Tuesdays are normally one of the busiest days of the week for NHL games, but because the league wanted to prioritize New Year's Eve matches, we have a relatively light five-game slate tonight. The action will start with a trio of 7:00 p.m. EST starts (New Jersey at Toronto, Montreal at Florida, Carolina at Pittsburgh), followed by one game at 8:30 (the Islanders at Chicago) and 10:00 (Philadelphia at Vancouver).
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SLATE PREVIEW
Florida, Carolina and Vancouver are all on the second half of a back-to-back, so fatigue might be an issue for those teams. The other seven squads are rested, but New Jersey and Philadelphia are scheduled to play again Wednesday, which might influence those teams' lineup decisions tonight.
GOALIES
Jacob Markstrom, NJD at TOR ($7,600): Markstrom has done well lately, stopping 68 of 73 shots (.932 save percentage) across his past three appearances. A lack of support from the Devils resulted in him winning just one of those games, but the Maple Leafs have been a mixed bag this campaign with their 17-15-6 record, and they might be without William Nylander (lower body), so this is a very winnable game for New Jersey.
Dan Vladar, PHI at VAN ($7,500): Vladar has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his last four outings, and that's not too unusual compared to the campaign he's having overall. The 28-year-old has taken advantage of the opportunity Philadelphia has given him, posting a 13-6-3 record, 2.37 GAA and .909 save percentage in 22 appearances. Meanwhile, Vancouver has struggled this season, and the Canucks likely won't be at their best after playing Monday.
VALUE PLAYS
Ivan Demidov, MON at FLA ($5,400): Demidov is on a three-game multi-point streak in which he's collected three goals and six points. The 20-year-old is up to 10 goals and 32 points through 38 outings this year, which puts him in the lead for the rookie scoring race.
Simon Holmstrom, NYI at CHI ($4,000): Holmstrom has accumulated two goals and four points in his last four outings. He had another really good stretch from Oct. 21-Nov. 2 in which he collected four goals and seven points in seven appearances, so perhaps there's some more life left in his current run.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Canadiens at Panthers
Nick Suzuki (C - $7,300), Cole Caufield (W - $6,900), Alexandre Texier (W - $3,700)
Suzuki and Caufield are one of the league's best duos. Caufield has 18 goals and 37 points in 38 appearances, while Suzuki has 11 goals and 42 points across 38 outings. Suzuki has also traditionally done well against the Panthers, scoring nine goals and 20 points across 19 career regular-season outings.
Texier isn't much of an offensive threat, though. He has three goals and seven points in 24 outings this year. It helps that he's affordable, but you might want to consider passing on him in favor of Juraj Slafkovsky (W - $5,800), who is on a four-game scoring streak in which he's accumulated four goals and eight points. Slafkovsky is projected to join Suzuki and Caufield on the top power-play unit. Demidov, who was also highlighted in Value Plays, is also slated to play with that special-teams unit.
DEFENSEMEN
Lane Hutson, MON at FLA ($6,400): Hutson has a goal and 15 points across his past 11 games. After recording 66 points in 82 regular-season games last year, he's having another fantastic campaign with five markers and 36 points through 38 appearances.
Kris Letang, PIT vs. CAR ($5,000): Letang has recorded an assist in each of his past three outings. He has two goals and 19 points in 37 appearances this season. Seven of those points have come with the man advantage, which isn't bad given that he's averaged just 1:17 of power-play ice time in 2025-26. If Erik Karlsson (illness) misses tonight's action, then Letang will probably move up to the first power-play unit.
