This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a small Monday slate with just four games. The marquee matchup will likely be Oilers at Kings, a rematch of last season's playoffs and the second of four meetings between the two teams. Their last matchup was a 3-1 win for the Kings with Cal Petersen in net on Nov. 16, but obviously things have changed since then.
The Oilers the are favorites at -260 at FanDuel Sportsbook despite coming in having lost three of their past four and eight of their past 13. The Kings, meanwhile, have alternated wins and losses in their past four but they won eight of their past 11.
GOALIES
Craig Anderson, BUF vs. PHI ($8,000): The Sabres may start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen since he's won six straight games and started five of the past six games, but Anderson should be a good play, too. The Sabres don't have a good home record (9-8-2) but average a league-best – by a considerable margin – 4.21 goals per game at home, which means the Sabres should provide plenty of goal support. Over the past four seasons, Anderson has been much stronger at home than on the road.
Martin Jones, SEA at MTL ($7,000): Jones will be looking to win his fifth straight game and if he continues to get the same kind of goal support – over five goals per game – it should be an easy win. The Habs just snapped their losing streak and broke out with five goals, the first time they've scored more than three since Dec. 5. It seems unlikely such an anemic offense will be able to put together another performance like, especially if the Kraken dominate puck possession, which they likely will.
VALUE PLAYS
Casey Mittelstadt, BUF vs. PHI ($4,800): Mittelstadt had a three-assist performance against the Wild and now has five point in his past five games. He's playing on the third line so his opportunities are limited, but there's a lot of upside in special teams because he plays on the top unit with Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson. The Flyers PK ranks 19th in the league and they've taken the 11th-most penalties in the league.
Juuso Parssinen, NSH at OTT ($4,300): Parssinen's scored three assists in his past two games and despite averaging around 15 minutes per game still lines up next to Filip Forsberg as the Preds' top pivot and on PP1. The Sens are coming off an 8-4 loss and they will be tighter defensively but that kind of fix doesn't happen overnight. Preds offense is on a roll with four wins in their past five and at least three goals scored in every game.
LINE STACKS
Kraken at Canadiens
Matty Beniers (C - $6,500), Jordan Eberle (W - $6,200), Andre Burakovsky (W - $6,400)
The Kraken have two lines that can score but Beniers' line is preferred because all three also play together on the power play. Their offense has been very good all season and they're all coming off multi-point efforts against the Sens.
Sabres vs. Flyers
Tage Thompson (C - $10,400), Jeff Skinner (W - $8,100), Alex Tuch (W - $8,200)
This could be a very popular stack against one of the league's worst defensive teams. If it's a tight game, the Sabres have the edge because their offense is so much better and deeper. If not a lot of defense is being played, it's exactly the type of game the Sabres can win, and Thompson and Skinner have accounted for over 30 percent of all the Sabres' goals.
DEFENSEMEN
Vince Dunn, SEA at MON ($5,500): Dunn may have the hottest hand in the league with nine points in his past five games. He second three points against the Leafs and then two against the Sens and continues a steady stream of shots with his usage on PP1. If fantasy managers don't want to splurge on an elite defenseman, Dunn's play recently makes him stand out from the rest of his peers.
Cam York, PHI at BUF ($3,800): York's one of the Flyers' top prospects and the offensive defenseman is currently on a three-game assist streak. He's scored just one goal this season but his puck-moving abilities have helped him earn seven helpers in nine games. York could be a value play in what may be a high-scoring game.
