This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
GOALIE
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR vs. FLA ($9,300) – The Panthers have been disappointing thus far this season, sitting just one game over .500 with an even goal differential after undergoing some major changes during the offseason. It's common knowledge now that the Rangers roll four very good lines, and with the departures of a few key veterans, the Panthers are now counting on rookie Michael Matheson and youngsters Mark Pysyk and Dylan McIlrath for significant minutes. It should be an easy win for the Rangers, who also have no significant injuries with the Panthers still missing top forwards Nick Bjugstad and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Petr Mrazek, DET vs. CGY ($7,600) – Mrazek hasn't been very good recently but all he has to do is be better than the guy at the other end of the ice. He's allowed four goals in each of his past four starts and may lose the starting job to Jimmy Howard soon, but for now he's still the starting goalie. He's too talented to keep losing, and the Flames are in a pickle having to start either Chad Johnson or Brian Elliott, because even if either goalie turns in a good performance, the team is having trouble scoring, especially without Johnny Gaudreau (hand).
CENTER
Mark Scheifele, WPG at CAR ($7,800) – Even thought the Jets' power play only ranks 18th, the Hurricanes' goaltending ranks sixth worst in the league based on save percentage. That means there will be plenty of opportunities
GOALIE
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR vs. FLA ($9,300) – The Panthers have been disappointing thus far this season, sitting just one game over .500 with an even goal differential after undergoing some major changes during the offseason. It's common knowledge now that the Rangers roll four very good lines, and with the departures of a few key veterans, the Panthers are now counting on rookie Michael Matheson and youngsters Mark Pysyk and Dylan McIlrath for significant minutes. It should be an easy win for the Rangers, who also have no significant injuries with the Panthers still missing top forwards Nick Bjugstad and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Petr Mrazek, DET vs. CGY ($7,600) – Mrazek hasn't been very good recently but all he has to do is be better than the guy at the other end of the ice. He's allowed four goals in each of his past four starts and may lose the starting job to Jimmy Howard soon, but for now he's still the starting goalie. He's too talented to keep losing, and the Flames are in a pickle having to start either Chad Johnson or Brian Elliott, because even if either goalie turns in a good performance, the team is having trouble scoring, especially without Johnny Gaudreau (hand).
CENTER
Mark Scheifele, WPG at CAR ($7,800) – Even thought the Jets' power play only ranks 18th, the Hurricanes' goaltending ranks sixth worst in the league based on save percentage. That means there will be plenty of opportunities to score for Scheifele and linemates Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, and it'd be shocking if they don't hit the scoresheet. For such a young team, they should have no problem playing on consecutive nights, and should also be motivated to bounce back after a 4-1 loss to the Bruins in which they only mustered 12 total shots on goal.
Ryan Kesler, ANH vs. LA ($6,700) – He's playing his best hockey since moving to California, and if Anze Kopitar (upper body) misses yet another game, Kesler is going to feast in the faceoff circle. Kesler is one of those players who does just about everything, so even if he doesn't score any points he's going to still get a lot of pucks on net and throw his body around. He thrives off big games and competition, and a date with their cross-town rival should bring out the best in Kesler. He's averaging over 21 minutes over his past five games, as well.
WING
Patrik Laine, WPG at CAR ($6,600) – That price is an absolute steal for the league's leading goal scorer, even though he's scored just once in his past six games. DFS owners who picked Scheifele should also get his better half, and hope that the Jets' top line runs wild against a Carolina team that isn't very solid on defense and has some very leaky goaltending. The fact that Ron Hainsey is still third on the team with 21:48 of ice time per game tells you how poor that defense is right now.
Nikolaj Ehlers, WPG at CAR ($6,300) – Heck, why not just load up on the entire top line? Of the league's top 10 scorers, only Scheifele (tied for 1st) and Laine (tied for 8th) are ahead of Ehlers, who isn't far behind (tied for 11th). The trio is as talented and dangerous as any line in the league and have shown some good chemistry throughout the season, so Paul Maurice likely won't break them up anytime soon.
Jonathan Marchessault, FLA at NYR ($5,400) – With a goal Saturday against Ottawa, Marchessault continues to show that he's no fluke, excelling in his top-six role. He has three goals in his past six games and his line with Vincent Trocheck continues to produce more than Aleksander Barkov's line. Lundqvist will be hard to beat, but Marchessault is an excellent value pick at this price tag.
Dylan Larkin, DET vs. CGY ($5,200) – It's taken a while for the Michigan native to get going but he's been playing a lot better lately. So far it's still been a disappointing season as the Red Wings try to transition into the post-Pavel Datsyuk era, but his speed should be a huge advantage against the Flames. T.J. Brodie is having a very quiet season so far and Dougie Hamilton, Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland get turned around way too often and won't be able to catch up with Larkin's speed.
DEFENSE
Drew Doughty, LA at ANH ($5,500) – The Kings' workhorse will see a lot of minutes against the Ducks with a lineup that will likely be missing Kopitar. Every once in a while, Darryl Sutter will throw out Doughty for half the game, and in his past three games he's averaged 26 minutes against Colorado, Edmonton and New Jersey. Even if he doesn't score, Doughty's going to set the tone with his physical play and will also have plenty of chances to block shots against a team with a lot of offensive weapons.
Sami Vatanen, ANH vs. LA ($5,100) – It's been overlooked just how good Vatanen has been for the Ducks, as he continues to log a lot of power-play time even with Hampus Lindholm back in the fold. His eight points in 18 games doesn't look all that impressive, but his consistency certainly has; if he's not scoring points, he's busy doing something else, like when he blocked six shots against New Jersey despite failing to get on the scoresheet.
