Tuesday’s slate in the NHL has 11 games lined up, creating a lot of difficult decisions regarding which prospects to roster in DFS contests. Vegas, Edmonton, and Nashville will be competing with minimal rest, as all three teams played on Monday night. Use caution when rostering players from these teams, as players often lack fresh legs and their production slips. Conversely, some of the league’s best teams, like Carolina and St. Louis, find themselves trending in the wrong direction late in the season. These teams are talented enough to make a deep run in the postseason, and time is quickly winding down. Expect desperate, intense production from these rosters as just over four weeks remain until the conclusion of the regular season.
I’ve narrowed down all of Tuesday’s prospects to eight players who possess the opportunity and ability to produce while providing high value in DFS lineups. Use at least a couple of these prospects to set a good foundation and give yourself the best chance of cashing lineups by the end of Tuesday’s slate. High salaries can be discouraging at first but recognize that the amount of points they can generate outweighs the steep salary. Saving money on a player who winds up with minimal opportunities in the offensive zone tanks DFS lineups. So recognize that high value doesn’t always mean a low salary, especially if the player can notch a multi-point outing.
Without further ado, let’s jump into Tuesday’s NHL DFS prospects!
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Recommended Plays: DraftKings
DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000
Mark Scheifele (C – WPG): $5,800
28-year old Mark Scheifele has the third-highest number of goals scored (23) for the Jets this season, and he’s entering Tuesday’s home game against the Vegas Golden Knights with five points across his previous four games. Scheifele has been earning over 20 minutes average time on ice for the majority of March, and he’ll get a great plus-matchup against the Golden Knights’ reserve netminder Logan Thompson (G – VGK). The 25-year old goaltender has played well, allowing only three goals in his previous two starts. However, Thompson just surrendered two goals in a 3-0 loss to Minnesota on Monday night. The lack of rest and the Golden Knights’ 4-6 record in their last ten games is the perfect recipe for Scheifele to net a point or two. Plug him into lineups with confidence.
Alex Ovechkin (LW – WAS): $8,300
Alex Ovechkin undoubtedly remains the best player for Washington in 2022. The 36-year old winger has scored 40 goals, which is double the amount of the second goal-leader on the team. He’s not only a goal-scorer. Ovechkin nets assists at the same dizzying rate, racking up 36 assists while yielding a high shot volume. Ovechkin has scored a goal in four straight games entering Tuesday’s home game against a plummeting St. Louis Blues team. The Blues will deploy Ville Husso (G – STL) in the net after he finished with his worst performance of the season in a 5-4 loss to Columbus on Saturday. Husso has an impressive 2.34 GAA and a 3:1 win to loss ratio, but he’s been vulnerable due to the Blues’ lack of offensive production. Ovechkin is an absolute stud and essentially half of the Capitals’ offense. In a plus matchup, pay up to acquire one of the best players on the slate.
Shayne Gostisbehere (D – ARI): $5,000
Arizona’s top-scoring defenseman, Shayne Gostisbehere, has netted an assist in three of his previous four games and enters Tuesday’s home game with a plus-matchup against Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer (G – SEA). Gostisbehere attempts one to four shots on goal in most games and occasionally adds a couple of blocked shots every other matchup to raise his floor via activity in the defensive zone. Grubauer led the Kraken to a win in his last start against Detroit, saving 21 of 23 shots to finish with a 4-2 victory on Saturday night. Yet, he allowed 12 goals in a previous three-game stretch, resulting in a 1-2 record. Gostisbehere only managed two blocked shots in his last matchup against Grubauer six weeks ago, so perhaps this time around, he’ll transfer his momentum and net his 30th assist of the season. He has an excellent opportunity to do so against Grubauer and the Kraken on Tuesday night, so add him into lineups as a high-upside salary-saving defenseman.
Ilya Sorokin (G – NYI): $8,300
Ilya Sorokin has been excellent defending the crease all season for the New York Islanders. He gets a juicy matchup against a struggling Ottawa team at home on Tuesday night, as the Senators have only managed to score more than one goal once in their last three matchups. Combined with Sorokin’s elite prowess in between the red pipes, their lack of offense keeps his steep $8,300 salary at a value in DFS lineups. The 26-year old netminder is a victim of the Islanders’ streaky and occasionally anemic offense. However, Sorokin has only allowed six goals across his last four starts. This is an incredible statistic and should be glowing in a plus-matchup against the porous offense of the Ottawa Senators. Pay up for Sorokin. You won’t regret it by the end of the night.
Recommended Plays: FanDuel
FanDuel maximum salary is set at $55,000
Yanni Gourde (C – SEA): $5,400
30-year old second-line center Yanni Gourde has hit his stride in terms of offense, scoring four goals across his previous three games. This three-game goal streak should continue against Arizona on Tuesday night, as Karel Vejmelka (G – ARI) has improved but remains vulnerable enough, surrendering three goals in each of his previous three starts. Gourde earns additional minutes on Seattle’s top powerplay unit and has risen from the third-line attack to the second-line attack due to his improved play in March. The 30-year old Gourde buried two assists against Vejmelka back on February 9th and should have plenty of opportunities to duplicate this effort due to his momentum and confidence on Tuesday night. At $5,400 on FanDuel, Gourde is cheap and offers high-upside, creating solid value to target when constructing lineups.
Jamie Benn (W – DAL): $5,300
Dallas is fighting for their playoff lives in the Central Division, just six points behind St. Louis. Veteran winger Jamie Benn earns minutes on the Stars’ third-line attack and extra opportunities on their second powerplay unit, where he’s scored roughly a quarter of the total points (34) he’s accrued for Dallas during the 2021-2022 NHL season. Benn attempts anywhere from one to three shots on goal and is limited in terms of blocked shots, so you’re hoping for an assist or a goal when rostering the veteran in DFS lineups. Fortunately, Benn and the Stars will face an Edmonton Oilers team likely to be exhausted from a 3-2 overtime loss against Colorado on Monday night. Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen (G – EDM) did not start last night but is projected to earn one on Tuesday night against Dallas. The 33-year old goaltender has surrendered eight goals in his previous two starts, which gives Benn an excellent opportunity to end his two-game point drought. He manufactured a goal and two assists against Montreal last week before being held without a point in either matchup over the weekend, so Benn is undoubtedly capable of offensive success. Believe in his upside against a tired Oilers team who will have to overcome the physical and mental hurdles endured after losing an emotional game to the Avs on Monday night.
Nate Schmidt (D – WPG): $5,300
Nate Schmidt is an excellent value in terms of defensemen on Tuesday’s slate. The 30-year old earns minutes on the Jets’ third defensive line and second powerplay unit and has a three-game assist streak intact entering Tuesday’s home game against Vegas. Logan Thompson is their netminder, and he’s been mediocre in limited starts. The lack of offense generated by the Golden Knights is the natural appeal, as Schmidt is active on the boards and blocking shots, finishing with at least two blocked shots in four of his previous five games. His shot volume hovers low around one to two per game, so the activity in the defensive zone is necessary for his production to be an asset and not a hindrance. In addition, Schmidt’s elite vision and ability to set up scoring possessions is his ace skillset, so against an inexperienced netminder on a struggling team, rostering Schmidt makes a lot of sense.
Tristan Jarry (G – PIT): $8,500
The Columbus Blue Jackets have won four of their past five games. Yet, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry has elevated his play in the crease in March, allowing two or fewer goals in six of his previous seven starts. This is the type of high-level goaltending to seek out in DFS lineups. FanDuel has acknowledged his improvement, so his salary is steep at $8,500, making Jarry the second-priciest goaltender to roster on Tuesday’s slate. Jarry performed well against the Blue Jackets in his previous start against them back in January, racking up 15 saves and allowing zero goals in two periods during a 5-2 win. Jarry is worth the salary, so add him into lineups and wait for the points to pile up at the night’s end.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
