This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
With the All-Star Game around the corner, this is an extremely light week in the schedule. There was only one game set for Monday and just two contests tonight.
SLATE PREVIEW
With so little action this week, it shouldn't surprise you that all four teams entering tonight's contests are rested. What is a little eyebrow-raising is (despite there being a total of six NHL contests this week), that San Jose is entering the first half of a back-to-back set, which might influence its lineup decisions Tuesday.
GOALIE
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. CLM ($8,000): The Blues are red hot, having won their last five games, and are the heavy favorites against the Blue Jackets, who are tied for 21st offensively with 2.96 goals per game. Binnington has won his last three contests while saving 83 of 89 shots (.933 save percentage), so he's been good lately. His 17-12-2 record, 2.97 GAA and .907 save percentage in 34 contests overall aren't great, but just four goaltenders to choose from, so he's the best option out there.
VALUE PLAY
Brayden Schenn, STL vs. CLM ($4,600): Schenn endured a 16-game goal-scoring slump from Dec. 2-Jan. 6 in which he was limited to just two assists. However, he's enjoyed a complete turnaround over his last 11 appearances, collecting five goals and 11 points in that span. With the way he's performed lately, he's a steal at his current price.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Blues vs. Blue Jackets
Robert Thomas (C - $6,800), Jordan Kyrou (W - $7,400), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $6,900)
At the risk of leaning too heavily on one team, St. Louis' top line is rolling as well. Kyrou is coming off a three-point game, giving him five goals and five assists over his last nine contests. Buchnevich has earned two straight multi-point efforts, totaling three goals and five points, to bring him up to 17 goals and 39 points through 46 outings this season. Rounding things out, Thomas has contributed a goal and eight points across his active five-game scoring streak.
If you don't want to lean this heavily on St. Louis, you could also consider the Kraken's top unit of Jared McCann (C - $6,900), Jordan Eberle (W - $5,000) and Tomas Tatar (W - $4,000), which has also found success lately.
DEFENSEMAN
Jan Rutta, SJS vs. SEA ($3,100): Rutta reached the 20-point milestone as a rookie in 2017-20 and hasn't been able to top that since. However, he's entering Tuesday's action on a four-game scoring streak in which he's provided two goals and three assists. Given his extremely low price and tonight's limited choices, this is one of the rare times when it seems worth it to roll the dice on the 33-year-old blueliner.
