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There are five notable mismatches among the eight NHL games included in the featured contests at DraftKings on Tuesday. Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Carolina, Washington and Toronto are all notable favorites, whereas the Panthers and Bruins are both receiving road chalk. The marquee matchups of the evening are the Maple Leafs-Jets and Bruins-Islanders clashes, as both will have an immediate impact on each of their division’s standings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $150K Hockey Week Puck Drop Finale [$50K to 1st]
Top Line Stacks
Bruins at Islanders
Brad Marchand ($7,600) - Patrice Bergeron ($7,700) - David Pastrnak ($9,000)
There’s potential for Boston’s No. 1 line to fly under the radar a little Tuesday, especially with their high cap hit and tough matchup. New York has surrendered the third fewest goals per game in the league and have only lost once in regulation through the past 16 games. Still, Bergeron, Pastrnak and Marchand have clicked for an elite 6.19 goals per 60 minutes over the past three seasons.
Flyers vs. Sabres
James van Riemsdyk ($6,900) - Sean Couturier ($7,100) - Joel Farabee ($6,100)
This is a plus-matchup for Philadelphia’s No. 1 line with Buffalo allowing the fourth most goals per hour at 5-on-5 in the league. Couturier, Farabee and van Riemsdyk has piled up an impressive 15 goals and 19 assists through the past nine games to climb to a high-end 5.72 goals per 60 minutes. Expect them to be popular targets Tuesday.
Lightning at Red Wings
Alex Killorn ($5,000) - Yanni Gourde ($4,200) - Steven Stamkos ($7,500)
A new-look line with a modest cap hit, Killorn, Gourde and Stamkos combined for three tallies, three helpers and five high-danger scoring chances in Sunday’s 6-3 win over Chicago, and Tampa Bay draws an even softer opponent Tuesday. Detroit has surrendered the third most goals per game in the league and has the second worst penalty-kill percentage (69.9).
Superstar to Build Around
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils ($8,300) - Even with a goal last time out, No. 8 has only scored three times on 47 shots (6.4 shooting percentage) through the past 12 games. Only one of the goals came with the man advantage, too. Considering New Jersey sports the worst penalty-kill percentage in the league, look for Ovechkin to have plenty of quality chances to capitalize on.
Value on Offense
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets ($5,400) - This is an egregious salary. Not only does Huberdeau sport a three-game point streak consisting of two goals and three assists, he also ranks fourth in the league in points per 60 minutes with a 4.19 mark. The matchup isn’t daunting, either. Columbus has surrendered the seventh most goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five and have a 24th-ranked 74.2 penalty-kill percentage, after all.
Daniel Sprong, Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils ($2,500) - With a contest-minimum salary, Sprong is worth considering. He’s projected to skate in a top-six role and receiving secondary power-play minutes, and the 23-year-old winger has a high-end offensive track record in both the AHL and QMJHL.
Stud Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings ($8,400) - This salary probably isn’t prohibitive enough to cross Vasilevskiy off the potential starters list. He’s won six straight games and boasts an elite .939 save percentage and 1.73 GAA for the campaign, and the Lightning are the largest favorites on the docket. Additionally, Detroit has scored the fewest goals per game in the league and sport the second worst power-play percentage.
Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders vs. Boston Bruins ($7,600) - Boston is definitely not a pushover, and are actually short road favorites here. However, the Islanders are cruising along the noted 12-2-2 stretch, and Varlamov boasts a high-end .926 save percentage and 2.10 GAA with three shutouts this season. The salary doesn’t match the production, and there’s also potential he’s not a popular target.
Kevin Lankinen, Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars ($7,500) - The Stars have only scored 24 goals during their current 2-7-4 stretch, which has plummeted them down to the third fewest five-on-five goals per 60 minutes (1.88) this season. Lankinen has definitely been inconsistent this season, but the peaks and valleys are built into his salary, and his year-long numbers are still respectable: 9-4-4 record, .919 save percentage and 2.76 GAA.
Value on Defense
Keith Yandle, Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets ($4,400) - As noted, there’s nothing scary about a matchup with the Blue Jackets, and Yandle’s price seems seriously out of whack. He’s collected three assists through the past three games, quarterbacks the No. 1 power-play unit and sports a fifth-ranked 2.03 points per 60 minutes among all regular defensemen in the league.
Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars ($3,600) - The floor and ceiling are both relatively low for Boqvist, but he does have seven points through his past eight games and runs the No. 1 power-play unit. Additionally, he starts 64.8 percent of his five-on-five shifts in the offensive zone. Dallas also has a middling 78.4 penalty-kill percentage.
Power-Play Defenseman
John Carlson, Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils ($6,100) - Another Capital to target with the noted favorable special-teams matchup in mind, Carlson leads all regular defensemen in points per 60 minutes over the past three years and also registered two assists in his most recent game against the Devils. The veteran also boasts an incredibly high floor with an average of 24:14 of ice time per game (3:04 on the power play), high shot volume (11.35 shot attempts per hour) and willingness to block shots.
Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Winnipeg Jets ($5,600) - Look for a breakout showing from Rielly. He’s only found the scoresheet in two of the past seven games despite logging 24:29 of ice time with 3:42 on the power play. The Jets have surrendered the most high-danger scoring chances per 60 minuets in the league at five-on-five and sport a target-worthy 77.1 penalty-kill percentage, so the matchup isn’t daunting, either. Even with his recent cold stretch, Rielly’s 1.84 points per 60 minutes rank 16th among defensemen this season.
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