This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a 10-game slate for Monday with five games starting at 7 p.m. EDT, highlighted by Oilers at Canadiens. Expect to see a lot of movement in the West Division standings by the end of the night will all eight teams in action.
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, COL vs. ARI ($8,600): Grubauer continues his dominant run with three shutouts in his past six games, all of which were wins, including one against the Coyotes. The Avalanche are allowing just two goals per game in four games against them.
Alex Nedeljkovic, CAR at CBJ ($8,200): Nedeljkovic held the Jackets to two goals before losing in overtime, snapping a four-game winning streak. The Hurricanes are clearly the better team, but the Jackets have the edge in the season series with three wins, though two of have come in overtime and all three were decided by just one goal. If they can provide enough goal support, Nedeljkovic should be in line for a win.
Cam Talbot, MIN vs. ANH ($8,000): This is a good chance for the Wild to bounce back after two defeats against the Avs in which they were outscored 11-1. They're 3-1 against the Ducks this season with just five goals allowed, though the challenge may be a little tougher with the Ducks bringing up their young talent from the AHL.
Thatcher Demko, VAN vs. WPG ($7,700): Demko will remain a strong value play as long as the Canucks keep allowing a high volume of shots even if he doesn't get the win. That being said, Demko has won four straight games and has arguably been the league's best goalie over the past month. The Jets offense has struggled recently, scoring just eight goals in regulation in their past four games.
Jacob Markstrom, CGY at OTT ($7,600): The Flames are still struggling to find consistency in the Darryl Sutter regime, which makes this matchup kind of scary because they're just 2-2-1 against the Senators this season. They've alternated wins and losses which means the Flames might be due, and Markstrom has won four of his past five games.
Alexandar Georgiev, NYR vs. BUF ($7,500): The Sabres' futility has reached 13 games, but considering how well the Rangers fared against the Capitals, their woes don't seem likely to end Monday. The Rangers have been quite good on defense all season, but other than an overtime loss to the Flyers have allowed three goals in their past four games.
VALUE PLAYS
Andreas Athanasiou, LA at SJ ($3,700): He hasn't scored in five games but all things considered, Athanasiou has been pretty consistent at generating offense all season. He gets a good matchup against the Sharks, who have allowed 14 goals in four games after a strong defensive showing against the Ducks.
Trevor Zegras, ANH at MIN ($3,400): It seems like the Ducks are pretty intent on playing Zegras, who has played 16 minutes in four of his past five games and become a focal point of their power play.
Josh Archibald, EDM at MON ($3,100): Archibald will go only as far as Leon Draisaitl can carry him, and at least he's probably a better value play than Dominik Kahun ($3,600), who usually plays fewer minutes.
LINE STACKS
Rangers vs. Sabres
Mika Zibanejad (C - $7,200), Chris Kreider (W - $6,800), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $5,600)
Zibanejad and Buchnevich combined for four points against the Caps in their most recent game, and this is a valuable line stack when Zibanejad is scoring. The anchor on this line is Kreider, who provides a lot of intangibles but not a lot of fantasy value because he leaves much of it to his linemates.
Islanders at Flyers
Brock Nelson (C - $5,600), Anthony Beauvillier (W - $4,200), Josh Bailey (W - $4,500)
Each of them found the score sheet in the last game and I feel more confident about this line's ability to generate offense with Leo Komarov on the top line. Any bet against the Flyers' goaltending this season is a good bet.
Avalanche at Coyotes
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,800), Mikko Rantanen (W - $8,400), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $6,600)
It's a pricey line stack but it could also be the most productive one with the Oilers splitting up Connor McDavid and Draisaitl again. Landeskog usually is the laggard on this line, but he's on a four-game point streak with two goals and six assists.
DEFENSEMEN
Dougie Hamilton, CAR at CBJ ($6,500): Hamilton's record-setting point streak continues to chug along with an assist in each of his past two games against the Jackets. The Canes' transition offense depends a lot on Hamilton, and his playmaking ability remains elite, making him one of the better options on Monday.
Shea Theodore, VGK vs. STL ($6,400): He was held without a point in his last game but finished with six shots. He's back in the conversation among elite DFS options on the blue line, with the only concern being the Blues' improved defensive play with Jaden Schwartz back in the lineup, allowing just three goals in their past two games.
Cale Makar, COL at ARI ($6,300): Makar rounds out the elite group for Monday, and it's a good matchup against the Coyotes, who will either start Antti Raanta (3.11 GAA) or Adin Hill (.908 Sv%), and neither are particularly strong options for them.
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. WPG ($5,300): The Canucks are winning again, and that usually means Hughes is also finding the score sheet. He's notched six assists in his past seven games.
Noah Hanifin, CGY at OTT ($3,900): Hanifin has seen a little more usage under Sutter and it's a good matchup against the North's worst team. He's scored three points in his past four games, which presents nearly half of his season total.
Jamie Drysdale, ANH at MIN ($3,500): He's not really flying under the radar after a strong debut, and in his second NHL game already looks like he may take over the power play from Kevin Shattenkirk. The Wild's defense has suffered without Marcus Foligno and Matt Dumba in the lineup.
