This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
We've got a surprisingly quiet-ish Tuesday ahead of us, as only seven games are on the slate. Let's jump right in.
Featured Matchups
Stars (PP: 19, PK: 30) at Jets (PP: 18, PK: 27), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Kari Lehtonen (12-17-6, 2.88, .902), Connor Hellebuyck (17-15-1, 2.79, .909)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Mattias Janmark (knee), Johnny Oduya (lower body), Jason Spezza (undisclosed), Marko Dano (lower body), Toby Enstrom (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Ondrej Pavelec (concussion)
Not only have the Stars given up a league-leading 50 power-play goals, but they incredibly also lead the league in giving up shorthanded tallies – they've allowed 10, two more than any other club. Take advantage of the bad goaltending in this matchup, as neither of these teams does a great job at keeping the puck out of its own net. Hellebuyck turns out occasional dominant performances that remind you of his future value, but that's about it; you can't count on that on a start-to-start basis. Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers are all great plays against the Stars; on the other side here, you'll have to pay up for Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, but they're relatively safe plays.
Coyotes (PP: 26, PK: 26) at Oilers (PP: 15, PK: 17), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Louis Domingue (5-12-1, 3.19, .897), Cam Talbot (27-16-7, 2.37, .920)
Key Injuries:Dave Bolland (back), Lawson Crouse (lower body), Brad Richardson (leg), Andrew Ference (hip), Jujhar Khaira (upper body), Darnell Nurse (ankle), Iiro Pakarinen (leg), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Kris Russell (undisclosed)
With the generally terrible Domingue projected to be in net for the second of back-to-backs after Mike Smith spun a shutout Monday, there's plenty of appeal among Oilers skaters (not to mention Talbot) against an Arizona squad that's been playing way over its head of late. It'd be just like the Coyotes to follow that 5-0 win over Calgary up with a dud, and aside from Connor McDavid, you can get Oilers in your lineup quite cheaply.
Sabres (PP: 1, PK: 29) at Senators (PP: 23, PK: 8), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (14-16-6, 2.57, .923), Craig Anderson (13-6-1, 2.34, .927)
Key Injuries:Zach Bogosian (abdomen), William Carrier (knee), Cody Franson (foot), Zemgus Girgensons (abdomen), Johan Larsson (wrist), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
No, your eyes do not deceive you – the No. 1 power play in the NHL does indeed belong to these Buffalonian Sabres. However, Anderson just returned from a lengthy absence due to personal issues by spinning a 33-save shutout in his first game back, and he'll be a challenge for a Sabres team that's averaging a modest 2.48 goals per game on the road. File under Dion Phaneuf under "underrated DFS assets"; he's been quite reliable, and he comes cheap. Same goes for Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Turris.
Other Matchups
Avalanche (PP: 29, PK: 25) at Devils (PP: 25, PK: 13), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jeremy Smith (N/A), Cory Schneider (17-16-8, 2.67, .912)
Key Injuries:Rene Bourque (lower body), Erik Johnson (leg), Semyon Varlamov (groin), Beau Bennett (lower body), Jon Merrill (upper body), Kyle Quincey (upper body), Marc Savard (concussion)
In this faceoff between two of the league's worst teams, I like the recently hot Schneider in net at home, but it's hard to count on the skaters from either side (except for Taylor Hall) because the Devils are bad enough offensively that even a guy like Smith is capable of holding them down.
Canucks (PP: 27, PK: 23) at Penguins (PP: 4, PK: 24), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ryan Miller (15-15-3, 2.61, .917), Matt Murray (20-6-2, 2.35, .923)
Key Injuries:Carl Hagelin (concussion), Evgeni Malkin (knee), Bryan Rust (arm), Conor Sheary (upper body), Sven Baertschi (concussion), Derek Dorsett (neck), Erik Gudbranson (wrist), Bo Horvat (leg), Anton Rodin (knee)
Malkin's a game-time call, but on the optimistic side – he has a very good chance of suiting up, which would probably push down Nick Bonino's ice time.
Islanders (PP: 24, PK: 15) at Maple Leafs (PP: 2, PK: 9), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (17-9-3, 2.42, .922), Frederik Andersen (22-12-10, 2.79, .914)
Key Injuries:Cal Clutterbuck (lower body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Travis Hamonic (knee), Nathan Horton (back), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen), Nikita Soshnikov (upper body)
Usually, I have an idea of whether I expect a game to be high-scoring or low-scoring, but I don't know about this one – both these teams have featured good offenses lately, but both goalies are capable of coming out and stealing a game on any given night. Use the stars and don't get too cute.
Ducks (PP: 12, PK: 7) at Wild (PP: 6, PK: 10), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:John Gibson (21-14-8, 2.36, .918), Devan Dubnyk (31-9-3, 1.99, .933)
Key Injuries:Simon Despres (head), Clayton Stoner (abdomen), Victor Bartley (triceps), Jonas Brodin (finger), Mathew Dumba (lower body)
Gibson's quietly (or perhaps not so quietly) been one of the league's best goalies for a couple months now, so home-team advantage is the Wild's main edge here. This is the final game of a semi-lengthy road trip for the Ducks, and Minnesota may find them weary.
Recommended Pickup
Calle Jarnkrok, C, NAS – Incredibly, Jarnkrok remains sparingly owned across the fantasy world despite his ongoing four-game point streak – not to mention 10 points in the last nine games. There's some shooting-percentage luck built in there, but whenever you see production like that accompanied by strong ice time (17:17 with 1:35 on the power play over that nine-game span), it's time to take an interest. Scoop him up quietly on the cheap and see what he can do for you.
