This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
Hopefully everyone enjoyed Monday's all-day action provided by Canadian Thanksgiving! We're back to the regular schedule for Day 14 of the NHL season. We've been surprised by both fast and slow starts so far, namely the Lightning's 2-2-1 record out of the gate.
The Lightning will figure it out soon enough -- they're too stacked to fail. But they'll meet with the Canadiens, who are 2-1-2 and struggling to make the jump from rebuild to playoff contender. The Canadiens have a firm grasp on the all-time record against the Lightning at 28-39-6.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes (5-1-0) will secure the top record in the league with a win against the Kings, who will have a lottery pick in the 2020 NHL Draft if they cant turn things around soon. Perhaps that wouldn't be the worst thing for them.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury's ($9,000) price tag keeps climbing, as he's expected to make his third start in four days against the Predators. He's been superb so far with a .939 save percentage over five starts, but the Predators haven't been light on offense, either, as they have averaged 4.6 goals per game thus far. His counterpart, Pekka Rinne ($8,400) is 3-0-0 despite an ugly .894 save percentage.
Alex Stalock ($7,200) is coming off a 26-save shutout against the Senators and may patrol the crease again since Devan Dubnyk ($7,700) can't find his groove. Neither are great options against the high-powered Maple Leafs, but counterpart Frederik Andersen ($8,400) is lined up for success against the Wild, who have been held to just two goals in four of five games.
An Atlantic Division matchup between the Lightning and Canadiens brings two Vezina contenders to the forefront, although Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8,900) and Carey Price ($8,100) are off to a rocky start. Both offenses are averaging four goals per contest thus far, so there's high risk for both backstops at this cost.
An intriguing value play is Connor Hellebuyck ($7,900), who has won three straight with .953 save percentage. The Coyotes are coming to town, and they finished with just 2.41 goals per game on the road last year. The road woes have carried into this year with just three goals in two games away from their barn.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
It's been a quiet campaign for Michael Frolik ($3,300), but he's now earned a spot on the second line alongside Mikael Backlund ($5,200) and Matthew Tkachuk ($6,500). With top-six duties on tap, Frolik could show flashes of the 34-point, plus-26 player he was last year.
J.T. Miller ($5,300) can be a bit inconsistent, but the boom is worth it when it surfaces. Miller had 12 multi-point games last year, and he already has a four-point outing this campaign. Lining up with Elias Pettersson ($6,500) and Brock Boeser ($7,000) raises his chances at striking gold.
There's no sophomore slump for Andrei Svechnikov ($5,500), and he won't be this cheap for long. He leads the team and is second in the league with seven assists, and his spot on the top power play is additional leverage since Kings' opponents have scored on 7-of-16 tries with the man advantage.
Calle Jarnkrok ($3,300) bumped up to the top line two games ago, and he fit like a glove with three assists. He'll look to keep his scoring touch rolling against a heavily-used Fleury.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Tampa Bay Lightning (TOTAL: $24,500)
C - Brayden Point ($7,600)
W - Nikita Kucherov ($8,700)
W - Steven Stamkos ($8,200)
It's a big risk to take to spend nearly half your budget on one line, but that makes the unit perfect for tournaments. They were pointless with a combined minus-7 rating last game, but they racked up five goals and six assists two games ago. It's high-risk, high-reward, but Price has allowed at least three goals in every game so far, making it an appealing stack.
Detroit Red Wings (TOTAL: $19,400)
C - Dylan Larkin ($7,200)
W - Anthony Mantha ($6,700)
W - Tyler Bertuzzi ($5,500)
This line has accounted for 63 percent of the team's goals this season, but it has been cold lately. A home matchup against 23-year-old Thatcher Demko ($7,500), who has just nine career starts, could be all it takes to turn things around for the unit.
Toronto Maple Leafs (TOTAL: $19,300)
C - Auston Matthews ($8,800)
W - William Nylander ($6,000)
W - Andreas Johnsson ($4,500)
The Wild will be on the second leg of back-to-back games, and it's unsettled who will be in the blue paint. Whether it's Stalock or Dubnyk, they've still yielded 4.2 goals per contest, and it'll be tough to contain Matthews' lethal wrister either way, especially since he's unleashing it nearly five times per outing.
Carolina Hurricanes (TOTAL: $13,800)
C - Erik Haula ($5,500)
W - Ryan Dzingel ($4,800)
W - Martin Necas ($3,500)
Jumping into the bargain bin, Haula paces the Hurricanes with five goals, including two on the power play, while Dzingel and Necas both have five points a piece. The Kings' floodgates have been open since Game 1 with 27 goals against over five contests, so this third line provides value that allows you to splurge elsewhere.
DEFENSE
The most expensive blueliner, Roman Josi ($6,700), is worthy of the honor. He has been dynamite with the man advantage, notching three power-play points in the last three games while directing 14 shots on net in that span. Ryan Ellis ($4,800) should be considered, too, as his partner at even strength and power play.
The opposite blue line has plenty of value, as Shea Theodore ($5,100) has a point per game so far, while Nashville has allowed 11 points to defensemen over the last three outings.
Enjoy the Dougie Hamilton ($6,200) and Jaccob Slavin ($5,000) tandem, which has combined for 10 points in four contests, as they face off against an aforementioned struggling Kings' back end.
Tread lightly with the mirage of Kevin Shattenkirk ($5,400). He has two goals over the last three outings, but it's unsustainable since he only accounted for four shots on net in that span. And now he's been demoted to the bottom pairing.
