The NHL's back to its typical schedule now that we're far enough away from the Olympics. Tuesday is packed with games, but neither Monday nor Wednesday is. This Monday features five games on the DFS slate starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. Here are some NHL DFS lineup recommendations for your Monday. Kick off the work week in style!
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SLATE PREVIEW
No team is on a second night of a back-to-back. A few teams are on the first leg, but the only one that matters to me from a goaltending decision perspective is Columbus. Also, honestly, Elvis Merzlikins has looked pretty good as of late.
GOALIES
Brandon Bussi, CAR at SEA ($7,900): To the surprise of nobody, the Hurricanes have allowed a mere 24.5 shots on net per game. It's also not terribly surprising that the Kraken have only managed 25.2 shots on net per contest. Bussi has a 2.23 GAA in large part because of how few shots he faces. Monday, he might not even face 20 shots.
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. CLM ($7,600): Getting a goalie of Shesterkin's caliber at this salary usually intrigues me, and this matchup isn't imposing by any means. The Rangers are at home, and the Blue Jackets are average in terms of goals per game. While New York is "retooling," Shesterkin has a 2.45 GAA and .913 save percentage, and this hasn't been a full teardown just yet.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Owen Tippett, PHI at TOR ($5,400): Tippett is as good as any Flyer at getting pucks on goal. He has 152 shots on net through 59 games, and he's tallied 19 goals. That means he's also about to have his four 20-goal season in a row. Toronto is in the bottom six in GAA at 3.45, and a big part of that is that it has allowed a league-high 31.9 shots on net per game.
Gabriel Landeskog, COL at LOS ($5,100): Landeskog return to the Avalanche lineup after the Olympic break, and he's been placed back onto the top power-play unit. He doesn't have a point there yet, but he does have two points in three games. Plus, if you play alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for long enough, you'll start to rack up points. The Kings just fired their head coach, and they have a bottom-five penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Stars at Canucks
Wyatt Johnston (C - $7,200), Jason Robertson (W - $8,200), Mavrik Bourque (W - $4,300)
The Canucks are primed to run away with being the worst defense in the NHL. They are last in penalty-kill percentage, and with a 3.66 GAA are last on that front by a comfortable margin. To save salary I considered Dallas' second line, but ultimately the top line is worth it to me. Two of these guys are crucial to the top power-play unit as well, after all.
Johnston has already notched his third 30-goal season in a row. He's also been fantastic on the power play, having tallied 20 power-play goals through 59 games. Robertson has two points and five shots on net in two games after the Olympic break, so his run of success wasn't merely sticking it to Bill Guerin and company (and it's not like you can stick it to them at this point). Like Johnston, Robertson is already over 30 goals. Bourque has improved upon what he did in his rookie year. In fewer games he already has 11 goals like he had last year, and this season Bourque has 103 shots on net as well. Additionally, over his last 11 outings the one-time AHL MVP has eight points and 25 shots on goal.
DEFENSEMEN
Thomas Harley, DAL at VAN ($5,500): Over his last seven contests, Harley has eight points and 17 shots on target. Because he missed time, he likely won't get to double-digit goals or 45 points again, as he has done the two prior seasons. Still, he's been quite productive when healthy, especially of late. As I noted above, the Canucks have a 3.66 GAA and are all but locked into finishing last on that front.
Shayne Gostisbehere, CAR at SEA ($4,900): It's been a decade, but Gostisbehere is still doing his thing. That is to say, he's averaged 3:25 per game on the power play and has 14 points with the extra man in 42 contests. I mentioned earlier the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill. The Kraken rank 31st on that front.
