game losing streak with 16 goals allowed.
DEFENSE
Brent Burns, SJ vs. DAL ($8,500) – Let's see what Burns has going for him here: a historic offensive season with truly mind-boggling numbers, five wins in the past seven for San Jose, and an eight-game goal drought that's begging to be snapped against the league's worst goaltending tandem. Burns is a must-start in every format.
Ryan McDonagh, NYR at DET ($5,400) – On a night where not many other defensemen seem appetizing, going with the tried-and-true isn't a bad strategy. The Rangers' captain gets the occasional point, as he's done twice in his past three games, but most importantly, he consistently logs shots on net and puts up a significant amount of blocks. He is currently 11th among defensemen with 33 assists and ninth in blocked shots with 140.
