This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
The return of Auston Matthews means the Rangers at Leafs matchup will have the highest over/under at 6.5, while the Ducks at Flames and Blues at Coyotes matchups feature the lowest at 5.5.
The Flyers (-142) have the lowest odds among favourites, and perhaps deservedly so with Carter Hart's abysmal season debut against the Canucks after allowing four goals and saving zero shots in the shootout.
GOALIES
Carter Hart, PHI vs. SEA ($8,100): Hart can be a gut-wrenching pick because he allows so many bad goals, but he's got a pretty deep team in front of him and in their opener came back from a two-goal deficit to at least force overtime. The Kraken are playing their fourth game in seven nights, all on the road, and so far, have displayed a lot of speed and depth but don't really have a star player.
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. ANH ($7,800): Markstrom allowed four goals, but three of them were from Connor McDavid. It's more concerning the Flames put 47 shots on goal but managed to only score twice, which means with the Ducks' goaltending off to such a good start, the Flames might have trouble providing goal support again. This is life under Darryl Sutter, but at least the Ducks should be a lot easier to outscore.
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. ARI ($7,500): This should be a good value play after the Blues' win over the Avs in their season opener after getting swept by them in the playoffs. The Coyotes, on the other hand, were blown out 8-2 in Andre Tourigny's coaching debut and scored just one goal against the Sabres backup, Dustin Tokarski.
VALUE PLAYS
Brandon Saad, STL vs. ARI ($4,400): Saad played 17 minutes on the top line and scored an assist along with three blocked shots in the season opener. He's an excellent value play against a team that has holes all over the lineup and Loui Eriksson playing a top-six role.
Derick Brassard, PHI vs. SEA ($3,600): Brassard played well enough to remain the No. 2 center with Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson on his wings, and he's getting some opportunities on the power play as well. The Kraken might be a little tired playing their fourth road game in seven days, while the Flyers have played just once and managed to score four goals against Thatcher Demko.
Ryan Donato, SEA at PHI ($3,600): His role is increasing, going from the low-teens of ice time to eclipsing 15 minutes against the Jackets. The Kraken have scored by committee, and Donato's been one of the most effective so far. Linemate Brandon Tanev is also off to a terrific start, and their forechecking ability might cause problems in the Flyers' end, especially if the puck gets near the crease where, Hart seems to be prone to losing track of it.
LINE STACKS
Flames vs. Ducks
Elias Lindholm (C - $6,600), Johnny Gaudreau (W - $6,500), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $6,700)
Sutter played each of these guys over 21 minutes on Saturday, and even though the Flames scored just two goals, it's obvious which line he's going to lean on. They'll have an easier chance at scoring against the Ducks, who have been surprisingly good so far but may not have starter John Gibson available due to injury.
Flyers vs. Kraken
Sean Couturier (C - $6,600), Claude Giroux ($5,800), Travis Konecny ($5,300)
This line doubles as the Flyers' top power-play unit, and they combined for two goals and four points in the season opener against the Canucks. The Kraken have invested a lot into their goaltending, but the results have been mediocre so far.
Maple Leafs vs. Rangers
Auston Matthews (C - $8,600), Mitch Marner (W - $7,700), Nick Ritchie (W – $4,200)
Ritchie helps lower the cost of this line stack, and he might be a good fit because he's strong and good around the net -- useful for getting loose pucks in the crease from the shots Matthews and Marner generate.
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Fox, NYR at TOR ($6,600): Fox has continued where he left off with three points in three games, and certainly has the most upside among defensemen for Monday's slate. The Rangers are averaging just two goals per game, but Fox is not the one struggling.
Torey Krug, STL at ARI ($5,600): Krug is their quarterback on a stacked power play and over the past few seasons has been one of the most reliable defensemen in fantasy. He faces a team that hasn't taken a lot of penalties so far, but has also allowed more power-play goals than successful penalty kills. It's a small sample size, but the Coyotes are struggling out of the gate.
Keith Yandle, PHI vs. SEA ($4,500): Yandle played third-pairing minutes but collected two helpers in the season opener, including one on the power play. That's where all of his fantasy value will come from, and it's a very talented top unit that went 1-for-3 against the Canucks.
