This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are four games on the slate with staggered starts, as is tradition on New Year's Eve with much of the focus on Saturday's Winter Classic. Teams coming out of the holiday break have looked rusty, and some are suffering from a lack of goaltending depth. This has led to some high scores, giving a little boost to depth players who may otherwise not be able to produce when opponents are in midseason form and goalies are sharper.
Note Oilers-Devils starts early at 1 p.m. EST followed by the Ducks-Golden Knights at 3, and they'll only be available in the Early Only and All Day slates. All salaries reflected are from the All Day contests.
GOALIES
Mike Smith, EDM at NJ ($8,300): Smith looked fine in his first outing since Oct. 19 allowing four goals on 33 shots against a tough Blues squad, though there's room for improvement. The Devils will be an easier opponent coming in ranked 22nd in GF/GP. And in 10 career appearances against them, Smith has posted a 5-2-3 record.
Ilya Samsonov, WSH at DET ($7,500): Samsonov was only lightly tested in his last start, facing 20 shots in a win against the Preds. He should get another go as the Caps' No. 1 as the Wings return to play following the holiday pause. Washington should have the advantage as they're the better team and because Detroit may need time to adjust coming out of a lengthy break, as we've seen recently with a few clubs.
John Gibson, ANH at VGK ($7,300): Gibson was brilliant against Vancouver and would've stolen a win had J.T. Miller not scored on a breakaway in overtime. The Golden Knights will be without Max Pacioretty (wrist surgery) and perhaps Mark Stone, which takes a huge bite out of their offense. Gibson's career numbers against Vegas – 3-12-5, .905 Sv%, 3.34 GAA – aren't particularly good, but he should have a better chance than usual if their key players are unavailable.
VALUE PLAYS
Mathieu Joseph, TB vs. NYR ($4,100): The Lightning are on the second half of a back-to-back after losing 9-3 against the rival Panthers without any major projected lineup changes expected. Poor netminding has been the root of Tampa's problems, and as such expect Joseph to keep playing a top-six role, most likely beside Brayden Point.
Aliaksei Protas, WSH at DET ($3,400): Protas is slated to skate on the second line with Nicklas Backstrom in the middle and Conor Sheary on the opposite side. This shouldn't be a touch matchup since the Wings aren't solid defensively and quite a few teams struggled to stay sharp in their first game following the layoff. Protas only logged seven minutes in his last appearance, so he represents a low-salary, high-risk, high-value proposition.
LINE STACKS
Oilers at Devils
Connor McDavid (C - $10,400), Warren Foegele (W - $3,900), Zach Hyman (W - $6,000)
The Devils are allowing 3.35 goals per game, tied for seventh-worst in the league. The Oilers don't visit often, but their battles have been fairly high-scoring. They haven't met since 2019, but they've split them since 2018 with 26 combined goals. Foegele and Hyman help bring down the salary of a line that includes the league's most dangerous offensive player.
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Fox, NYR at TB ($6,800): Anytime you can add an elite scorer like Fox and he's not the most expensive player, it's a wise proposition. Andrei Vasilevskiy is eligible to return, but the Bolts may have to go with either their No. 3 (Maxime Lagace) or No. 4 (Hugo Alnefelt).
Shea Theodore, VGK vs. ANH ($6,100): The Golden Knights are at home, so Theodore should get better matchups with the last change. Historically, he's been better at home (104 points in 171 games) than on the road (90 in 176), and has also been excellent against the Ducks over his career with 12 points and a plus-13 rating across 19 contests.
Evan Bouchard, EDM at NJ ($6,100): Forget about Tyson Barrie, this is Bouchard's team now. He's on a three-game point streak, and has proven more productive with fewer minutes. The Devils' goaltending is a mess and today could redult in a lot of goals, with the difference between Bouchard and Dougie Hamilton is that the former is on the same side as Connor McDavid.
