This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The NHL had a busy weekend, and Tuesday's schedule is packed, but that leaves Monday to be a light slate for the league. Only two games are taking place, but don't miss out! The first game starts at 8:30 p.m. ET. You have extra time to get your DFS lineups in, and here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No team is on the second leg of a back-to-back, but the Sabres are on the first leg. That's notable, because Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is a higher-caliber of goaltender than the team's other options, so who starts in Seattle and who starts Tuesday on Vancouver should impact DFS decisions. The Rotowire starting goalie grid has Devon Levi slated for Monday, and I will operate under that presumption. Saving Luukkonen for the Canucks, a much better offense, would make sense.
GOALIE
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. WAS ($7,800): The one thing I am confident in here is that Dan Vladar will NOT be starting. If Jacob Markstrom is healthy enough to return, he might be slotted in, though why rush him when the Flames are effectively out of the playoff race? The 22-year-old Wolf is the goalie of the future (skeptical question mark) for the Flames, and he does have a .955 save percentage over his last two starts. He also gave up six goals the Sharks, thus the continued skepticism. The Capitals are in the bottom four in goals and shots on net per contest, so with only four options, I'd take a chance on Wolf.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Jonathan Huberdeau, CGY vs. WAS ($4,400): Huberdeau still is struggling to score goals with the Flames, a far cry from his two 30-goal seasons with the Panthers. However, he has 34 assists in 66 games, including nine in his last 10. Additionally, Huberdeau has tallied 12 points with the extra man, and Washington has a middling penalty kill. Charlie Lindgren also has a .908 save percentage on the road.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kraken vs. Sabres
Jared McCann (C - $6,200), Oliver Bjorkstrand (W - $5,800), Andre Burakovsky (W - $3,100)
I neither love nor hate any of these four matchups Monday. If Levi is in net for this one, though, the Kraken at home do have the best matchup. Seattle has done some lineup recalibrating, leaving this the second line of record for now. Levi, another theoretical goaltender of the future with a lot left to prove (more than Wolf, in fact), has an .895 save percentage in the NHL in his career.
McCann is usually on the wing finishing off goals, which is how he has become the foremost goal scorer in Kraken history. Right now, he's playing center, but his goal-scoring acumen surely remains. McCann has seven goals on 44 shots on net over his last 16 games, but also 11 assists. Bjorkstrand has been overlooked this year, but he has 18 goals and 30 assists in 66 games. That includes 20 points with the extra man. Burakovsky has had trouble being healthy since joining the Kraken, but he's looked good recently (surrounding a two-game absence, admittedly). He has three goals and three assists in his last 10 outings.
DEFENSEMAN
Daniil Miromanov, CGY vs. WAS ($4,700): In five games since joining the Flames in a trade, Miromanov has averaged 20:36 per game in ice time, including 2:51 on the power play. That's helped him tally two goals and 15 shots on net. He's likely not a name you knew until recently, perhaps even until right now, but there's a new level of upside for Miromanov, and Washington's penalty kill is not nearly imposing enough for me to worry.
