This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's the busiest day of the week with 11 games on Tuesday's slate. All 22 teams in action should be well-rested since none of them are playing the second half of back-to-backs, and games have been sparse since the holiday break. Note the Stars and Lightning will be playing again on Wednesday, so expect to see backups Brian Elliott and Scott Wedgewood to see action at some point.
A few games of note include Hurricanes at Rangers, a rematch of last season's playoffs, and also Flames at Jets, two teams going through slumps and underachieving to varying degrees.
GOALIES
Matt Murray, TOR vs. STL ($8,600): Ilya Samsonov should be okay in this matchup but based on Murray's 6-2 win against the Avs, he's likely to get the nod. The Blues will be very shorthanded without Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko while the Leafs blue line has been bolstered by the return of Morgan Rielly. Note neither Murray nor Samsonov have good career numbers against the Blues, but the Leafs won their last meeting in overtime on Dec. 27 and the Blues will be icing a weaker lineup.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at CHI ($8,500): With hockey being so random, there's no such thing as a guarantee, but this matchup comes pretty close. The Hawks are the worst team in the league and they just can't score. The Hawks have won just three times (!), and just once in regulation, in their 20 matchups since the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.
Juuse Saros, NSH vs. MON ($8,000): Saros has been excellent lately, sporting a .923 save percentage and 2.51 GAA in December, which was by far the best month he's had this season. The Habs, meanwhile, have lost eight of their past nine and failed to score more than two goals since their win on Dec. 6 against the Kraken.
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA vs. ARI ($7,600): Spencer Knight should be a good option, too, and the Coyotes have one of the worst road records in the league at 6-14-3 and rank 27th in GF/GP on the road. There's no such thing as an easy win for Bobrovsky, but this should be one of his easiest matchups of the year and he's 9-2-1/.935/2.02 in his career against the Panthers.
VALUE PLAYS
Lane Pederson, VAN vs. NYI ($3,200): Pederson was made a healthy scratch for the new year's eve game against the Flames after taking a bad penalty against the Jets, but it looks like he's drawing back into the lineup. He'll return to his old spot with Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko, two high-end offensive players who have helped Pederson collect three points during his short NHL stint. There is some further upside if Pederson ends up playing some PP2.
Michael Carcone, ARI at FLA ($3,400): Goals aren't easy to come by for the Coyotes but Carcone's an intriguing play with one goal and six shots in three games playing with top scorer Clayton Keller and Travis Boyd at even strength. The Panthers defense and goaltending is allowing 3.42 goals per game, 10th-worst in the league. Carcone was the AHL's leading scorer at the time of his call-up with 42 points in 27 games, so there's definitely some offense there.
Ivan Barbashev, STL at TOR ($4,200): Injuries to O'Reilly and Tarasenko means Barbashev and linemate Brandon Saad will have Brayden Schenn playing center. It's an upgrade over Noel Acciari, who had been playing with Saad and Barbashev previously. Barbashev remains a key part of PP1 even though he's been moved throughout the lineup during the season.
Juuso Parssinen, NSH vs. MON ($4,300): Some of the original shine has worn off as the Preds continue their search for a No. 1 center, but Parssinen has found himself at the top of the pile once again. He's slated to line up with Filip Forsberg on his wing, and after a quiet stretch has two two-assist efforts in his past five games. The Habs have a very young blue line and have allowed 24 goals (!) in their past four games.
LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs vs. Blues
John Tavares (C - $7,500), Calle Jarnkrok (W - $4,300), Mitch Marner (W - $7,500)
Jarnkrok's point streak is now at five games, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to play with elite players. Marner is currently in a three-way tie with 42 points to lead the team, while Tavares follows closely behind with 34. O'Reilly was having a tough season regardless, but his absence also takes away their top penalty killing forward.
Panthers vs. Coyotes
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,700), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $6,400), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $9,300)
The good part about this line is that it has a pretty high floor. Tkachuk is a high-volume shooter and Verhaeghe's one of their more consistent point producers this season. The drawback is Verheaghe plays PP2, but that also gives managers exposure to both units. The Coyotes are allowing 3.74 goals per game on the road and rank 23rd on the PK.
Senators vs. Blue Jackets
Tim Stutzle (C - $7,400), Brady Tkachuk (W - $8,400), Claude Giroux (W - $7,200)
No team in the league is worse on the road than the Jackets (2-11-1). They can barely score and get scored on a lot, ranking second last in both GF/GP and GA/GP. The Sens, meanwhile, have an excellent top line and scoring goals isn't particularly difficult, failing to score at least three goals just four times in their past 12 games. They've combined to score 25 points during that span even though Stutzle missed four games.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Gustafsson, WSH vs. BUF ($4,300): Gustafsson continues to fly under the radar as the Caps' PP QB, feeding pucks to Alex Ovechkin. He's on a six-game point streak and added three points against the Habs on new year's eve.
Adam Boqvist, CBJ at OTT ($3,800): Boqvist scored his first point of the season Dec. 31 against the Hawks having missed two months due to injury. He's a potential value play on the blue line being the PP QB on a power play that has Patrik Laine back. The Sens are eighth in penalty minutes per game and seventh in penalties taken.
