This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EST and features eight games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There's no shortage of enticing options to choose from in this slate, with a mixture of explosive offenses and vulnerable defenses in action. The biggest favorites are the Avalanche in Los Angeles followed by the Blue Jackets in Detroit. Meanwhile, Blackhawks-Panthers, Capitals-Penguins and Jets-Senators are tied for the highest over/under at 6.5 goals.
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, COL at LA ($8,400): Grubauer's the safest pick in net, but he's also this slate's most expensive goaltender. Coming off a shutout win over the Blues to avenge an Opening Night loss, Grubauer will be heavily favored to pick up the win against a Kings team that's winless through two games and scored the second-fewest goals in the league last season.
Elvis Merzlikins, CLS at DET ($8,100): Merzlikins should get the second half of the back-to-back in Detroit after Joonas Korpisalo won Monday's matinee. Detroit's averaging two goals per game in the early going and was the worst team in the league last year by a wide margin, while Merzlikins struggled in his season debut against Nashville but posted a sparkling 2.35 GAA and .923 save percentage in 33 games as a rookie last season.
Alexandar Georgiev, NYR vs. NJ ($7,800): Georgiev posted a 23-save shutout to beat the Islanders in his season debut, and his next opponent will be a Devils team that was limited to just two goals apiece in its first two games. With a career .913 save percentage, the 24-year-old Georgiev could be preparing to take a big step forward this season if the Rangers can tighten up defensively like they did Saturday.
Jonathan Bernier, DET vs. CLS ($6,800): If you're looking to stock up on top forward options, locking in Bernier can help free up cap space. He stopped 29 of 31 shots to beat Carolina in his season debut, and Bernier's extremely affordable heading into this matchup with a Columbus team that beat the Red Wings 3-2 on Monday but has scored only six goals through three games.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Jack Hughes, NJ at NYR ($4,900): Hughes underwhelmed as a rookie but has gotten his sophomore season off to a strong start with three assists and five shots through two games while centering the top line and No. 1 power-play unit. The 2019 first overall pick won't stay this cheap for long if he continues to build on his hot start.
Alex DeBrincat, CHI vs. FLA ($5,300): DeBrincat has a two-game goal streak going, as he's looking more like the sniper who scored 41 goals in 2018-19 than the snakebitten winger who potted only 18 last season. The diminutive top-line winger should keep the good times rolling against Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who's set to make his season debut after posting an ugly 3.23 GAA and .900 save percentage in his first year with Florida.
Nicklas Backstrom, WSH at PIT ($6,400): Backstrom has started his season on a three-game point streak, mustering a 2-2-4 line. Working on the top line and No. 1 power-play unit, the veteran center should keep the good times rolling against a Pittsburgh team that has won just once in three games and is getting subpar goaltending early on.
Mathieu Perreault, WPG at OTT ($2,600): Perreault was promoted to the second line Monday with Patrik Laine sidelined by an upper-body injury. That move didn't result in any production in the 3-1 loss to Toronto, but Perreault's a nice bargain option at just $2,600 if Laine doesn't make his return against the defensively challenged Senators.
Sam Reinhart, BUF at PHI ($4,000): Reinhart wasn't even a sure thing to suit up Monday in Philadelphia due to a lower-body injury, but he played and played well, lighting the lamp twice on six shots. At just $4,000, he's an interesting against-the-grain value option as the Sabres and Flyers meet for the second time in as many nights.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche at Kings
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,500), Mikko Rantanen (W - $7,100), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $6,500)
Colorado's Big 3 is back together on one line and ready to feast against a Kings team that allowed eight goals in two games to Minnesota. This trio combined for a 4-3-7 line in Friday's 8-0 demolition of the Blues and is capable of even more against this significantly weaker opposition. MacKinnon's coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 93 points, Rantanen has averaged over a point per game over the past three seasons, and Landeskog has scored fewer than 20 goals only once in his last seven campaigns.
Jets at Senators
Mark Scheifele (C - $6,300), Nikolaj Ehlers (W - $5,700), Blake Wheeler (W - $5,500)
Winnipeg's scoring depth is diminished as long as Laine's out, so the team will likely ride its top line even harder against an Ottawa team that allowed 3.35 goals per game last season — second-most after the Red Wings. Scheifele has played at a point-per-game pace or better for each of the past four seasons, and he has a goal on 11 shots through two games in 2021. Wheeler dropped to 65 points last season after a pair of 91-point campaigns, but the 34-year-old winger is still among the league's most effective playmakers. Ehlers was moved up to the top line this season and hasn't looked out of place thus far, with an assist and seven shots through two games on the heels of four consecutive seasons over 20 goals, including three with at least 25 goals.
Panthers vs. Blackhawks
Alexander Wennberg (C - $2,700), Jonathan Huberdeau (W - $7,000), Patric Hornqvist (W - $3,300)
Florida's second line features an elite point producer and a pair of solid value plays against a rebuilding Blackhawks team that has allowed five goals in each of its first three games. Huberdeau scored 170 points over the previous two seasons and opened this campaign with a three-point night against Chicago. Hornqvist chipped in a goal and an assist in his Panthers debut after coming over from Pittsburgh in an offseason trade, while Wennberg's a nice cheap filler option given his skilled linemates and favorable matchup.
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Fox, NYR vs. NJ ($5,200): Fox played over seven minutes on the power play and dished out a helper with the extra man Saturday with fellow offensive-minded defenseman Anthony DeAngelo scratched for disciplinary reasons. Coach David Quinn is expected to keep DeAngelo in the press box to not mess with Saturday's winning lineup, which should lead to another night on New York's highly skilled top power-play unit for Fox against a Devils team has allowed two power-play goals in seven tries through two games.
Cale Makar, COL at LA ($6,000): No Avalanche stack is complete without Makar, who has three helpers through two games after posting a 12-38-50 line in 57 games as a rookie. Given his own elite ability and the skill level of the forwards he shares the ice with, Makar is always a threat for a multi-point performance, especially against lower echelon teams like Los Angeles.
Keith Yandle, FLA vs. CHI ($4,500): Yandle scored a goal on three shots in the Panthers' first game against the Blackhawks, and though he's much more of a passer than a scorer, Yandle should continue to mark the scoresheet with regularity. The veteran blueliner has topped the 40-point mark in each of the last 10 non-lockout shortened seasons and is showing no signs of slowing down while quarterbacking Florida's highly skilled top power-play unit.
Michael Del Zotto, CLS at DET ($4,300): Del Zotto has quietly racked up three assists and eight shots through three games with Columbus. The veteran blueliner showcased some offensive skill early in his career, topping 30 points three times. Del Zotto hasn't generated as much offense in recent years, but at just $4,300, it's worth seeing whether he can build off this hot start against the lowly Red Wings.
