This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Flyers are finally back home after a brutal road trip in which they lost five of six, allowing 21 goals in the final four games. They have already matched their longest losing streak of the season at four games, which has already happened twice before. The Capitals are coming off three straight wins, including a road win in Carolina and a historic comeback win against the hapless Sharks.
The Maple Leafs defense spent too much time admiring Connor McDavid instead of defending against him – it's okay, we all do – in a 6-4 loss but otherwise have been very good since their coaching change. The Jets, meanwhile, have won just twice in seven games. Their goaltending hasn't been good enough to bail them out.
The Stars descend into L.A. with a four-game winning streak and they will be the heavy favorites against the Kings, who were actually really good once. However, the Kings are sneaky-good at home – they're 9-1-0 when leading after the first period, and the first period at home is also the only period in which they've outscored their opponents. The Stars' goal differential on the road is minus-4, and they've led only four times after the first period on the road.
GOALIES
Ben Bishop ($8,800) will be a popular pick and even with everything I just said above. The Stars are running hot and Bishop sports a career .925 Sv% against L.A. I think Jonathan Quick ($7,600) is a huge gamble but feel free to think different.
Frederik Andersen ($8,500) is expected to start after getting pulled in his last start, and I'm not nearly as terrified of the Jets now than I was in 2019. Their goaltending hasn't been good, which means the Leafs will provide a lot of goal support. He's 9-0-1 in his career against the Jets. I do not like Connor Hellebuyck ($7,800) for these reasons, and also because he's allowed at least three goals in five of his past six games.
Braden Holtby ($8,200) gets the start and I'm not super confident in him – I think Ilya Samsonov has been better at times – and Carter Hart ($7,500) is due for a bounce-back game. Of the three underdog goalies, however, I like Hart best because the Flyers have enough offense to at least keep this game close.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Pierre Engvall ($4,000) is quickly becoming a key player for the Leafs and extended his goal streak to three games against the Oilers. He now has 12 points in 22 games playing on a line with Jason Spezza and Kasperi Kapanen.
Lars Eller ($4,800) is also at it again with a three-game goal streak of his own, his longest of the season. He has five points during that span and the Flyers have not been good defensively over the past two weeks.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Toronto Maple Leafs (TOTAL: $21,600)
C – Auston Matthews ($8,800)
W – Mitch Marner ($8,000)
W – Zach Hyman ($4,800)
This line has been crushing it lately and continues to be Keefe's go-to line for offense. The Jets defense is thin, Hellebuyck hasn't been sharp and the Leafs must be eager to avenge their loss against the Oilers after getting embarrassed by McDavid.
Washington Capitals (TOTAL: $19,800)
C – Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7,800)
W – Jakub Vrana ($5,000)
W – T.J. Oshie ($7,000)
How "Oshbabe and V" isn't a buddy cop comedy TV show already is beyond me. They've combined for 17 points in their past three games and key players in a comeback win against the Sharks. Alex Ovechkin's numbers against the Flyers are fairly pedestrian (for his standards), so we will go with the cheaper but certainly not less effective second line. Kuznetsov is an underappreciated consistent point producer.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson ($7,100) will be a popular pick because the next best option is Tyson Barrie ($5,500), who's been good but not Carlson-level good. Carlson's scoring rate has fallen since the start of the season, and we all expected that, but still he's outpacing most of the defensemen in the league.
Neal Pionk ($4,200) has been quietly fantastic for the Jets this season, averaging well over 20 minutes per game. He has four helpers in four games and 27 points on the season.
Sean Walker ($4,000) has four helpers in four games as he continues to log big minutes in a surprisingly good season from him. He's often paired with Drew Doughty, so that will help when he's putting up stats. Esa Lindell ($4,000) has also been apple hunting lately with five assists in his past three games.
