This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Lightning play the Capitals in D.C. and the Stars host the Blues in what should be the games of the night. Both matchups featuring teams playing very well at the moment and with a record number of games going beyond regulation time this season, making a call on these games is a coin flip.
The suddenly refreshed Maple Leafs will face the Sabres, who will probably be without Rasmus Dahlin. In what has become an annual tradition in Buffalo, they're dying in November with two wins in 12 games.
The Jets are also on a roll with five wins in their past six games, including road wins against Tampa and Nashville, while the Ducks are once again falling with just two wins in their past 11 games after starting with six wins in their first eight.
The Red Wings are even worse, as they're on track to become one of the worst teams in goal differential in the cap era, but the Flyers (17th in GF/GP, 27th in EV GF) may not be able to take advantage.
The Avalanche and Blackhawks should be an entertaining matchup with the amount of talent on the ice. However, Mikko Rantanen's return will have to wait until Saturday. The Penguins and Blue Jackets are never dull but the Pens almost always come out on top; they've only lost once in nine games since the 2017-18 season. The Golden Knights and Coyotes are Bettman-expansion era products that seem to share nothing in common except being in the desert, but don't be surprised if these are the two final teams duking it out in the Pacific.
Why Southeast neighbors Nashville and Carolina were never in the same division I'll never know, but not having a "speedway series" seems like a missed opportunity. The Predators and Hurricanes have perhaps the most mobile defensive corps in the league. If you want to see the new skill-oriented NHL, this is a good place to start.
The Kings and Sharks play each other for the second time in four nights, and it was a close one with Patrick Marleau scoring the OT winner. Both teams' goaltenders are bad, but on most nights Martin Jones is less bad than Jonathan Quick. But at least the teams share a rivalry, unlike the Senators and Wild, an uninteresting matchup featuring two teams with slim playoff hopes and no must-see superstar.
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington's $9,000 price tag seems expensive even if the Blues are dominant on the road (8-2-3), and the Stars look like they could beat anybody, so maybe save $100 and pick Ben Bishop. The same goes for Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8,800) (.929 EV Sv%) and Braden Holtby ($8,500) (.942 EV Sv%), who have both been excellent over the past two weeks.
Michael Hutchinson ($7,000) should be a popular pick with the Leafs rolling and the Sabres toiling, and so will Carter Hart ($7,400), who should have no problems facing the league's worst team. Hart has been on-and-off this season but he's worth the risk at this price with the potential for a very strong performance since the Wings are missing their best shooter in Anthony Mantha. Both goalies are potentially strong value plays.
Kaapo Kahkonen ($7,100) will go for his second career win after stopping 32 shots against Jersey, but we remain skeptical because he's a rookie with limited experience in North America and was only so-so in 10 games with AHL Iowa before getting called up.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
With Roope Hintz ($5,900) taking over first-line duties, Jason Dickinson ($3,700) has also moved up and in his past six games has scored three goals and six points. He didn't score a single point in October and he's making it up for it now.
Morgan Frost ($4,300) continues to be a strong play as one of the league's top prospects getting a chance to show off in a top-six role. He's got quality linemates in elite playmaker Claude Giroux and elite trash talker Travis Konecny, and with 10 shots in three games the money's on Frost scoring another goal soon. Detroit last with 3.81 GA/GP.
As long as Kirby Dach ($3,400) gets to center Patrick Kane, he's worth considering. Alex DeBrincat has now been added to this line, giving Dach scoring options on both wings.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Carolina Hurricanes (TOTAL: $21,300)
C – Sebastian Aho ($7,500)
W – Andrei Svechnikov ($6,700)
W – Teuvo Teravainen ($7,100)
They generated just one assist against the Rangers, an unlucky result after putting 12 shots on net. It's a supremely talented line facing a team that all of a sudden has major question marks in net. No starter has been announced, but both Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros have struggled.
Pittsburgh Penguins (TOTAL: $21,100)
C – Evgeni Malkin ($8,500)
W – Jake Guentzel ($7,800)
W – Bryan Rust ($4,800)
Remember when Sid was knocked out and Malkin went on to win the scoring title and MVP? He's got that vibe to him now after a five-point effort against Vancouver, and Columbus is a vulnerable opponent, ranked 20th at 3.13 GA/GP and 19th on the PK.
Winnipeg Jets (TOTAL: $21,600)
C – Mark Scheifele ($7,400)
W – Patrik Laine ($7,600)
W – Kyle Connor ($6,600)
They combined for six points in a 5-1 thrashing of the Sharks and Laine has continued to excel playing away from Bryan Little. John Gibson is very good, but the Jets have not had scoring goals on the Ducks in the past. The Jets have six of their past eight meetings, including a 9-3 drubbing.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson ($7,400) has now gone two games without a point, and it may be time his scoring rate starts to decrease. 36 points in 26 games puts him on pace for 113 – and he's not Bobby Orr – so it's safe to assume he'll fall well short of that total. However, he remains the Caps' No. 1 defenseman and a cut above the rest.
Dougie Hamilton ($6,600) is having the best season of his career and no one seems to notice that he's become an elite defenseman. Him, Kris Letang ($6,400) and Roman Josi ($6,200) should be the top picks in the next tier.
Thomas Chabot ($5,500) is a high-upside pick because he logs a ton of minutes in all situations, and recently his scoring has started to pick up with two goals and three assists in six games. His main value is derived from offense, especially shots on goal, a category in which he's well above average. Seth Jones ($5,400) is in a similar vein but offers a higher floor with more blocked shots.
Cale Makar ($5,400) is a beast and it's a little perplexing why he's not in the same group as Hamilton or Josi; Makar's 25 points is currently third among defensemen and we'll take him any day at this price.
Kevin Shattenkirk ($5,100) has an assist in three straight games and Cam Fowler ($4,800) is on a four-game point streak. The hottest hand, however, is probably John Marino ($3,700), who is on a six-game point streak after recording two helpers against Vancouver.
