This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's a very small slate Monday night in the NHL, as just two games are on the docket. Nights with only a couple of games can be frustrating not just because of the lack of options, but also because the margin between winning and losing is thin. With DFS players all selecting from such a small pool of options, many lineups will be somewhat similar. The difference between cashing or not can be just a few shots on goal or a handful of saves.
CENTER
Jonathan Toews, CHI vs. CGY ($6,400): Instead of using players from the Artemi Panarin-Artem Anisimov-Patrick Kane line, I'm leaning toward Toews, who should see less of the Flames' defensive pairing of Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie, the tandem that has been Calgary's best for a few years now. Per Natural Stattrick, the Kane line starts most often in the offensive zone, while the only defenseman who starts more often in the defensive zone for Calgary more than Brodie and Giordano is Deryk Engelland. Toews should avoid that elite pairing often Monday, which gives his line better matchups against a Flames defense that's been very generous this year.
Tomas Plekanec, MON vs. PHI ($5,500): Alex Galchenyuk will likely be the more highly owned center option for Montreal on this Monday slate, but DFSers have cause for hesitation there. Galchenyuk has seen his ice time decrease in three straight games, and he's been given under 16 minutes in back-to-back games. Plekanec is still sharing some ice time on the power play with David Desharnais, which is a concern, but he's also played at least 15 minutes in all five games this year, including clearing 18 minutes three times.
WING
Troy Brouwer, CGY at CHI ($5,300): While the top-line right wing has been in flux much of this year for Calgary, Brouwer has been a regular on the second line. He also gets top unit power play time, which is the real reason for targeting him for this two-game slate. The season is still young, but Chicago has been atrocious on the penalty kill, having given up by far the most goals (a whopping 12, five more than any other team) while allowing the third-most shot attempts per minute on the penalty kill (again, per Natural Stattrick). They were last in the league in the latter category in 2015-16.
Sam Bennett, CGY at CHI ($3,900): For a little bit of correlation with Troy Brouwer, and to save on the wing at the same time, Sam Bennett is the natural choice. Despite being listed as a winger, Bennett is currently slated to be Brouwer's center Monday, with Kris Versteeg on the other wing. After the Sean Monahan line, Bennett, Versteeg and Brouwer are three of the next four Flames forwards in terms of offensive-zone faceoff percentage.
Artturi Lehkonen, MON vs. PHI ($3,500): Despite not getting significant power-play time, Lehkonen has been a shooting machine this year. With 14 shots in five games, he's tied for second on the Habs in that category. His bargain-basemen price means that he doesn't even need to register a point to reach value; something like four shots on goal and a blocked shot gets him close. Skating on the second line with Tomas Plekanec and Alexander Radulov offers scoring upside, too.
Richard Panik, CHI vs. CGY ($4,300): Although the rate at which Panik is currently scoring – six goals on nine shots – is not going to sustain itself, that doesn't mean he can't be productive. He's earning more than 16 minutes a game with Jonathan Toews as his center, including time on the second power-play unit. Like Toews, he should avoid the Giordano-Brodie pairing from Calgary more than the Anisimov line will, and that's the reason for using him. For those who don't want to pay the high price for Toews, but still want exposure to him in this matchup, Panik is the guy to use.
DEFENSE
Brent Seabrook, CHI vs. CGY ($5,600): Per Hockey Analysis, since the start of the 2014 season, Seabrook has more points per 60 minutes on the power play (5.38) than teammate Duncan Keith (4.24). In fact, among the 53 defensemen with at least 300 minutes of power-play time, Seabrook is third in the NHL in points per 60 minutes, behind only Kevin Shattenkirk and Kris Letang. Seabrook shoots much more often (14.53 shots per 60 minutes) than Keith (9.65), which leads to more goals as well as rebounds that turn into assists. He's the guy to target on Chicago's blue line Monday.
Jeff Petry, MON vs. PHI ($4,200): In the same vein as Lehkonen, Petry doesn't need to tally a point to reach value at his price. While there is a clear divide in ice time between the Shea Weber-Andrei Markov pairing, and the Petry-Nathan Beaulieu pairing, it's still nice to see Petry averaging more than two minutes a game of power-play time. The Flyers' penalty kill ranks 21st in the league so far, which bodes well for both Montreal units.
GOALIE
Carey Price, MON vs. PHI ($9,400): It's always hard to pay such a high price for a goaltender, but for those wanting to avoid Price, it's necessary to look at the rest of the options. Both road goalies in Monday's games play for teams in the bottom half of the league in adjusted shot attempts against per minute. The difference between Price and Corey Crawford on Monday may be Chicago's aforementioned struggling penalty kill.
