This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
GOALIE
Carey Price, MON vs. NJ ($8,000) – It hasn't been a good stretch for Price, who's allowed 11 goals in his past three games, including a game against the Oilers in which he was pulled after just 14 shots. The Devils can actually score a lot of goals, but if Taylor Hall (knee) can't play, their offense will take a big hit. Price has always been slightly better at home and holds a 2.37 GAA against the Devils in his career.
WINGER
Vladimir Tarasenko, STL vs. ANH ($7,600) – He's scored nine points in 15 career games against the Ducks, but more importantly, the Blues are 11-6-0 at home and the Ducks have won just three of their past 10 games, and just don't enough depth to overcome their injuries. Tarasenko is hard to stop already, and the Ducks will be very shorthanded. The talented Russian sniper has been held without a point in consecutive games just twice this season, and he's coming off a shutout loss against the Lightning.
Jakub Voracek, PHI vs. BUF ($6,600) – He's quietly having a great season with 37 points in 30 games, and the Sabres are one of just two teams that have a goal differential worse than minus-30. Voracek has seven assists in his past four games, including two three-assist efforts. The Sabres blue line is very banged up and their No. 1 defenseman isn't having a good season, and the Flyers' top line with Voracek, Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier should have no problem dominating them.
Vladislav Namestnikov, TB at ARI ($6,500) – The third member of Tampa's vaunted top line, Namestnikov is one point away from matching last year's total and eight points away from tying his career high. Arizona has the league's worst goal differential at minus-39 and is 3-8-1 at home. There's just too much firepower for Arizona to handle, especially for such a young team going up against a team that wasn't in the Stanley Cup Final too long ago. Tampa is the heavy favourite, and the top line has an opportunity to pad their stats. In two games against the Coyotes last year, Namestnikov scored two goals.
CENTER
Vincent Trocheck, FLA at COL ($6,700) – He's on a six-game scoring streak after notching an assist against Chicago on Tuesday, and he's also managed to register nine hits and seven blocked shots in his past two games on the road. Trocheck is a fantasy monster because he can fill the stats sheet in all sorts of different categories, and despite Colorado's better record and goal differential, Florida should be the favoured team. The Avalanche don't have a shutdown center and may play Nathan MacKinnon against Aleksander Barkov head to head, which means Trocheck can eat up overpaid veteran Carl Soderberg or youngsters Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher.
Brayden Point, TB at ARI ($5,900) – Like Trocheck, Point is on a tear with a five-game scoring streak, including a goal and an assist in back-to-back games, and will have the opportunity to play against a team that has very little experience down the middle with Christian Dvorak and Dylan Strome. Point was held without a point and went minus-3 in his only career game against the Coyotes, and everyone knows that's not reflective of his abilities.
DEFENSE
Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI vs. BUF ($5,300) – Gostisbehere is one of the better value plays for Tuesday, coming in at an affordable price against a bad opponent that may allow a lot of goals. After a November lull, he's back on track in December with three points in five games, and the hot streak should continue with the Flyers playing strictly against Eastern Conference opponents for the rest of the month. Gostisbehere has played just nine of his 27 games against inter-conference opponents, and in those nine games he's already scored 10 points.
Erik Johnson, COL vs. FLA ($4,700) – Avalanche players don't usually make this list, but Johnson's the exception with home-ice advantage and facing a team that likes to shoot a lot. Johnson's a shot-blocking machine with 16 in his past five games, and it won't matter if he faces Barkov or Trocheck — he's going to be in his own zone quite a bit and spend a lot of time sacrificing his body for the greater good. Johnson is coming off a game in which he finished minus-3, but it was also the final game of a tough four-game road trip.
