This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
Will Rod Brind'Amour's lineup experiment with Sebastian Aho on the wing last another game? The Hurricanes have won five of their past seven at home while the Ducks just snapped a four-game losing streak. Scoring has, all of a sudden, become a problem for Carolina, who have failed to score more than three times in their past four games, though it shouldn't take much to beat the even more offensively-challenged Ducks.
The Penguins started off well but couldn't get the job done last night, and it should be a relatively easy matchup against the Red Wings. One thing about Sidney Crosby is that he rarely loses games he should win, and Detroit is coming off an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of the Islanders.
Will the real Lightning please stand up? They've been the best team since December but have also lost to Minnesota and New Jersey over the past week. The Jets have struggled at home and needed some help from the goalposts to beat the Canucks, and five of their past six games have been one-goal games.
GOALIES
I'm not sure Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,300) should be a top pick nor a very popular one. He's won nine straight but there were few games in which he was the best player. Connor Hellebuyck ($8,300) has been stealing all games this season and I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps the Lightning at bay.
Matt Murray ($8,000) has struggled and we're thisclose to calling him Tristan Jarry's backup, but against Detroit he should have no problems. He'll be a popular pick with a relatively healthy Pens lineup against a historically bad team.
James Reimer ($7,800) should get the start after Petr Mrazek played and lost last night, especially after Reimer shut out the Kings in his last start with 41 saves. The Ducks offense doesn't scare anyone and John Gibson ($7,700) has not been good at all since a dominant October.
VALUE PLAYS
If Brind'Amour keeps the lines the same then I like Jordan Staal ($4,800), who is playing on the top line with their two best wingers, and Erik Haula ($4,600), who was bumped up and bumped Aho to the wing. Staal scored his first goal in five games last night.
Anthony Cirelli ($4,800) gets a lot of ice time and he's starting to get hot with three assists in his past two games. The second line with Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson has been pretty good lately.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Carolina Hurricanes (TOTAL: $16,900)
C – Jordan Staal ($4,800)
W – Andrei Svechnikov ($5,700)
W – Teuvo Teravainen ($6,400)
They haven't been as dominant as you'd expect on the score sheet, but after playing more than 170 minutes together at 5-on-5, Turbo and Svech are rocking a 58.72 CF%, according to Natural Stat Trick. You wish the center had a bit more finishing ability, but Staal did managed to score last night.
Pittsburgh Penguins (TOTAL: $17,300)
C – Sidney Crosby ($8,100)
W – Jared McCann ($5,100)
W – Dominik Simon ($4,100)
Any two wingers with Crosby is a worth line stack and he's been pretty dominant on his own against Detroit in the post-Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Lidstrom era with nine points in his past six games against them. McCann has scored in four of his past six games, taking Jake Guentzel's usual spot, and Simon has three points in his past two games.
DEFENSEMEN
Kris Letang ($6,400) and Victor Hedman ($6,000) are solid picks, as always. Letang had two assists in his previous game against Detroit.
John Marino ($4,000) can present some value as a relatively safe shot-blocking option with a chance to pitch in with an assist or two. If the Pens can get an early lead, Mike Sullivan will probably spread out his minutes a bit more. Neal Pionk ($4,000) has been excellent all season and will continue to log a lot of minutes. He's a good source of shots and blocked shots, but it's not always easy to score on the Lightning.
After Dougie Hamilton got hurt, look for Jake Gardiner's ($3,900) role on the power play to increase. He had another assist last night, giving him three in his past five games after a difficult first half of the season. The Ducks are the third-most penalized team in the league.
