This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There are 10 games on the docket Tuesday and half of them will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET (Carolina at Tampa Bay, Edmonton at Boston, Ottawa at Detroit, Dallas at the Rangers and Columbus at Pittsburgh). The night will also feature a 7:30 p.m. ET start (Toronto at Philadelphia), two 8:00 p/m ET games (St. Louis at Minnesota, Nashville at Winnipeg) and two that begin at 10:00 p.m. ET (Calgary at Anaheim, Vegas at San Jose). Here are my FanDuel recommendations for this packed night of hockey.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are no teams playing in the first half of a back-to-back, so fatigue isn't a serious consideration tonight, but it's worth noting that Calgary is scheduled to play again Wednesday. That might influence the Flames' lineup decisions, particularly when it comes to its goaltending.
GOALIES
Ilya Samsonov, VGK at SJS ($8,600): Samsonov has won his past five starts while allowing just seven goals on 121 shots (.942 save percentage). He's got a good chance of extending that streak against the 13-23-6 Sharks, who are tied for 28th in goals per game with 2.62.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. NAS ($8,500): Hellebuyck earned a 22-save shutout against the Predators on December 30th. It wouldn't be surprising to see him have another strong performance against them tonight. He's one of the league's top goaltenders with a 24-6-2 record, 2.09 GAA and .926 save percentage in 32 appearances. By contrast, Nashville ranks last in goals per game with 2.45.
Stuart Skinner, EDM at BOS ($8,000): Skinner has had mixed results in 2024-25, but he's enjoying a strong stretch in which he's posted a 4-0-1 record, 1.97 GAA and .924 save percentage across his past five starts. The Bruins, who rank 27th in goals per game with 2.64, haven't been nearly as fortunate lately, dropping their past four outings.
VALUE PLAYS
Leo Carlsson, ANA vs. CAL ($4,700): Carlsson has been inconsistent this season, which isn't unusual for a promising young forward. He might be in the early stages of one of his better stretches after recording a point (one goal, two assists) in each of his past three appearances.
Noah Cates, PHI vs. TOR ($4,500): Cates is on a three-game point streak and has been held off the scoresheet just once over his past nine appearances. He's provided five goals and four assists across that nine-game stretch. It helps that he's averaged 16:08 of ice time over that span compared to his season average of 13:41.
Tanner Pearson, VGK at SJS ($4,100): Pearson is on a nice roll with three goals and seven points across his past seven outings. Although he's averaged just 12:19 of ice time this campaign, that's jumped to 16:10 over his past two games, and Pearson has seen time alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone during that stretch. The 32-year-old Pearson has combined with at least one of Stone and Eichel for each of his past three points.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs at Flyers
Auston Matthews (C - $8,800), Mitch Marner (W - $8,300), Matthew Knies (W - $5,400)
With Matthews back from an upper-body injury, this line has looked extremely effective. Matthews has a fantastic five points (one goal) since returning, bringing him up to 12 goals and 28 points in 26 appearances in 2024-25. Meanwhile, Marner has been great all campaign, contributing 14 goals and 56 points in 41 outings, including four goals and 18 points over his past 12 games.
Knies has benefited from playing alongside Marner and Matthews, collecting an incredible four goals and six points in two games since Matthews returned.
The Flyers are typically not that strong defensively, ranking 30th in goals allowed per game with 3.55, so this trio is in a good position to add to its scoring totals.
Blue Jackets at Penguins
Sean Monahan (C - $7,000), Kirill Marchenko (W - $7,600), Dmitri Voronkov (W - $6,400)
Columbus' top line has been well-priced for what it's brought to the table recently. Monahan is one of the hottest forwards in the league with five goals and 15 points across his past eight games, propelling him to 14 goals and 40 points in 40 appearances in 2024-25. Marchenko has been similarly effective lately with seven goals and 16 points over his past 11 outings, giving him 17 goals and 43 points through 40 contests this season. Meanwhile, goaltenders can't seem to stop Voronkov, who has seven goals over his past six appearances, bringing him up to 15 markers and 26 points in 31 outings overall.
It will be difficult for the Penguins to contain this trio, especially given that Pittsburgh is tied for last in goals allowed per game with 3.63. It is worth noting, though, that Columbus is the team the Penguins are tied with. This could be a high-scoring affair, so you might want to also consider Michael Bunting (W - $5,200), who is one of the hotter forwards on the Penguins with five goals and seven points across his past six appearances. You can also consider Sidney Crosby (C - $7,300), who has been a steady presence on Pittsburgh's scoresheet throughout the campaign with 11 goals and 42 points in 41 outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Zach Werenski, CBJ at PIT ($7,400): Werenski has been attracting talk lately about a bid for the Norris Trophy, and why not? His 12 goals and 45 points through 40 appearances put him second in the blueliner scoring race behind just Cale Makar. At the rate Werenski is going, he might be able to surpass the Avalanche star defenseman before the campaign is done. The 27-year-old Werenski has a stunning 13 points (one goal) across his past six appearances, including a goal and five points over his last two games.
Moritz Seider, DET vs. OTT ($6,200): Detroit has enjoyed something of a resurgence lately, winning its past four games. Seider has played his part in that, collecting five assists over that span. That said, Seider's hot run goes back even further than the Red Wings' winning streak – the 23-year-old defenseman has two goals and 11 points over his past 12 outings.
Noah Hanifin, VGK at SJS ($5,500): Hanifin has been providing superb value recently with three goals and nine points across his past 10 outings. That brings him up to six goals and 21 points in 39 games overall. It would be nice if he had more of a power-play role – he has just two points with the man advantage this campaign – but he's still worth selecting while hot.
