This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Did you know it's Tuesday? It is! We've got a hearty NHL slate for you, so let's jump right in and try to forget our troubles.
Featured Matchups
Jets (PP: 19, PK: 26) at Maple Leafs (PP: 1, PK: 9), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (20-15-2, 2.73, .911), Frederik Andersen (23-13-10, 2.78, .915)
Key Injuries:Joffrey Lupul (abdomen), Mitch Marner (upper body), Andrew Copp (upper body), Marko Dano (lower body), Toby Enstrom (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Ondrej Pavelec (concussion), Drew Stafford (illness), Jacob Trouba (suspension)
It seems like both the Jets and the Maple Leafs find themselves in these featured matchups pretty often – the Jets because they give up plenty of goals, the Leafs because they score them (and give up their fair share too). Andersen has been atrocious lately, notching a 4.05 GAA over his last eight starts, and the Jets seemingly allow at least three goals per game like it's their job – at least until Hellebuyck's two sparkling weekend starts against Montreal and Ottawa. Of course, we've seen the young netminder look good in the past, only to stumble; this could be one of those stumbles.
Blackhawks (PP: 16, PK: 28) at Wild (PP: 4, PK: 10), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Corey Crawford (22-13-3, 2.56, .917), Devan Dubnyk (32-10-3, 1.97, .934)
Key Injuries:Victor Bartley (triceps), Mathew Dumba (lower body)
Inarguably the best matchup of the day, this game features the top two teams in the Western Conference. Dubnyk went through a bit of lag for a while there, but he's been back in top form recently. For his part, Crawford's been on the mediocre side, particularly in terms of ratios – he hasn't given up fewer than two goals since Nov. 29. Minnesota's been particularly hard to beat at home, where Dubnyk has lost just twice since the calendar turned to 2017. I give the Wild an edge here, and you might find this an appealing moment to own Minnesota's goalie in DFS because most players will shy away from betting against the Blackhawks. There's risk involved here, of course, but hey.
Kings (PP: 23, PK: 5) at Avalanche (PP: 29, PK: 24), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Peter Budaj (26-19-3, 2.14, .916), Calvin Pickard (10-18-2, 2.91, .908)
Key Injuries:Rene Bourque (lower body), Erik Johnson (leg), Semyon Varlamov (groin), Nikita Zadorov (ankle), Matt Greene (undisclosed), Jordan Nolan (lower body), Jonathan Quick (groin)
Going back to the theme of teams with goaltending issues, we've got two of 'em here. Although Budaj just turned in a strong effort against Anaheim, he's still lost five of his last six outings while posting an .867 save mark in that span. Meanwhile, Pickard's turned in three straight quality starts, but he's lost two of them and the Avs' defense tends to collapse all too often. Fun fact: Jeff Carter has 14 goals in 19 career games against Colorado, including a pair back on Feb. 1.
Other Matchups
Senators (PP: 21, PK: 8) at Devils (PP: 20, PK: 19), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Craig Anderson (14-7-1, 2.40, .925), Cory Schneider (19-17-8, 2.63, .914)
Key Injuries:Kyle Quincey (upper body), Mike Hoffman (lower body), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Bobby Ryan (finger), Mark Stone (head), Tommy Wingels (undisclosed)
Here's something you didn't know: The Devils have had the NHL's best power play in the month of February. True facts – they've scored nine man-advantage goals in eight games, converting on a ridiculous 42.9 percent of their opportunities. The production's been spread out among their power-play-playing players, but it's well worth noting that we're seeing the emergence of Pavel Zacha into a real offensive force. Meanwhile, Hoffman and Stone – both injured Sunday – are traveling with the Sens, so track their availability for Tuesday. If they're not in the lineup, the Sens are going to have a tough time scoring.
Canadiens (PP: 10, PK: 23) at Rangers (PP: 14, PK: 13), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carey Price (24-15-5, 2.45, .918), Henrik Lundqvist (27-14-1, 2.65, .912)
Key Injuries:Derek Stepan (hip)
Stepan's expected to play Tuesday, so these teams are about as healthy as any two you'll see. This game features two goalies who have had roller-coaster campaigns, and both should look at this Original Six matchup as a potential statement game.
Penguins (PP: 6, PK: 21) at Hurricanes (PP: 24, PK: 1), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Matt Murray (21-7-3, 2.32, .924), Cam Ward (21-18-7, 2.65, .905)
Key Injuries:Bryan Bickell (illness), Ryan Murphy (coach's decision), Derek Ryan (coach's decision), Olli Maatta (hand), Bryan Rust (arm), Justin Schultz (concussion), Conor Sheary (upper body)
With Schultz having caught the injury bug and his Tuesday status cloudy, we're back to Kris Letang being the only Pens blueliner you can count on for offense.
Islanders (PP: 25, PK: 22) at Red Wings (PP: 30, PK: 17), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (18-11-3, 2.55, .917), Jared Coreau (5-3-3, 3.27, .893)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Johan Franzen (concussion), Mike Green (illness), Jimmy Howard (knee), Gustav Nyquist (suspension), Joe Vitale (concussion), Cal Clutterbuck (lower body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Travis Hamonic (knee), Shane Prince (upper body)
Petr Mrazek has finally woken up in recent outings, but after the Czech started back-to-back games over the weekend, Coreau is expected to get his shot Tuesday. If you're invested in Islanders skaters (or in Greiss, even), it pays to check back for confirmation on this game's starter.
Oilers (PP: 11, PK: 14) at Lightning (PP: 7, PK: 20), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (30-16-7, 2.35, .921), Ben Bishop (15-12-3, 2.60, .910)
Key Injuries:Darnell Nurse (ankle), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Benoit Pouliot (undisclosed), Ryan Callahan (hip), Steven Stamkos (knee)
Bishop's turned in three straight spectacular outings and four straight wins, but he hasn't had to deal with Connor McDavid or his ilk in that span. That said, he showed well against the Oilers in a December shootout loss. Talbot, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the NHL's better tenders – he's third in wins. This could be a relatively low-scoring affair.
Flames (PP: 12, PK: 18) at Predators (PP: 17, PK: 12), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Brian Elliott (12-13-3, 2.76, .898), Pekka Rinne (22-15-6, 2.43, .918)
Key Injuries:Cody McLeod (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body)
Elliott has retaken prime duties between the pipes for Calgary, but he's actually posted sub-.900 save marks in four of his last five outings, and his composite mark for his past nine games is a modest .910. For his part, Rinne's given up 11 goals in his last three outings, taking some of the sheen off his otherwise strong run in 2017. By the way, P.K. Subban has finally been coming into his own in Nashville recently – how's seven points over the last five games sound?
Recommended Pickup
Mark Barberio, D, COL – Hear me out here, deep leaguers. Cast off by Tampa Bay and now Montreal, Barberio's landed in Colorado, and he's playing a major role. He has a relatively modest three points in nine games with the Avs, but Barberio has seen his ice time leap recently – he's been over 20 minutes in seven of those games, most notably skating 24:37 in Sunday's contest, including more than five minutes on the power play. With Nikita Zadorov (ankle) now out for the year, the team has little choice but to continue turning Barberio's way. This is the part where I mention that the 26-year-old has accumulated 143 points in his last 193 AHL games, including 18 in 20 this year.
