This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The NHL regular season will begin with a slate of three games, starting with Tampa Bay hosting Nashville at 5:30 p.m. ET. Later in the evening, we'll get the NHL debut of Connor Bedard as his Blackhawks face the Penguins at 8 p.m. ET. Finally, the defending champion Golden Knights will host Seattle, beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET.
SLATE PREVIEW
The retooled Penguins should be able to win handily against Chicago. Even with Bedard, the Blackhawks are likely a little ways from being competitive. Vegas-Seattle could be the highest-scoring game of the three, given the depth of offensive talent those two squads possess, but Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill is an interesting X-Factor after his amazing work in the 2023 playoffs.
GOALIES
Juuse Saros, NAS at TBL ($7,300): I don't love betting against the Lightning's offense, but your options are limited Tuesday night, and Saros is an elite goaltender being offered at a great price. With Andrei Vasilevskiy (back) injured, the Lightning are expected to start Jonas Johansson instead, making the chances of Nashville winning this game meaningfully better than they otherwise would have been.
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs CHI ($8,400): Jarry was a mixed bag in 2022-23, finishing with a 24-13-7 record, 2.90 GAA and .909 save percentage in 47 starts. Against another opponent or on a busier night, I might be more hesitant to recommend him, but Chicago should present him and the Penguins with a golden opportunity to start the campaign on the right foot. The Blackhawks averaged a league-worst 2.46 goals per game in 2022-23, and while they should do better now that they've drafted Bedard and acquired Taylor Hall, their overall offense is still severely lacking.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Cody Glass, NAS at TBL ($3,500): After bouncing between the AHL and NHL for a few years, Glass firmly established himself in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals and 35 points in 72 contests with Nashville. At the age of 24, he still has room to grow and might open the campaign on the Predators' second line and second power-play unit, making his starting price appealing.
Ryan Donato, CHI at PIT ($3,100): While the Blackhawks as a team might not score a ton of goals this season, Donato appears to be in an ideal position to overperform. He's projected to play alongside Hall and Bedard. Donato had 14 goals and 27 points in 71 contests with Seattle last season, but that was while averaging just 11:15 of ice time and typically playing with linemates like Daniel Sprong and Morgan Geekie, so it's not a stretch to say Donato's found a much better opportunity in Chicago.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Penguins vs. Blackhawks
Evgeni Malkin (C - $6,600), Rickard Rakell (W - $6,300), Reilly Smith (W - $4,600)
Chicago's offense still leaves something to be desired, but the Blackhawks' bigger failing is likely to be their goaltending. Petr Mrazek, who is slated to start against Pittsburgh, had an abysmal 3.66 GAA and .894 save percentage in 39 contests last year. Against competition like that, the Malkin line is a prime option.
Malkin himself is being offered at a good price given his elite capabilities. It is true that he's 37 years old, but Malkin had 27 goals and 83 points in 82 contests last season, so he hasn't slowed down much. Smith, who set career highs in 2022-23 with 26 goals and 56 points in 78 contests, is cheap enough that he also could have just as easily been included in the value picks, making him another great pickup, even if taken independent of his linemates.
Golden Knights vs. Kraken
Jack Eichel (C - $7,600), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $5,300), Ivan Barbashev (W - $3,800)
While preseason stats don't mean much, it's worth noting that Eichel had two goals and eight points in four contests while Marchessault had three goals and seven points in three games. I'd recommend this line regardless, but the fact that they're arguably hot going into the season is a nice bonus. When it mattered far more – the playoffs – the trio stood out with Eichel, Marchessault and Barbashev contributing 26, 25 and 18 points, respectively.
Seattle will be a tough adversary for Vegas, but that's more thanks to its deep offense than its goaltending, which was a recurring issue last year. Philipp Grubauer had a 2.85 GAA and an .895 save percentage in 39 contests for the Kraken in 2022-23 and Seattle's alternative is Joey Daccord, who has a 3.64 GAA and an .884 save percentage in 19 career NHL appearances. Not great options to hold back the Golden Knights.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, PIT vs. CHI ($7,100): Karlsson is coming off an amazing campaign in which he scored 25 goals and 101 points in 82 contests with the miserable Sharks. Now with San Jose, the 33-year-old defenseman has an opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and will get work with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Malkin on the power play.
Mikhail Sergachev, TBL vs. NAS ($5,500): Sergachev recorded a career-high 64 points (10 goals) in 79 contests last season and he's still just 25 years old. It wouldn't be shocking to see him do as good or better in 2023-24. It is unfortunate that he'll face Predators goaltender Saros in the opener, but Sergachev is cheap enough relative to his abilities to make him still worth taking a chance on.
