This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's Monday night, so the obvious question is, "Are you ready for some… hockey?" Hopefully the answer is "yes," as there are five games on the NHL slate. Here are my recommendations for your daily fantasy lineup based on the 10 teams in action Monday.
GOALIE
Casey DeSmith, PIT vs. ANA ($8,300): Even though Matt Murray is healthy again, DeSmith has earned the right to be called the top goalie for the Penguins. He's posted a 2.46 GAA and .923 save percentage. The Ducks have only managed 2.53 goals per game, perhaps because they've averaged a mere 26.9 shots on net per contest, lowest in the NHL.
CENTER
Pierre-Luc Dubois, CLM vs. VGK ($5,700): Dubois is the first-line center for the Blue Jackets, and has also started 62.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, most among Columbus centers. That's helped him notch 27 points in 32 games. Normally the Golden Knights are good defensively, but they will be on the second night of a back-to-back. Marc-Andre Fleury may be in goal, but he played Sunday, and also he has only sat out two games since the beginning of November. That's a hard pace to maintain.
Ryan Johansen, NAS at OTT ($5,700): Johansen has 26 points in 33 games, including seven on the power play. The 26-year-old has tallied at least 15 points with the extra man in every full season of his career. Ottawa has the 28th-ranked penalty kill, and it also has a league-high 3.88 GAA.
WING
Jake Guentzel, PIT vs. ANA ($6,800): Guentzel has been hot recently, as he has 16 points and 41 shots on net in his last 16 games. Playing with Sidney Crosby as your center will do that. The Ducks have a solid GAA, but only because their goalies have played out of their minds. Anaheim has given up a whopping 35.3 shots on net per contest, second highest in the NHL.
Craig Smith, NAS at OTT ($5,200): Smith's numbers are off the pace of last season, when he had 25 goals on 229 shots, but he does have nine goals on 97 shots through 33 games. This is the kind of matchup that Smith can take advantage of, though. In addition to having a 3.88 GAA, the Senators have given up a league-high 38.1 shots on net per contest.
Josh Anderson, CLM vs. VGK ($4,200): Anderson only has three assists, but he's scored 13 goals on 90 shots, so he has that going for him. He also has a game against a Golden Knights team on the second night of a road back-to-back. Vegas has been quite poor away from home. It has a 3.50 GAA on the road.
DEFENSE
Tyson Barrie, COL vs. NYI ($5,500): Even though he missed a chunk of the season with an injury, Barrie has 23 points in 29 games, including nine on the power play. The Islanders are bottom 10 in the NHL in penalty-kill percentage, and after a hot start their goalies have started to struggle. New York has a .908 save percentage as a team.
Mattias Ekholm, NAS at OTT ($4,500): Ekholm has a point in six of his last seven games. That gives him 21 points on the season. The defensive issues of the Senators are well established at this point. They are last in the league in GAA and shots allowed per game, and they have the 28th-ranked penalty kill as well.
