This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are nine games on Tuesday's slate featuring a bevy of potential playoff matchups. Among them: Maple Leafs at Bruins, Hurricanes at Lightning, Rangers at Penguins and Avalanche at Flames. For the Hurricanes-Lightning and Avalanche-Flames matchups, note this will be third and final time they will meet each other during the regular season, and the Canes have a chance to make it a sweep. It should be a tough challenge since it will be the second half of their back-to-back. All the games should be close; the four matchups have been featured a total of six times already this season, and all but two were determined by one-goal margins.
GOALIES
Cam Talbot, MIN vs. PHI ($8,300): Either Talbot or Marc-Andre Fleury will be good choices. This will be the Flyers' last stop on the road having lost three of their previous four road games, while the Wild have been excellent since the trade deadline, and Talbot and Fleury have combined for six straight wins. This should be an easy win for the Wild.
Juuse Saros, NSH vs. OTT ($7,900): The Sens have lost six of their past eight and should be big underdogs against one of the league's best goalies. Saros hasn't been particularly sharp but has at least managed to win four of his past six starts, and barring an excellent performance by the Sens' goalies, should also get enough goal support to earn the win. Saros has never lost in regulation to the Sens in his career, going 1-0-3.
Jake Oettinger, DAL at ANH ($7,400): The Stars have the ninth-best points percentage on the road since Jan. 1 while the Ducks continue to flounder with a nine-game losing streak. They will play two straight games against each other so Scott Wedgewood may draw the start, but both should be good options. The Ducks offense has managed to score just six goals in their past four games after trading many of their key veterans at the deadline.
VALUE PLAYS
Frank Vatrano, NYR at PIT ($4,200): Vatrano has taken Alexis Lafreniere's spot on the top line next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, though the lines may change again if Ryan Strome is unavailable due to injury. If Vatrano stays in that spot, it could be a really big boon to his fantasy value playing with their top center, and he could also move up to the first power play unit to fill the void left by Strome. Vatrano's scored four goals in his past four games.
Christian Dvorak, MON at FLA ($3,700): Dvorak's on a three-game point streak and finding his groove after a lengthy absence. His first three games upon returning were uneventful, but his last game against Jersey was his best game with a helper and four shots on goal as their second-line center. The Panthers are missing Aaron Ekblad and don't mind swapping scoring chances, so if it's a high-scoring game look for Dvorak to be involved.
LINE STACKS
Islanders at Blue Jackets
Brock Nelson (C - $6,700), Anders Lee (W - $5,400), Anthony Beauvillier (W - $4,400)
The Jackets will likely be without top defenseman Zach Werenski, and no line has been better than this one lately. Nelson has a chance to extend his point streak to five games and combined to score 17 points in three games with his linemates.
Stars at Ducks
Roope Hintz (C - $6,900), Joe Pavelski (W - $7,500), Jason Robertson (W - $8,500)
This line was held off the score sheet in their last game against the Canucks but still generated a team-high 16 shot attempts, per naturalstattrick.com. The lackluster Ducks have allowed at least four goals in five of their past six games, and all three members of this line are also the only three players on the Stars to have scored at least 20 goals.
DEFENSEMEN
Brandon Montour, FLA vs. MON ($4,100): The Panthers play five forwards on their power play but Montour will be featured with Mackenzie Weegar on the second unit. Montour's salary is lower and is more inclined to jump up on the play, though he will surely play fewer minutes. The Habs' PK ranks 28th in the league and both of the Panthers' units should be able to take advantage.
Michael Del Zotto, OTT at NSH ($3,700): Del Zotto has three helpers in three games since getting called up and a thin blue line has also allowed him to play over 18 minutes per game. Offense has always been his calling card, having been a point-per-game player in the AHL, and the Preds haven't been very sharp in their own end recently. Del Zotto will quarterback the second power play unit, which should see ample time since the Preds are the league's most penalized team with 310 penalties taken and 819 total penalty minutes.
