This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Devils actually held a 2-1 lead before allowing three unanswered goals against Vegas in Alain Nasreddine's coaching debut, but this is nothing new – they're the third-worst team in winning percentage (5-5-1, .455 Win%) when leading after the first period. The good news is that both the Devils and Blackhawks are awful on defense, ranked third and fourth-worst in goals allowed in the third period. The Blackhawks play a pretty open offensive style, so this has a chance to be a high-scoring game.
Carey Price has been historically very good against the Rangers, and any time Price is on his game the Canadiens have a chance. Playoff aspirations are still very real for the Rangers, who have won five of their past seven games.
Phil Kessel returns to Pittsburgh as the Coyotes continue their charge up the Pacific Division. The Penguins, sans Crosby, are better than anyone is giving them credit for, and definitely-a-top-100-player-of-all-time Evgeni Malkin has something to do with it. The Pens are second in the league with 11 home wins.
The Kings are in tough against the Oilers. Not only are they the worst road team (2-10-1) in the league, they allowed six goals the last time they were in Edmonton. Connor McDavid had four points. Same with the Ducks (not a good year for the California teams), who host the Capitals, who've won five straight.
GOALIES
Braden Holtby ($8,800) will undoubtedly be a popular pick. He's playing well with three straight wins and the Caps had five different goal scorers in their previous meeting this season. Antti Raanta ($8,500) doesn't seem worth the risk even if Matt Murray ($8,100) isn't playing very well with 18 goals allowed in four games.
Carey Price ($8,400) does this about once a season, where he suddenly looks like he's suffering from amnesia and might have to be buried in Laval when Cayden Primeau inevitably takes over the cage. Hopefully, the bad stretch is over, because Price is 18-8-1 all-time against the Rangers, which is his second-highest winning percentage (.643) against an Eastern Conference team.
Mikko Koskinen ($8,200) or Mike Smith ($7,800) should be solid options against the Kings. McDavid has seven more points at home and combined with Leon Draisaitl for six points the last time they played each other. The Kings have scored just six goals in their past four games.
I fully believe MacKenzie Blackwood ($7,000) has a chance to steal this game, but I have zero confidence in their defense and ability to play a full game. Corey Crawford ($7,500) has occasionally showed flashes of his old self this season with a shutout and two more wins with just one goal allowed.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Conor Garland ($3,700) scored again, giving him 11 on the season. Alexander Nylander ($3,600) has not scored since Nov. 17 but I'll never say no to his talent. He's playing with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad on the top six against a porous team.
Stefan Noesen ($3,300) scored in his Penguins debut and will remain in the top six playing on a line with the every-improving Jared McCann. More importantly, Noesen is playing on the top power play unit with Malkin.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Chicago Blackhawks (Total: $19,100)
C – Dylan Strome ($5,000)
W – Patrick Kane ($8,400)
W – Alex DeBrincat ($5,700)
You get a playmaking center for a good price and I can't foresee how the Devils can shut this line down. DeBrincat just busted his 12-game goal slump and Kane remains unstoppable with four points in five games.
Edmonton Oilers (Total: $17,600)
C – Connor McDavid ($8,900)
W – James Neal ($5,600)
W – Josh Archibald ($3,100)
Neal is all of a sudden scoring points again (I wonder why???), and I'm going to save you five seconds of Googling and tell you that, yes, Archibald is actually a real NHL player. You can spend $1,500 more on a better winger (Joel Armia?) and it'll cost the same as the Blackhawks' line.
Pittsburgh Penguins (Total: $21,800)
C – Evgeni Malkin ($8,500)
W – Bryan Rust ($5,200)
W – Jake Guentzel ($8,100)
Rust practised Thursday morning so it looks like he'll play. Malkin did not score a point last game (Rust had four) but he's recorded 18 points in 12 game since Crosby's injury.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson ($7,500). I write his name every time. He's still on pace for 114 points. McDavid finished with "just" 116 last season. Kris Letang ($6,600) is also an elite offensive player with four points in four games. He just doesn't score as often as Carlson. If Justin Schultz doesn't play, look for Letang to play even more minutes than usual.
Oscar Klefbom ($5,900) has a low floor with his offense (points, shots) and defense (blocked shots). There are plenty of others who do the same, including Jacob Trouba ($5,000), Darnell Nurse ($4,000), and even John Marino ($3,900) but Klefbom does it best and plays the most minutes. The Oilers block a lot of shots.
Anthony DeAngelo ($4,200) has a point in four of his past six games. He remains the power-play quarterback on the Rangers. Jakob Chychrun ($3,700) is also quietly having a fine season and offers up some power-play upside.
