This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 PM Eastern time and features 11 games. Below, you'll find an overview of the matchups and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are plenty of lopsided matchups to exploit in this one, with the Islanders hosting the Red Wings, the Lightning hosting the Kings and the Maple Leafs hosting the Devils. The Penguins (vs. Minnesota) and Blackhawks (at Ottawa) also hold plenty of fantasy appeal, while some other games in this slate present additional opportunities to find less obvious value options.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8,400) has finally rediscovered his Vezina-winning form from last season. He's won eight consecutive starts for the Lightning, allowing four total goals over the last five. His recent dominance should continue at home against the bottom-three Kings offense (2.51 goals per game).
Tuukka Rask ($8,000) has been kept fresh in a timeshare with Jaroslav Halak, allowing the Finnish netminder to excel on a per-start basis to the tune of a 17-4-6 record, 2.27 GAA and .925 save percentage. His success should continue against a bottom-five Blue Jackets offense that's scoring only 2.63 goals per game.
Thomas Greiss ($8,300) has slipped into a clear backup role behind Semyon Varlamov recently, but the German netminder still owns a solid 12-7-0 record, 2.59 GAA and .919 save percentage. This second leg of New York's back-to-back will afford him an opportunity to further pad those impressive stats against a league-worst Red Wings team that's mustering just 2.15 goals per game.
Aaron Dell ($7,100) has grabbed the reins in San Jose's net recently, going 4-1-0 with nine goals allowed over his past five starts. He offers sneaky-good value against a Coyotes team that's winless in its past three games, with two of those losses coming in shutout fashion.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Nikita Kucherov ($7,400) has gone consecutive games without a point, but he mustered three straight multi-point outings prior to this mini-drought and is due to break out at home against a Kings team that's 7-15-3 outside of Los Angeles. The Lightning winger has been much better on home ice, with a 10-20-30 line in 23 home contests this season compared to a 7-12-19 line over 21 games on the road.
Patrick Kane ($7,700) should be by far the best player on the ice when his Blackhawks visit the lowly Senators, who give up 3.36 goals per game. The superstar winger is yet to be held off the scoresheet since the calendar flipped to 2020, upping his season line to 24-33-57 through 46 games thanks to a six-game point streak heading into this one.
Elias Pettersson ($6,500) leads the Canucks with 19 power-play points, and his seven goals with the extra man are good for a share of the team lead alongside J.T. Miller. The standout sophomore gets a great opportunity to build on his power-play success against Winnipeg's 30th-ranked, 73.3 percent penalty kill.
Max Pacioretty's ($7,600) resurgent season has him leading the Golden Knights in goals (20), points (45), shots (203) and power-play points (14) through 48 games. The latter stat is especially relevant as Vegas gets set to face Buffalo's bottom-five, 75.0 percent penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs vs. Devils
Auston Matthews (C - $7,700), Mitch Marner (W - $7,100), Zach Hyman (W - $5,500)
Only Detroit allows more goals per game than New Jersey's 3.38, so Toronto's surging top line should be worth paying up for. Matthews has a 12-8-20 line in his last 12 games, Marner's at 9-17-26 in his last 16 and Hyman's at 11-8-19 in 27 appearances overall.
Penguins vs. Wild
Evgeni Malkin (C - $7,200), Bryan Rust (W - $7,300), Dominik Kahun (W - $3,300)
Malkin and Rust have both been terrific when healthy, while the affordable Kahun has thrived since being inserted onto this line. Their success should continue at home against a Wild team that's surrendering 3.29 goals per game. Malkin owns a 13-31-44 line in just 32 games played, while Rust is at 18-20-38 in 31 appearances. Kahun has done his best Jake Guentzel impression with Guentzel shelved by an upper-body injury, racking up a goal and four assists over the past three games.
Islanders vs. Red Wings
Mathew Barzal (C - $6,600), Anthony Beauvillier (W - $4,700), Josh Bailey (W - $3,900)
The Islanders usually win with defense, but the team's offense should thrive as well against a Red Wings team that's allowing a league-high 3.78 goals per game. Barzal leads the team in both goals (17) and points (37) through 44 games. Playing alongside the speedy pivot should allow Beauvillier (10-13-23) and Bailey (8-16-24) plenty of opportunities to add to their respectable respective lines in this most favorable of matchups.
DEFENSEMEN
Quinn Hughes ($4,600) is two power-play points short of Pettersson's team lead, so the rookie Canucks blueliner is also well positioned to wreak havoc on the Jets' penalty kill, which ranks second-worst in the league.
John Klingberg ($4,200) is set to return for the Stars in Colorado after missing four games due to a lower-body injury. He was heating up prior to getting hurt, dishing five assists in his last three games.
Erik Gustafsson ($4,000) hasn't been able to sustain his success from last season's 60-point breakout, but his 5-13-18 line through 45 games includes eight points in his last 15 games. Gustafsson's moderate recent improvement suggests he's ready to capitalize on a favorable matchup in Ottawa. With so many enticing high-end forwards in this slate, value blueliners like Gustafsson are key to clearing out the necessary cap space.
If you have a bit more money to spend on the back end, locking in Tyson Barrie ($5,500) of the Maple Leafs should be worth it. Barrie's slow start with Toronto is a distant memory, as he's looked like the guy who scored 116 points in 146 games over his last two seasons with Colorado for a while now. He's produced at a point-per-game pace over his past nine heading into this clash with the lowly Devils.
