This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a busy night with 14 games, with only the Senators and Canucks playing the second game of a back-to-back. This is also the beginning of a taxing schedule for the Central Division teams; the Lightning, Hurricanes, Panthers and Stars, who are all in action tonight, have all played four games or less so far this season, and will essentially be playing every other day. They'll be making full use of their taxi squad to ensure their players stay fresh, especially for the Stars, who already have injuries to key players (Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz).
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Avalanche (-235), Stars (-210), Flyers (-164) and Islanders (-152) as the biggest favorites, and the upset potential does appear to be minimal. Only the Isles are coming off a loss, but the Capitals could be heavily shorthanded after Lars Eller and Nicklas Backstrom both suffered injuries last game. The Rangers-Sabres (-108) matchup is the only game with even odds.
(Fancy stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick)
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, COL vs. SJ ($8,400): The Avs pumped seven goals past the Sharks on Tuesday and there's little reason to think the Sharks can, or will, get their revenge. Grubauer doesn't have to be sharp in this game; the Sharks have the league's worst Sv% at 5-on-5 at .892 and the Avs are sixth in the league averaging 3.57 GF/GP.
Anton Khudobin, DAL vs. DET ($8,200): Both teams have injuries to key players but Dallas' defense and special teams should tilt the scales, and they're heavily favored by FanDuel Sportsbook. The Stars own the league's best power play (56.3%) while the Wings have the seventh-worst penalty kill (72.7%). Khudobin has allowed just two goals on 43 shots at 5-on-5.
Carter Hart, PHI at NJ ($8,100): Count on a better start from Hart after he allowed six goals against the Bruins in his last start. Last season, Hart allowed five or more goals just four times, and three times in the following game he allowed just one goal.
Semyon Varlamov, NYI at WSH ($7,900): Along with the four Capitals already sitting out due to COVID protocol, they also may not have Backstrom or Eller, leaving huge holes down the middle of their lineup — a position where the Isles have plenty of depth. Varlamov ranks second in the league in GSAA.
Braden Holtby, VAN vs. OTT ($7,700): After a sketchy first period on Wednesday, the Canucks dominated the Sens the rest of the way and through two games have outscored them 12-2. When they can provide goal support like that, the wins should come a lot easier. Holtby has struggled (.888 Sv%) but the Canucks should be able to sweep.
VALUE PLAYS
Craig Smith, BOS vs. PIT ($4,400): Smith moves up to the top line following an injury to Jake DeBrusk, and he led the team with seven shots Tuesday against the Pens. He's on a three-game point streak playing with two of the best players in the league. The Pens defense and goaltending have both struggled this season.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA at CBJ ($4,300): The doubters keep coming in but all Verhaeghe has done is score. Despite being an unproven scorer in the NHL, Verhaeghe has scored five points through three games playing on the top line. He's a high-volume shooter and the Panthers throttled the Jackets last game with a 67.7 CF%; Verhaeghe led the team with 24 chances.
Kasperi Kapanen, PIT at BOS ($4,000): He played 17 minutes and scored the game-tying goal in the third period after moving up the depth chart following an injury to Evan Rodrigues. He's looked very good so far with three points in four games and has shown he can produce without help from Evgeni Malkin, who has been struggling.
Jesse Puljujarvi, EDM vs. TOR ($3,800): This should be a tougher matchup than the Jets, but it looks like Puljujarvi has found a new permanent home on Connor McDavid's right wing. He had just one apple against the Jets but pitched in with nine shots.
Jack Roslovic, CBJ vs. FLA ($3,600): Roslovic will make his debut for his hometown Jackets and he's slated to play on a line with Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson. He may have to shake off some rust, but he's also being put in an offensive role right away and will feature on the second power-play unit as well.
Ryan Donato, SJ at COL ($3,600): Donato has scored two points in consecutive games and he was one of the Sharks' best forwards in a blowout loss. Since moving up to the top line, he's registered at least five shots in two of his past three games.
Dylan Cozens, BUF vs. NYR ($3,600): He's played sparingly, but his offensive upside is obvious and he brings extra value playing on the second power-play unit. The Rangers have two very talented goalies but neither have reached their potential; they rank 22nd with a .913 Sv% at 5-on-5.
Brock McGinn, CAR vs. TB ($3,000): He'll ride shotgun on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov while Teuvo Teravainen sits due to injury. The Hurricanes are at home and they get last change, which gives head coach Rod Brind'Amour the advantage when matching lines. McGinn's offensive ceiling isn't high but he's in a good position to capitalize on scoring chances created by his elite linemates.
LINE STACKS
Islanders at Capitals
Mathew Barzal (C - $6,700), Jordan Eberle (W - $5,500), Anders Lee (W - $7,200)
For what Lee brings to the table, his salary is pretty high, but the Caps are very shorthanded, especially at center ice. This gives Barzal a chance to shine. Lee, Barzal and Eberle rank 1-2-3 on the team in shots, respectively.
Panthers at Capitals
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,100), Anthony Duclair (W - $4,700), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $4,300)
This line has been brilliant for the Panthers, generating 48 (!) chances and allowing just 25 in 35:25 of 5-on-5 play, which equates to a 65.75 CF%. Individually, Duclair, Verhaeghe and Barkov rank fifth, 12th and 34th in the league in CF%.
Stars vs. Red Wings
Joe Pavelski (C - $6,700), Alexander Radulov (W - $6,200), Tanner Kero (W - $3,300)
There's huge upside with Pavelski and Radulov with the Stars PP cooking at a 56.3% clip. Kero can be excluded from this stack because he doesn't bring a lot of offense, though he did get three shots on goal last game.
Avalanche vs. Sharks
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,500), Mikko Rantanen (W - $7,900), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $6,500)
Expensive, but worthwhile. They turned the Sharks defense and goaltending into chum last game, generating 14 chances in limited ice time thanks to a blowout win.
Canucks vs. Senators
Elias Pettersson (C - $6,400), Brock Boeser (W - $6,500), J.T. Miller (W - $6,700)
The "Lotto Line" took a while to get going but ran roughshod against the Sens, pitching in with three goals, and the power play is finally starting to click. Best part? Pettersson and Miller both said post-game they could do better.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL vs. SJ ($6,000): He put up three apples on a relatively easy night in his last game, skating just 20 minutes. Tonight's rubber match should be tougher, but Makar quarterbacks one of the best power plays in the league.
John Klingberg, DAL vs. DET ($5,900): Klingberg's moved ahead of Miro Heiskanen on the depth chart again and through three games has a goal and five assists. Ride Klingberg while he's got the hot hand, especially against a team that has been horrible on defense.
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. OTT ($5,500): Hughes has scored six points in his past five games and virtually played every minute of the Canucks' power play last game. His upside is massive against a team that's struggling to keep pucks out of their net.
Ivan Provorov, PHI at NJ ($5,300): I like Provorov as a value play because he plays such a big role. He had three points on two shots and two blocked shots last game.
Charlie McAvoy, BOS vs. PIT ($4,500): If Matt Grzelcyk plays, forget about McAvoy, who will get bumped off PP1. McAvoy had three assists – one each at even strength, power play and penalty kill – and blocked another two shots in 27 minutes against Pittsburgh.
Adam Fox, NYR at BUF ($4,300): He runs the power play and will face Buffalo's 22nd-ranked PK. Fox has registered at least one shot or one blocked shot in every single game and leads all Rangers defensemen with five points. Fox is a strong value play.
Ty Smith, NJ vs. PHI ($3,900): It's unfortunate his point streak was snapped, but the bright side is he played a career-high 20:53 last game, including 1:01 on the power play with the top unit. Philly has one of the worst PK's in the league, ranking 29th at 65.2%.
