This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday's NHL slate features nine games after 7:00 p.m. EDT. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are three primary options to build around, as the Flyers, Wild and Maple Leafs are all massive home favorites against the Coyotes, Senators and Golden Knights, respectively. One of these teams could have a trickier matchup than it first appears, though. All nine games have an over/under of 5.5 goals, so there's no natural matchup to turn to when chasing offensive upside, though the list of intriguing smaller favorites includes the likes of the Flames (vs. Nashville) and Sharks (vs. Buffalo).
GOALIES
Jack Campbell, TOR vs. VGK ($8,100): The depleted Golden Knights have been the league's most fantasy-friendly opponent thus far, tied for the 10th-fewest goals per game (2.50) on the eighth-most shots per game (33.9). Campbell boasts an 11-1-1 regular-season record on home ice as a member of the Maple Leafs, and he's poised to add to that success here.
Carter Hart, PHI vs. ARI ($8,500): Loading up on as many players facing the Coyotes as possible has been a successful strategy pretty much every time so far this season, and that seems unlikely to change any time soon. With Chicago picking up its first win Monday, Arizona's the last team without one. In addition to their ugly 0-8-1 record, the Coyotes are being outscored 4.22 to 1.44 on average, while Hart has a respectable 2.79 GAA and .915 save percentage so far this season.
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. NSH ($7,900): Markstrom looks like the early front-runner for the Vezina Trophy, as Darryl Sutter's defensive system is starting to look reminiscent of the one that won two Stanley Cups with the Kings, while Markstrom is putting up even better numbers than prime Jonathan Quick. He has allowed just one goal on 127 shots over the last four games combined and is 4-1-1 with a 1.33 GAA and .957 save percentage. Markstrom and the fittingly named Flames are en fuego right now, while the visiting Predators have been the definition of average, with a 4-4-0 record, 2.75 goals for and 2.75 against per game.
Filip Gustavsson, OTT at MIN ($7,000): Gustavsson's a high-risk, high-reward pick at just $7,000 against the heavily favored Wild. The Senators will likely have the ice tilted against them as they play their second road game in as many nights, but they could have something special in net with the 23-year-old Swede, who boasts a 7-2-2 record, 2.18 GAA and .933 save percentage through 12 NHL appearances. This season, he has sandwiched a poor relief outing in between two excellent starts, winning both starts while setting aside 70 of 73 pucks in those two games. Meanwhile, Minnesota is lucky to be 5-3-0 considering the Wild have been outscored 26-22 so far this season.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Timo Meier, SJ vs. BUF ($7,400): Meier's off to a flying start and is showing no signs of slowing down. His 5-6-11 line through eight games has been accompanied by 37 shots on goal, which has him tied for third league-wide with Kyle Connor, trailing only Connor McDavid (43) and Alex Ovechkin (42). That's excellent company for the 25-year-old winger, who struggled the past two seasons with the rest of his teammates but now looks poised to surpass his career highs in goals (30) and points (66) from the 2018-19 campaign. The visiting Sabres have been surprisingly stout defensively, but they have allowed three goals in each of the first two games of their west coast road trip, and we could be witnessing Buffalo turning back into a pumpkin after a Cinderella 5-1-1 start.
Cam Atkinson, PHI vs. ARI ($5,900): Atkinson has fit right in after coming over from the Blue Jackets in an offseason trade, opening his Flyers tenure with a team-leading six goals through seven games. While he's due to cool off at some point, Atkinson topped the 40-goal mark in 2018-19 under defensive-minded head coach John Tortorella, so he's capable of posting a massive goal total in the run-and-gun system of Flyers bench boss Alain Vigneault. It would frankly be surprising if he doesn't light the lamp against a Coyotes team that's surrendering 4.22 goals per game.
Mike Hoffman, MON vs. DET ($5,100): Hoffman has managed to light the lamp in four of his last five games -- a stretch that started against the same Detroit team he'll face here. The five-time 25-goal scorer leads the Canadiens in that category despite having missed three of the team's first 10 games, and he'll have an excellent chance to add another one against a Red Wings team that's giving up the third-most in the league (3.44 per game).
Marcus Foligno, MIN vs. OTT ($3,500): If you're not a believer in Gustavsson, then Foligno's an obvious player to target here. The affordable winger's skating on the top line with power-play time to boot, yet he can be had for just $3,500 against a Senators team that's been the most generous in the league to opposing right wings from a fantasy perspective. With a 2-4-6 line through eight games, Foligno's tied with Kirill Kaprizov for the points lead among healthy Wild players through eight games, but he's $3,800 cheaper than his Russian linemate.
Barclay Goodrow, NYR at VAN ($3,000): It's early, but so far Goodrow has been earning the eyebrow-raising contract the Rangers handed him this past offseason. He's currently being deployed on the top line to provide a physical and defensive presence alongside former 40-goal scorer Mika Zibanejad and veteran winger Chris Kreider, who already has seven goals this season. Goodrow has fit in well alongside them, contributing a 3-1-4 line in the past five games, yet he can still be had for just $3,000 against a 3-5-1 Canucks club.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Flyers vs. Coyotes
Sean Couturier (C - $6,600), Claude Giroux (W - $6,300), Travis Konecny (W - $5,600)
All three of these guys have been mainstays in Philadelphia's top six in recent years, and they have put their chemistry on display early this season while skating together on the first line and top power-play unit. Couturier leads the team in points with a 3-6-9 line, while Giroux's hot on his heels with a 4-4-8 line, which trails only Couturier in points and Atkinson in goals. Konecny has thrown in a 3-3-6 line, as this trio has averaged more than three combined points per game through the Flyers' first seven. That success should continue against a league-worst Arizona team that has been outscored 38-13 this season.
Maple Leafs vs. Golden Knights
John Tavares (C - $6,700), Mitch Marner (W - $6,400), Alex Kerfoot (W - $2,600)
Some early line shuffling has created this second-line combination, which has clicked better than any other trio for the talented but underachieving Maple Leafs. Tavares has a 2-2-4 line over his last two games, while Marner has a point in each of his last two and nine shots in that stretch after starting the season with a measly single assist through seven games. Marner in particular is due for a breakout performance considering he's a former 94-point scorer and has eclipsed a point per game in each of the previous three seasons. The affordable Kerfoot has fit in nicely alongside these two big names, supplying a goal and an assist in Toronto's last game. Rather than committing big money to the Maple Leafs' top line, locking in this group can provide better value while still capitalizing on a home matchup with a Golden Knights team that has been outscored 26-20 through its first eight games.
Devils at Ducks
Dawson Mercer (C - $4,300), Andreas Johnsson (W - $3,400), Jesper Bratt (W - $3,700)
New Jersey's 4-2-1 start has been fueled in large part by the Devils' offseason upgrades on the blue line, but some much-needed secondary scoring has also been key, and a lot of it has been provided by this affordable second line. Johnsson shares the team goals (four) and points (six) leads with Pavel Zacha through seven games but can be had for $3,500 cheaper than Zacha. Mercer boasts a 3-2-5 line through his first seven NHL games, as the Devils' 2020 first-round pick has proven himself more than ready for middle-six duty as a rookie. Bratt's 1-2-3 line has been generated over the past two games alone, so the 23-year-old Swede's hot at the moment and has never come up short of 30 points over his previous four NHL campaigns. This line makes for an excellent value stack against a Ducks team that's surrendering 3.40 goals per game -- tied with Montreal for fourth-most league-wide.
DEFENSEMEN
Moritz Seider, DET at MON ($4,100): Seider comes into this one riding a five-game point streak, and he has racked up eight points through his first nine NHL games, all this season. Montreal's tied for the fourth-most goals allowed per game overall, and the Canadiens are also giving up the third-most fantasy points per game to defensemen, so the rookie's puck-moving abilities should remain on full display here. Seider's valuation will only continue to climb if he can keep up this hot start.
John Klingberg, DAL at WPG ($4,400): Klingberg's flying under the radar, as fellow Stars blueliner Miro Heiskanen has enjoyed a strong start to the season while Klingberg has missed four of Dallas' first eight games due to a lower-body injury. The former 67-point scorer is still searching for his first point of the season, but his six-shot effort in Dallas' last game suggests Klingberg's rounding into form, so this could be a buy-low opportunity before he breaks out. His prominent role with the extra man should lead to success against a Jets team that's operating at just 63.3 percent on the penalty kill -- only Arizona (58.6 percent) has been worse.
Adam Fox, NYR at VAN ($7,200): With his recently signed seven-year, $66.5 million extension in hand, the reigning Norris Trophy winner's ready to add on to his strong start to the season. Fox's point-per-game pace through nine is actually better than the scoring rate he posted en route to being named the league's top defenseman last season (47 points in 55 games). Four of his nine points have come in the last two games, and Fox is entrenched in a role on the top pairing and No. 1 power-play unit for a Rangers team that looks to be turning the corner in its rebuild.
Kevin Shattenkirk, ANH vs. NJ ($6,600): Shattenkirk's 3-7-10 line has him averaging a point per game through 10, and half of those points have come on the power play. The veteran blueliner will have a nice opportunity to add to his team-leading total in power-play points against a Devils penalty kill that's operating at just 72.0 percent -- tied with Vancouver for fifth-worst in the league.
