This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
There are three matinee games Monday, but there are also three NHL games in the evening. That's where the focus is for DFS purposes. The first puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No team tonight is on the second leg of a back-to-back, or even the first leg. From a goaltending perspective, that means we can either feel confident in who will start Monday or we will get a good data point in terms of goaltending situations for future usage.
GOALIE
Tristan Jarry, PIT at MON ($8,100): Jarry has not played since getting lit up in Pittsburgh's opener, so if he doesn't get the call here, the goaltending situation is truly in flux. The longtime Penguin has had a couple of so-so seasons in a row, and his ceiling may be around his career .911 save percentage. However, since the start of last season, Montreal has averaged 2.84 goals and 27.6 shots on net per game. Pittsburgh can give Jarry a chance to get right here. If he doesn't, keep an eye on the Steel City.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Anthony Beauvillier, PIT at MON ($3,200): Beauvillier has bounced around the NHL the last couple of years, and he's going to bounce back from posting a 4.8 shooting percentage over 60 games last season. Even Jakub Voracek, the forward who comes to mind for me when thinking of inefficient shot converters, only had two seasons where he finished below 7.0. Beauvillier is now a Penguin and he's been skating with Sidney Crosby on the top line. Also, he has two goals on 10 shots on net. While Sam Montembeault has been great across two starts this season, his career .899 save percentage means he has a lot left to prove.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Islanders at Avalanche
Brock Nelson (C - $5,300), Kyle Palmieri (W - $5,000), Maxim Tsyplakov (W - $2,700)
The early return on the banged-up Avalanche is concerning. It's only been two games, but they have given up 14 goals. Alexandar Georgiev has already been pulled twice, and Justus Annunen has not righted the ship either time he has been called upon. Giving up eight on the road to Vegas is bad, but giving up six at home to Columbus does sound some early alarm bells. Even though the sample size is far from robust, it's enough for me to stack the Islanders' second line against Colorado on Monday.
Nelson has three 30-goal seasons in a row. While he has not lit the lamp yet, he's put five shots on goal through two outings. He also remains on the top power-play unit. He had 19 points with the extra man last season. Palmieri found the Fountain of Youth last season to have his first 30-goal campaign since 2015-16. He did that with an entirely reasonable 13.8 shooting percentage as well. Palmieri picked up an assist in New York's opener and has tallied nine shots on target. Tsyplakov did not get a ton of attention this offseason. In his age-25 campaign, he scored 31 goals in 65 games in the KHL and decided to come to America. The Russian scored a goal in his first NHL game. Interestingly, he's already gotten some power-play time.
DEFENSEMAN
K'Andre Miller, NYR vs. DET ($3,900): It's encouraging that Miller has five shots on net already. He tallied 30 points last year, but only put 96 shots on goal. The 24-year-old has been getting the chance to skate with Adam Fox on the top pairing and even played 1:58 on the power play in the Rangers' second game. I'm a bit concerned about the number of shots the Red Wings have allowed so far. The Penguins put 28 shots on net against them in their season opener. In their last game, Cam Talbot turned away 42 shots in a 3-0 shutout win over the Predators.
