This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
We've got a hearty Tuesday slate of NHL action on the heels of Monday's quiet evening, so let's hop right in.
Featured Matchups
Stars (PP: 14, PK: 26) at Red Wings (PP: 24, PK: 21), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Kari Lehtonen (4-6-3, 3.38, .884), Petr Mrazek (5-5-2, 3.07, .898)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Jiri Hudler (illness), Mattias Janmark (knee), Johnny Oduya (lower body), Andreas Athanasiou (knee), Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Johan Franzen (concussion), Darren Helm (upper body), Jimmy Howard (groin), Alexey Marchenko (upper body), Brendan Smith (knee), Joe Vitale (concussion)
If you like offense – and who doesn't? – this projects as the place to find it Tuesday. Both Lehtonen and Mrazek have struggled in net this year, and both have been even worse in November than they were in October. The Finnish veteran owns a 3.85 GAA and .875 save mark this month, and the young Czech's numbers aren't much better at 3.23 and .882. Lehtonen has a spotty career track record against Detroit, while Mrazek's never started against Dallas. Neither of these teams has been an offensive dynamo, but they both have an opportunity to build their scoring stats in this one. Detroit gets a bit of an extra edge, as the Stars are on the back end of road back-to-backs, and they didn't play terribly well in Monday's loss to Montreal. Rookie Julius Honka makes for an interesting low-dollar DFS play thanks to his man-advantage role and Detroit's unimpressive penalty kill; I welcome you to roll out the Stars' two studs and breakout veteran winger Patrick Eaves as well. On the side of the banged-up Wings, Gustav Nyquist and Anthony Mantha look like nice values.
Sabres (PP: 11, PK: 20) at Senators (PP: 29, PK: 5), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (5-7-3, 2.38, .922), Craig Anderson (12-4-1, 2.03, .936)
Key Injuries:Zach Bogosian (knee), Nicolas Deslauriers (knee), Tyler Ennis (groin), Dmitry Kulikov (back), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
The NHL's hottest team over the last 10 games (7-2-1), Ottawa has been stunningly successful behind Anderson, who's set to start Tuesday and then take another leave of absence to be with his ailing wife. Surprisingly, his personal issues haven't affected his play on the ice; if anything, Anderson's elite stat line far outpaces our preseason expectations, with Sunday's shutout of the NHL's top offense, the Rangers, particularly serving notice to the league. The Sabres have been struggling on offense all year, so Jack Eichel's return couldn't have come too soon; you'll notice that the young star was unlisted on the injury list, reflecting his expected return Tuesday night. Give the kid a game or two to find his sea legs, though; this game's lining up to be mostly about Anderson and Ottawa's main scorers at forward, Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman. Erik Karlsson hasn't quite been as dominant as usual, which has caused his DFS price to tick down some, but his shots and blocked shots give him a high floor, and this matchup offers plenty of upside.
Maple Leafs (PP: 8, PK: 14) at Oilers (PP: 16, PK: 2), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Frederik Andersen (9-6-3, 2.97, .911), Cam Talbot (11-8-2, 2.45, .921)
Key Injuries:Brandon Davidson (shoulder), Josh Leivo (lower body), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen)
This is the only Tuesday game other than Stars-Wings with a Vegas over-under of 5.5 goals, and there's good reason for that – these two squads feature the past two No. 1 overall picks as well as a number of other exciting young players. Connor McDavid is, of course, your NHL leader in points (29), but he's got help – Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic and Leon Draisaitl have all been major assets. With little depth scoring to speak of, it's top-sixers or bust for the Oilers, which is great for DFS players who fear uncertainty. Andersen has been hot for the Leafs lately – he hasn't posted a save mark worse than .931 in any of his past five starts – but this is still a team with a young, inconsistent blue line, and the Dane has not exactly been immune to blowups. Talbot's taken a couple losses in a row, but more because of the Oilers' offense lagging than anything else. Look for a reversal of fortune for skaters on both sides in a wide-open game Tuesday. Eberle (10 goals in 11 career games vs. Toronto), Draisaitl, Mitch Marner and William Nylander all offer strong DFS value.
Other Matchups
Hurricanes (PP: 9, PK: 1) at Rangers (PP: 10, PK: 9), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Ward (7-6-3, 2.24, .918), Henrik Lundqvist (10-6-1, 2.43, .915)
Key Injuries:Bryan Bickell (illness), Eddie Lack (concussion), Brock McGinn (upper body), Jordan Staal (concussion), Pavel Buchnevich (back), Michael Grabner (illness), J.T. Miller (knee), Mika Zibanejad (leg)
Grabner – New York's leading goal scorer with a cool dozen – is projected to sit out Tuesday, and Miller's considered just 50-50 to play, so the Blueshirts may be rather shorthanded, seemingly ensuring that Oscar Lindberg (a healthy scratch for two straight games) will return to the lineup. Lundqvist makes for a strong start against the 'Canes, who hold the NHL's 22nd-ranked offense. Don't go looking for power-play goals from New York – Carolina's allowed only five on 56 chances, easily the league's best mark.
Lightning (PP: 4, PK: 11) at Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 11), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Andrei Vasilevskiy (6-1-1, 1.50, .951), Sergei Bobrovsky (11-5-2, 2.15, .929)
Key Injuries:Matt Calvert (upper body), David Clarkson (back), Dalton Prout (back), J.T. Brown (upper body), Ondrej Palat (undisclosed), Steven Stamkos (knee), Anton Stralman (upper body)
These two squads have excelled on special teams, and both look playoff-bound based on the season's first quarter. The Jackets just dealt the Bolts a loss on Friday, lighting up Ben Bishop for five goals; the lanky vet's recent struggles are undoubtedly the reason Vasilevskiy's drawing the start as he tries to continue his red-hot season-opening run. However, Bobrovsky's been about as good as we've ever seen him this year, which is why the Jackets have allowed the second-fewest goals in the NHL.
Bruins (PP: 18, PK: 4) at Flyers (PP: 2, PK: 23), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Tuukka Rask (12-4-0, 1.63, .940), Steve Mason (5-8-3, 3.04, .892)
Key Injuries:Noel Acciari (lower body), Zdeno Chara (lower body), John-Michael Liles (upper body), Frank Vatrano (foot), Mark Alt (upper body), Sean Couturier (knee), Boyd Gordon (upper body), Brandon Manning (concussion), Michal Neuvirth (lower body)
Rask has been incredible on the whole, and his sparkling effort against Tampa on Sunday was great for fantasy owners to see after he broke up his insanely awesome season-opening run by taking three losses in four games. Like most other teams, the Flyers have awful numbers against the Finnish netminder. Mason, meanwhile, has allowed three or more goals in three of his last four outings, and the Flyers have never been known for their commitment to defense; it's offense or bust for this team, and the Bruins' strong penalty killing should help neutralize Philadelphia's primary attribute, which is scoring on the power play.
Devils (PP: 23, PK: 14) at Jets (PP: 22, PK: 25), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cory Schneider (8-5-3, 2.53, .915), Connor Hellebuyck (8-8-0, 2.57, .915)
Key Injuries:Beau Bennett (leg), Taylor Hall (knee), Joel Armia (undisclosed), Toby Enstrom (personal), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Mathieu Perreault (undisclosed), Nicolas Petan (lower body)
Schneider's been uncharacteristically rough of late, turning in four straight outings with save marks of .848 or lower; that's made his season stats take a turn for the pedestrian. But since you never know what version of the Jets' defense and goaltending will show up – will we get the Hellebuyck who gave up five goals to the Preds on Friday or the one who shut 'em out Sunday? – it's hard to give them a big edge here. Still, Hellebuyck seems attractive against the Devils' generally poor offense even though they've scored 12 goals in the last three games.
Panthers (PP: 21, PK: 19) at Blackhawks (PP: 15, PK: 30), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Roberto Luongo (8-6-0, 2.20, .925), Corey Crawford (10-6-2, 2.31, .924)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Toews (undisclosed), Jordin Tootoo (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (arm), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body), Alex Petrovic (ankle)
The Panthers head into this game with a brand-new (interim) coach, Tom Rowe – who's also their rookie GM. Former coach Gerard Gallant got the axe on Monday, just in time for a highly difficult matchup against the first-place Blackhawks. That's sure to go well, right?
Predators (PP: 3, PK: 8) at Avalanche (PP: 19, PK: 27), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Pekka Rinne (9-5-3, 1.98, .935), Calvin Pickard (4-1-1, 2.03, .932)
Key Injuries:Erik Johnson (illness), Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Ryan Ellis (upper body), James Neal (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (hand), Colton Sissons (upper body)
Pickard is the only thing standing between the Avs and certain doom Tuesday, and a strong effort by him in this matchup could go a long way toward helping him claim the No. 1 gig in the Colorado net. Semyon Varlamov has been wildly inconsistent, after all. Both teams will be missing top wingers in Landeskog and Neal.
Wild (PP: 13, PK: 6) at Canucks (PP: 26, PK: 6), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Devan Dubnyk (9-6-2, 1.66, .946), Ryan Miller (3-8-0, 2.67, .910)
Key Injuries:Victor Bartley (triceps), Zac Dalpe (knee), Christian Folin (knee), Sven Baertschi (foot), Derek Dorsett (shoulder), Alexander Edler (finger), Jannik Hansen (ribs), Philip Larsen (illness), Anton Rodin (knee),Chris Tanev (lower body)
If Dubnyk's season stats weren't enough to convince you it's a good time to roll with him, how about a matchup with Vancouver's terrible offense? The Canucks have actually won nine games, which is shocking when you consider that they really haven't been able to beat any good teams aside from a fluky victory over the Rangers three weeks ago.
Canadiens (PP: 5, PK: 13) at Ducks (PP: 6, PK: 18), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carey Price (13-1-1, 1.66, .946), John Gibson (6-7-3, 2.62, .906)
Key Injuries:Joseph Cramarossa (lower body), Simon Despres (head), Nicolas Kerdiles (concussion), Clayton Stoner (lower body), Nate Thompson (Achilles), Nathan Beaulieu (neck), Brian Flynn (upper body), Charles Hudon (chest), Zach Redmond (foot)
On the back end of back-to-backs, the Habs will deploy Price for a West Coast matchup with the Ducks and Gibson, who's still looking to establish a greater level of consistency; his mediocre efforts to this point have led to a recent timeshare with Jonathan Bernier.
Coyotes (PP: 28, PK: 24) at Sharks (PP: 16, PK: 10), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Mike Smith (4-1-1, 2.66, .923), Martin Jones (10-8-1, 2.15, .917)
Key Injuries:Louis Domingue (lower body), Brad Richardson (leg), Tomas Hertl (knee), Melker Karlsson (ankle), Tommy Wingels (undisclosed)
We're still waiting for the DFS prices to adjust to how good young Coyotes Christian Dvorak and Anthony DeAngelo are; as long as they continue commanding bottom-dollar salaries, they're lineup locks. Smith has been shockingly good since returning from injury, and he has a career .943 save mark against the Sharks, whose offense has been roundly disappointing; if you're looking for an against-the-grain play, he's not a bad idea.
Recommended Pickup
Jake Guentzel, LW, PIT – With a point-per-game pace through his first four NHL contests and a bountiful line assignment next to Evgeni Malkin, Guentzel is an easy choice for this space. No, he's not without his flaws – he's not big, he's failed to put a single shot on goal twice, and he's seeing minimal power-play time so far – but when you have this kind of opportunity to get a piece of Malkin, you go for it. It certainly doesn't hurt that Guentzel put up 17 points in 16 AHL games this year, which comes on the heels of a college career at Nebraska-Omaha that saw him post 85 points over his final 71 games.
