This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a big Monday slate again with 20 teams in action, with Columbus, Buffalo and Anaheim looking for their first wins. Expect to see lineup changes for Philadelphia (Sean Couturier, ribs) and Arizona (Oliver Ekman-Larsson, undisclosed) due to injuries, so look for Morgan Frost and Kyle Capobianco to draw in. It is early in the season, but last year's trend of high-scoring games (3.07 G/GP entering Sunday vs. 3.02 last season) and hyper-efficient power plays (20.81% vs. 20.03%) has persisted, while the quality of goaltending (2.91 GAA/.904 Sv% vs. 2.82 GAA/.910 Sv%) seems to have slipped.
Interesting to note: teams who were playing their third game in four nights over the weekend were 0-2-1 (Edmonton, Vancouver, Washington). Fatigue is going to be a huge factor, and that means prospects and fringe players may see more action, providing a good stream of potential value plays depending on matchups and role. Toronto is only team playing their third game in four nights today after splitting the weekend series against Ottawa.
GOALIES
Cam Talbot, MIN at ANH ($7,600): The Wild are off to an exciting start, but the truth is they could easily be 0-2. The good news is the Ducks offense is non-existent and John Gibson hasn't been particularly sharp. With Kirill Kaprizov, they now have the requisite talent to provide Talbot with better goal support after finishing 12th in GF/GP last season.
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. SJ ($7,500): The Sharks are still a one-line team at the moment, though Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns plenty of offense from the back end. The Blues' 8-0 loss to the Avs was very uncharacteristic, so they should bounce back with a better effort. The Blues have won five straight against the Sharks going back to the 2019 playoffs.
Thatcher Demko, VAN at CGY ($7,300): The Flames are favored but there's one big change for the Canucks: J.T. Miller. The Canucks will be better on offense, especially the power play, and more puck possession means fewer chances for the Flames. Worst-case scenario, Demko faces a lot of shots and saves a bunch of them. He faced 46 shots against Edmonton and finished with 12.8 fantasy points Friday.
Joonas Korpisalo, CBJ at DET ($7,000): The Jackets are playing much better than their record suggests and the Wings are outperforming relative to their underlying stats. In other words, the Jackets are due for a win and the Wings are probably going to be as bad as we thought they were. Matinee games tend to be clunky and more unpredictable, but the Jackets are clearly the better team.
VALUE PLAYS
Kevin Hayes, PHI vs. BUF ($5,700): He's going to soak up a lot of Couturier's minutes, who will miss at least two weeks with a rib injury. Hayes has three points in two games and continued where he left off last season. The Flyers outscored the Sabres 9-2 last season with Hayes picking up two assists in two games.
Elias Lindholm, CGY vs. VAN ($5,400): He's looking more and more like a legit No. 1 center and being priced this low is kind of insulting. The Canucks defense has not been good, allowing 37 shots a night. Lindholm has played over 20 minutes in each of his first two games and against the Canucks on Saturday notched an apple and two shots on goal.
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN at ANH ($4,700): The hype surrounding him was unbelievable, but so has his play. He may have needed a little luck, but there's no denying the results: four points and four shots in two games, and providing the Wild offense with a spark not seen since Marian Gaborik.
Conor Garland, ARI at VGK ($4,500): He's been surprisingly good with three points and nine shots in his first two games of the season. His breakout 22-goal campaign last season seems to be no fluke, and even though this is a tough matchup for Arizona, Vegas has not been as good as expected. Garland has four points in six career games against them.
Josh Anderson, MON at EDM ($4,400): We sometimes forget how good he is because he hadn't played for so long. He's been excellent for the Habs with two goals and 10 shots on goal. The Habs attack is very balanced, so this is good value compared to some of his more expensive teammates.
Vincent Trocheck, CAR at NSH ($4,400): It's usually quantity over quality for Trocheck but that's a good thing in fantasy. He's averaging 15.05 fantasy points with a goal and 10 shots in two games this season. With Jordan Staal (quarantine) out of the lineup, that opens up a lot of opportunities for Trocheck.
Robert Thomas, STL vs. SJ ($4,300): He's going to stick as their No. 2 center, for sure. The Blues' coaches trust him, he has two assists in two games and played relatively well despite losing 8-0 last game. The Sharks' best defensemen are known for their offense and as a group they're severely lacking in quality depth.
Martin Necas, CAR at NSH ($3,800): He's been very quiet so far but the underlying numbers suggest he's just getting unlucky (.900 PDO). This is a great value play for a top-six scoring winger even if he's slumping.
LINE STACKS
Flyers vs. Sabres
Morgan Frost (C - $3,200), Travis Konecny (W – $7,200), Oskar Lindblom (W - $3,800)
Frost is a very skilled playmaker who should be in the Flyers' top six sooner than later. Lindblom is a value play on his own, though he doesn't have the same upside as Frost or Konecny. Sabres goalies have allowed seven goals on just 48 shots this season (.854 Sv%).
Wild at Ducks
Nick Bonino (C - $3,900), Kevin Fiala (W - $6,500), Marcus Johansson (W - $4,400)
Minnesota's centers are not worth picking no matter what, but stacking against the Ducks seems too good to pass up. Fiala has not scored but ranks fifth in the league with 13 shots even though everyone ahead of him has played one more game. Analytically-speaking, this line has also been slightly better than Kaprizov's line at 5-on-5 per Natural Stat Trick.
Canucks at Flames
Elias Pettersson (C - $7,100), Brock Boeser (W - $6,800), J.T. Miller (W - $7,200)
Vancouver's famed Lotto Line is now re-united with Miller joining the team yesterday after finishing his quarantine. With apologies to Jake Virtanen, every member of this line is dangerous and capable of scoring. Last season, the dynamite trio had a 58.3 CF% at 5v5 during the season that jumped to 64.71 CF% against the Flames.
DEFENSEMEN
Jeff Petry, MON at EDM ($5,300): It's like getting Shea Weber but without the premium. Petry has four points in two games and remains one of the most consistent DFS plays. Even without the points, you'll get shots and blocked shots.
Matt Dumba, MIN at ANH ($4,400): He has two points and nine shots through two games and averages over 23 minutes a game, including 4:53 on the power play. Dean Evason barely plays his third pair so the Wild's top four play a lot of minutes.
Alexander Romanov, MON at EDM ($3,900): He gets pretty involved for someone who isn't getting a lot of ice time, registering six shots and blocking another six while averaging 18 minutes per game. He's physical and plays well at both ends, giving him a reliable fantasy floor.
Jakob Chychrun, ARI at VGK ($3,900): It won't be long before he becomes the best player on that team, and he's poised to play a lot tonight with Ekman-Larsson out of the lineup. He's the most likely candidate to take his place on the top power play.
Filip Hronek, DET vs. CBJ ($3,700): We should be talking a lot more about this guy's offense. He scored 31 points last season even though he had nobody to pass to and continues to be overlooked because he plays on Detroit. Hronek is a high-upside defenseman.
