This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are two games on the slate with three of the five games postponed due to COVID-19. It'll be a light schedule until at least after Christmas since the NHL has postponed play for five teams, and note that Vancouver and Toronto had all of their weekend games postponed, as well.
That leaves Columbus at Buffalo and Minnesota at Dallas for Monday night. In both cases, the road team should be favored, even if Dallas has been very good at home. For Columbus and Buffalo, this is the first game of their home-and-home series, and the next game will be held in Columbus on Thursday.
GOALIES
Malcolm Subban, BUF vs. CBJ ($6,500): Subban made 45 saves in his last start against Pittsburgh, including a blind behind-the-back save that helped the Sabres earn a point despite the loss in overtime. Subban seems to be favored over Ukka-Pekka Luukonen, who had held the fort wonderfully for five games, but in both cases the Sabres have a bit more momentum with two wins in their past three while the Jackets have lost four of their past five. It's a contrarian play but there's definitely some upset potential.
Cam Talbot, MIN at DAL ($7,900): The Stars are at home where they're 10-2-1, but there's little question the Wild are the better team even though they've lost three straight. The upset potential is also fairly high in this matchup, and since Talbot has been excellent on the road this season (8-5-0, .925 Sv%, 2.56 GAA), this could also be a good value play.
VALUE PLAYS
Brett Murray, BUF vs. CBJ ($3,200): Murray's role has increased ever so slightly since getting called up, averaging roughly 15 minutes over his past five games when he played over 15 minutes just once in his first eight games. He'll play alongside Dylan Cozens and Kyle Okposo, who has been a surprising contributor this season with 20 points in 30 games and on pace for arguably his best season as a Sabre. Murray is a low-event player, meaning he doesn't register a lot of shots or much of anything else for fantasy purposes, but he's in a good spot and will also play PP2.
LINE STACKS
Wild at Stars
Ryan Hartman (C - $6,600), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $8,000), Mats Zuccarello (W - $6,200)
This matchup may seem like a potentially low-scoring game since both teams have few elite scorers and good defense and goaltending. However, three of their past five matchups featured at least one team that scored at least six goals, and the Wild have won each of their past four matchups by a 15-5 margin. Kaprizov had four points in their last meeting.
Blue Jackets at Sabres
Cole Sillinger (C - $3,700), Gustav Nyquist (W - $3,200), Yegor Chinakhov (W - $3,100)
Line stack options aren't very plentiful with only two games, but this could be a sneaky one. Sillinger and Chinakhov has showed good chemistry in the past, and Nyquist is shooting a career-high 19.2 percent though the drawback he's recorded only 26 shots in 28 games. Just in case the Sabres' goaltending implodes, which it can at any point, this stack could pay huge dividends.
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Dumba, MIN at DAL ($4,600): Defensemen might be a big factor in this game on offense considering both teams don't have a lot of talent up front. Dumba's been excellent this season and just had his four-game assist streak snapped, but he's generally been a good option against the Stars with six goals and 12 points in 24 career games against them.
Jake Bean, CBJ at BUF ($4,400): Bean was a quiet pickup by the Jackets but he's played a pretty big role for them this season. He's scored five points in his past five games and played more than 25 minutes in three of them. The Sabres defense bleeds shots and Bean's one of the Jackets' most reliable puck movers.
John Klingberg, DAL vs. MIN ($4,000): Klingberg's on a heater with a four-game point streak and played 27 minutes against Chicago in his last game. When Klingberg is scoring like this, he's a better option than Miro Heiskanen, who has not scored a single point in December.
