This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
The Jets-Devils game in New Jersey has been postponed due to the nor'easter we're getting here in the, um, northeast. Otherwise, though, we've got a pretty typical Tuesday slate for you – eight games now – so let's get it goin'.
Featured Matchups
Wild (PP: 8, PK: 6) at Capitals (PP: 7, PK: 7), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Devan Dubnyk (36-14-3, 2.07, .931), Braden Holtby (34-11-5, 2.03, .926)
Key Injuries:Victor Bartley (triceps), Christian Folin (arm), Martin Hanzal (illness), Gustav Olofsson (upper body), Andre Burakovsky (hand), Kevin Shattenkirk (suspension)
Here we have a couple Vezina Trophy contenders going head-to-head, but both have struggled recently. Dubnyk was yanked Sunday after giving up goals on his first two shots, and he has just a .909 save percentage alongside a 4-4 record in his last nine games. Meanwhile, Holtby has lost three straight, giving up a dozen goals on just 67 shots (an .821 save mark) in the process. Perhaps both minders, understanding the quality of the opposition, will elevate their games – or perhaps they'll keep scuffling and this will be anything but a goalie duel. Holtby's tended to be a big-game goalie (and has more experience in those situations than Dubs), so I'd bet on him and the Capitals to edge this thing out.
Islanders (PP: 26, PK: 19) at Hurricanes (PP: 22, PK: 5), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (23-14-4, 2.66, .914), Eddie Lack (3-5-2, 2.97, .886)
Key Injuries:Phil Di Giuseppe (upper body), Brock McGinn (upper body), Valentin Zykov (upper body), Johnny Boychuk (lower body), Casey Cizikas (upper body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Shane Prince (lower body), Alan Quine (upper body)
This is the back end of a home-and-home set between these two clubs after the 'Canes hung eight goals on the Isles in Brooklyn on Monday. You know that Greiss (who got yanked from that game) and his mates will be out for revenge, but this isn't the first time they've had it stuck to them by Carolina this year – the 'Canes have scored 20 goals in the teams' first three matchups. This game should be flooded with offensive production on both sides, particularly with the unimpressive Lack expected to be in net for the home team.
Coyotes (PP: 27, PK: 26) at Kings (PP: 15, PK: 4), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Louis Domingue (7-14-1, 3.20, .899), Ben Bishop (0-1-1, 3.03, .882)
Key Injuries:Dave Bolland (back), Alex Burmistrov (upper body), Kevin Connauton (upper body), Brad Richardson (leg), Matt Greene (undisclosed), Jordan Nolan (leg), Nick Shore (upper body)
The Kings have been power-play marauders in March – eight man-advantage goals in five games – and they draw a Coyotes club that's on the second of back-to-backs and is expected to start terrible backup Domingue (and his 7-14-1 record) in net. Bishop is thus a major person of interest Tuesday as he makes only his third start as a King since being acquired at the trade deadline, and the Kings' scorers are worth some investment as well. A personal favorite, Tyler Toffoli, presents strong DFS value; if you want to play the other side, Vrbata is probably your target.
Other Matchups
Blackhawks (PP: 17, PK: 27) at Canadiens (PP: 12, PK: 17), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Corey Crawford (27-15-3, 2.54, .919), Carey Price (31-16-5, 2.26, .923)
Key Injuries:Brian Flynn (upper body), Tomas Plekanec (upper body)
They may have one of the league's worst penalty kills overall, but the Blackhawks have yet to allow a power-play goal through their first six games of March, a fact helped by a team-wide improvement in staying out of the box – they've had just 10 shorthanded situations in that time.
Lightning (PP: 4, PK: 15) at Senators (PP: 21, PK: 12), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Andrei Vasilevskiy (16-13-6, 2.58, .917), Mike Condon (18-11-5, 2.55, .912)
Key Injuries:Mark Borowiecki (upper body), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Chris Neil (finger), Mark Stone (lower body), Kyle Turris (finger), Ryan Callahan (hip), Tyler Johnson (lower body), Cedric Paquette (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee), Craig Anderson (lower body)
The Bolts are on the second of back-to-backs, but they draw Condon with Anderson ailing. Condon has seen very little work of late; on the other hand, Vasilevskiy has been red-hot (5-0-1 with a 1.46 GAA and .956 save mark in his last six games). Tampa's skaters also have to be feeling good after pulling out Monday's win against the Rangers thanks in no small part to Brayden Point's two goals. Point's new top-line assignment makes him an excellent value again Tuesday.
Maple Leafs (PP: 2, PK: 9) at Panthers (PP: 24, PK: 1), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Frederik Andersen (27-14-13, 2.69, .917), James Reimer (12-12-5, 2.62, .917)
Key Injuries:Aaron Ekblad (concussion), Roberto Luongo (lower body), Denis Malgin (concussion), Michael Sgarbossa (undisclosed), Connor Carrick (upper body)
Reimer has been stepping in for the injured Luongo lately, and the results have been… bad. He's taken the loss in seven straight outings, posting a 3.40 GAA and .911 save mark in that span. Part of the blame goes to Florida's offense, but the defense hasn't been good either; the bottom line is that Andersen makes for a solid value in this one, and with Ekblad hurt, the Leafs' top scorers are well worth deploying too.
Stars (PP: 19, PK: 30) at Oilers (PP: 9, PK: 22), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Antti Niemi (11-10-4, 3.23, .895), Cam Talbot (33-20-8, 2.39, .920)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (undisclosed), Mattias Janmark (knee), Antoine Roussel (hand), Tyler Pitlick (knee)
Talbot and the Oilers have dropped three straight, and in fact the goalie is just 2-4-1 in his last seven outings. Fortunately, they draw the Stars outside of Dallas; Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn still produce points on the road, but the team as a whole has scored only 76 goals in 32 road tilts (2.38 per game) while giving up 116 goals (3.63 per game). So yeah, use your Oilers well.
Sabres (PP: 1, PK: 29) at Sharks (PP: 25, PK: 11), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (19-20-8, 2.66, .921), Martin Jones (31-17-6, 2.27, .916)
Key Injuries:William Carrier (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (upper body), Johan Larsson (wrist), Kyle Okposo (ribs), Melker Karlsson (lower body), David Schlemko (lower body)
Lehner just bounced back from giving up 10 goals over two starts with a shutout, but his Jekyll-and-Hyde ways no longer surprise Sabres fans. It's truly remarkable how good his save percentage still is, considering that the Swede has allowed four-plus goals nine times in his last 19 starts.
Recommended Pickup
Brayden Point, C, TAM – In the NHL, as in most sports leagues, opportunity is everything. As mentioned above, Point is seeing a fantastic opportunity right now, as he's playing with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat on the Bolts' top forward trio, and although Monday's two goals snapped a six-game point drought, the 21-year-old has impressed overall after jumping essentially straight from juniors to the NHL. His 26 points in 54 games don't really pop out at you, but those two consecutive games with more than 20 minutes of ice time sure do.
