This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
This week is a bit of an odd one in the NHL. The unofficial first half of the season ends on Wednesday, so this won't be a typical preview for the week. Rather this will be a preview to of Tuesday night's action only.
Usually, this piece includes one player from every position and then a good (and cheap) tournament goalie to use. With the uniqueness of this week, I'm going to add a player or two at each position to give a few more options to use for tonight's NHL slate.
As always, these are all skaters priced at $4,000 or less.
Center
J.T. Miller, New York Rangers ($3,700)
It's been an up-and-down year for Miller, who has been in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch all season. Miller should be drawing in tonight, and will be playing on what is essentially New York's fourth line.
Miller is a GPP play only. The Rangers spread out their ice time enough that their fourth line isn't like most fourth lines in the NHL. In fact, he should get about 13 or 14 minutes of ice time. Considering he'll draw matchups of Ottawa's third and fourth lines and their third-pairing defensemen, there's a good amount of upside here.
Brandon Sutter, Pittsburgh ($3,300)
Sutter is also a tournament play like Miller just because I think the top two lines do most of the damage tonight for the Penguins at home to Philadelphia. He's a bit of a cheaper option, though, so he's even more appealing.
Sutter's matchups are similar to that of Miller's. When facing the depths of a bad team, there's always a fair amount of upside because of plus/minus.
Left Wing
Nick Spaling, Pittsburgh ($3,800)
Spaling continues to play alongside Evgeni Malkin, and as long as he stays there, he carries a fair amount of value.
Spaling's production comes almost exclusively from even-strength play. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as plus/minus carries more weight than power-play points in FanDuel scoring. When playing with Malkin, the duo are on the ice for a shade over a goal for every 20 minutes of ice time. In fact, they score about as often as Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais do, for reference. I don't mind Spaling for both cash games and cap relief in tournaments.
Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay ($3,500)
Tampa Bay are at home tonight against Vancouver. Typically, I want to avoid skaters that may be facing the Sedin line when picking against the Canucks. Killorn and linemates Cedric Paquette and Brett Connolly should be able to manage at least that.
Without the Sedins on the ice, Vancouver is about a 48-percent possession team. That's abysmal for a team that has playoff hopes, and that's why I like Killorn for his price tonight. On top of that, he gets second-unit power-play minutes.
Right Wing
David Pastrnak, Boston ($3,900)
Boston goes into Dallas tonight, and typically, I don't like relying on players on the road. However, kind of like Vancouver, the Stars are a 49.3-percent possession team without Tyler Seguin on the ice. I would assume the David Krejci line avoids playing the Seguin line for the most part tonight, and that should provide Pastrnak with an opportunity for value.
On top of the potential plus matchups, Pastrnak is also on the power play with Krejci and Milan Lucic. Dallas is in the bottom-third of the NHL in penalty killing, so it's a good matchup all around for Pastrnak.
Andre Burakovsky, Washington ($3,500)
Burakovsky is still playing on the top line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. That gives him exposure to one of the top duos in the NHL.
It hasn't been a great stretch for Burakovsky, though. He's been on that top line for a while now, and has just three points since the start of December. He is cracking 15 minutes of ice time with some regularity these days, though. Also, if there's any team that this top line can break out against offensively at even-strength, it's the Edmonton Oilers.
Defenseman
Seth Jones, Nashville ($3,100)
Nashville has goaltending problems with Pekka Rinne out of the lineup -- that's not in doubt. However, they are facing a Montreal team tonight that has trouble generating offense, for the most part.
If anything, Jones will be avoiding the Max Pacioretty line for the most part. If Nashville does get their net filled, there's a good chance it's that line that does most of the damage. With Ryan Ellis still out of the lineup, Jones is a good value for his price point tonight.
Jason Garrison, Tampa Bay ($3,800)
For most of the season, and when healthy, Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman played together on the top pairing. Of late, though, Stralman has been playing with Garrison. I would assume that Hedman continues to face the top competition, and tonight that means playing against the Sedin line.
As I mentioned with Killorn, avoiding the Sedin line is the key to value against Vancouver. Garrison should be able to do that at even strength, and he has such a low price point that he doesn't even need a point tonight to pass value. I don't mind him as an option in cash games tonight.
Goaltender
Petr Mrazek, Detroit ($7,400)
Expect Mrazek to be highly-owned tonight, as Minnesota is in town and playing their second game in as many nights. At his price, the win alone will recuperate two-thirds of his cost in fantasy points. I think that's a reasonable expectation for tonight. Let the goals fall where they may.
I would only use Mrazek in tournaments. There are better (safer) options for cash games.
Good luck today!
