Like most other professional sports leagues, the National Hockey League is currently experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 cases, leading to the postponement of several games in recent days. The only game played on Monday ended up being a high-scoring upset, as the Dallas Stars defeated the Minnesota Wild 7-4. Minnesota has quietly dropped four in a row and no longer has a comfortable lead over teams in the Central Division. Meanwhile, Dallas is .500 in their last ten games and sits only one point behind the Winnipeg Jets. Seven different players scored for the Stars on Monday. Will this be the case yet again with the two games still scheduled for Tuesday’s slate?
Hockey fans get to watch two relatively good games on Tuesday despite the postponements. Washington travels to Philadelphia, while the Vegas Golden Knights host the reigning champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Since these are the only two matchups, stacking players is inevitable. I’ve identified the best players to target to maximize these stacks when constructing your DFS lineups tonight. So let’s get into it!
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Recommended Plays: DraftKings
DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000
Claude Giroux (C – PHI): $5,700
Philadelphia is a difficult team to analyze. On the one hand, the Flyers have a minus-18 goal differential and sit in the bottom half of the Metropolitan Division. On the other hand, Philadelphia is 4-5-1 in their last ten games, including four wins in their previous five games played. This season, the second-line center Claude Giroux is the Flyers’ point leader with 25 points and 11 goals. The 33-year old has spent his entire 15-year career in Philadelphia and has had several phenomenal years. He has at least four shots on goal in his last two outings and scored a goal against Ottawa on Saturday, making him a quality value player to insert into Tuesday DFS lineups. Giroux also skates on the top powerplay unit, offering even more incentive to acquire him against Washington on Tuesday night.
Cam Atkinson (RW – PHI): $5,200
Sticking with the Flyers’ second-line attack, 32-year old winger Cam Atkinson has surged alongside Claude Giroux this season. Atkinson leads the team in goals (12) after notching an impressive hat-trick against the New Jersey Devils a week ago. He contributed to the goal scored by Giroux against the Senators in their last game, earning his eighth assist of the season entering Tuesday’s contest against the Washington Capitals. The Capitals are currently suffering from injuries to most of their key players, and goaltender Ilya Samsonov (G – WAS) has been playing poorly as of late. Samsonov has allowed at least three goals in four of his last five starts, opening an opportunity for Atkinson to bury a puck in the back of the net on Tuesday night. He’s a great player to pair with Giroux, forming a reliable stack with a high-floor and high-ceiling in a surprisingly plus-matchup.
Alex Pietrangelo (D – VGK): $7,000
Vegas is 8-2 in their last ten games and is currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak. Top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has been a reliable creator of scoring opportunities all season. He tied second in assists (17) on the team while managing to pour in five goals of his own. The 31-year old earns a whopping 25 minutes average time on ice most nights, so expect him to return value despite the expensive salary. Tampa Bay is another team playing great fundamental hockey. Still, Pietrangelo benefits from skating on one of the best offensive attacks in the league, as well as hitting extensive minutes on the ice. Pay up and plug Pietrangelo into lineups.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (G – TB): $7,600
27-year old netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy has been playing great defending the crease for the Tampa Bay Lightning in recent games. After a bit of a rough start, Vasilevskiy has allowed only three goals once in his last five starts and has earned wins in all of these appearances. This includes 35 saves against Toronto and 37 saves against Boston, showing that his elite play is not due to inferior competition. Vegas is a great team that has scored the second-most goals in the league (111), but Vasilevskiy is talented enough to win in net tonight. He is also riding the momentum from previous strong finishes, which I always like to see before a big primetime game. He’s discounted and playing great in the net, so take advantage of the value and prioritize inserting Vasilevskiy into Tuesday’s lineups.
Recommended Plays: FanDuel
FanDuel maximum salary is set at $55,000
Sean Couturier (C – PHI): $5,700
Pivoting back to the Philadelphia Flyers, first-line center Sean Couturier is worth consideration in lineups. He’s not nearly as prolific a goal-scorer as Cam Atkinson and Claude Giroux, but he does have a knack for racking up assists, earning 11 through 29 games. The 29-year old is now in his 11th season with the Flyers, and his chemistry with other veterans such as Giroux makes him a better overall player. Skating on the top powerplay unit is a plus, but his point drought has dragged on for long stretches of games this season. With an assist, this ended against Ottawa, but Couturier gets a good matchup against struggling Washington goaltender Ilya Samsonov. He does not offer much of a ceiling, but the floor is intact for Couturier due to the lack of star players for the Capitals on Tuesday night.
Jonathan Marchessault (LW – VGK): $7,000
Jonathan Marchessault has double the number of goals (14) than assists and plays great on the Golden Knights’ second-line attack. The 30-year old has three goals across his last four games and averages four to five shots on goal per night. He skates additional minutes on the second powerplay unit for Vegas and is fourth in points on a team filled with talented personnel. Marchessault still has good value at $7,000, but he will need to bring his best performance against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Ivan Provorov (D – PHI): $4,200
First-line Flyers defenseman, Ivan Provorov, has three assists in his last three games after a six-game point drought. The 24-year old has stepped up with blocked shots in his previous two games, elevating his ceiling and countering his lack of shots on goal. Goals have been hard to find for Provorov, but the play of Washington goaltender Ilya Samsonov has been lackluster, meaning he could notch his tenth assist of the season on Tuesday night. 24 to 25 minutes on ice also raises Provorov’s appeal due to the vast opportunities he will see. The value is still good due to the reduced salary and plus-matchup.
Carter Hart (G – PHI): $7,800
Carter Hart has been playing better for Philadelphia after a horrendous start to the season. The 23-year old goaltender has allowed two or fewer goals in three of his last five games while leading the Flyers to two wins and a shootout loss last week. Washington is missing Anthony Mantha (F – WAS), Tom Wilson (F – WAS), Evgeny Kuznetsov (C – WAS), T.J. Oshie (F – WAS), and Nicklas Backstrom (C – WAS). Only Alex Ovechkin (LW – WAS) remains in the Capitals’ lineup, which gives Hart a shot at securing a win to leap the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division standings. His improved play, along with an injury-riddled opponent and divisional leapfrogging on the line, makes Hart an underrated value play on Tuesday.
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