This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There are 10 games ahead of us tonight. Four of them will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET (Vancouver at Ottawa, Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, Montreal at Washington, Calgary at Columbus), followed by two starts at each of 7:30 (Detroit at Boston, Carolina at St. Louis), 8:00 (Edmonton at Nashville, the Islanders at Winnipeg) and 10:00 (Toronto at Utah, Dallas at Anaheim).
SLATE PREVIEW
The biggest mismatch of the night is projected to be Ottawa (minus-235) versus Vancouver (plus-190), judging by FanDuel's moneyline. That might be in part because the Canucks are playing in the second half of a back-to-back. While it's true that Vancouver is also having a rough campaign, Ottawa hasn't exactly inspired recently. The Senators have dropped their past four games and are 2-6-1 across their past nine to fall to 20-19-5 on the road.
Washington (minus-176) and Carolina (minus-156) are also solid favorites against Montreal (plus-146) and St. Louis (plus-130), respectively. Edmonton (minus-110) versus Nashville (minus-110) is projected to be a toss-up. The Oilers are also playing in the second half of a back-to-back and are on the road. Meanwhile, the Predators have found themselves after a 6-12-4 start, going 15-8-0 across their past 23 games.
GOALIES
Ilya Sorokin, NYI at WPG ($7,800): Sorokin is having a strong campaign with a 14-10-2 record, 2.46 GAA and .915 save percentage in 26 appearances. He could use more support from his teammates, but the Jets have underperformed this season with a 17-22-5 record, so this is a winnable game for Sorokin.
Jeremy Swayman, BOS vs. DET ($7,600): Swayman has been more hit than miss recently, allowing two or fewer goals in four of his past five appearances and five of his last seven. He's 17-11-2 with a 2.88 GAA and a .902 save percentage in 31 appearances this season. The Red Wings are a strong adversary, but they're playing for the second straight night and are entering their third game in four days, so fatigue might be an issue.
Leevi Merilainen, OTT vs. VAN ($7,000): As discussed above, the Senators are heavy favorites due to the Canucks' fatigue and woes — Vancouver has gone 0-5-2 over its past seven games. Merilainen has a 6-10-0 record, 3.48 GAA and .866 save percentage in 17 outings this year, so he's usually not advisable, but given his adversary, Merilainen might provide decent value at a low price point.
VALUE PLAYS
Taylor Hall, CAR at STL ($4,700): Hall has been a steady contributor recently, supplying two goals and six points over his past six appearances. The Blues rank 29th in goals allowed per game with 3.46, so this is a good opportunity for Hall to build on that productive run.
Simon Holmstrom, NYI at WPG ($4,600): Holmstrom will enter tonight's action amid a three-game goal-scoring streak in which he's collected four markers. His hot streak is part of a larger run of success in which he's accumulated six goals and 10 points across 10 outings.
Alexandre Texier, MON at WAS ($4,500): Texier registered two assists Monday, bringing him up to four goals and eight points across his past four appearances. He didn't even play consistently earlier in the campaign and was exposed on waivers by St. Louis, which led to Montreal picking him up. However, the Canadiens have leaned on him recently, giving him more than 15:00 of ice time in seven of his last eight games, which has helped his production.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins vs. Red Wings
Elias Lindholm (C - $6,200), David Pastrnak (W - $7,900), Marat Khusnutdinov (W - $4,300)
This line was held off the scoresheet in Boston's 1-0 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the trio bounce right back against the tired Red Wings.
Even accounting for Sunday's quiet game, Pastrnak has been on fire lately, providing six goals and 17 points across his past 10 outings. He's up to 19 goals and 55 points in 41 appearances in 2025-26. Lindholm has been effective too, collecting three goals and seven points in his past six appearances, bringing him up to eight goals and 30 points in 36 outings.
Khusnutdinov isn't as big of an offensive threat as his linemates, but he did have that incredible four-goal, five-point game Saturday. The 23-year-old is up to nine goals and 20 points in 41 appearances this season. He's not a bad grab to round out the line, given how affordable he is.
Capitals vs. Canadiens
Dylan Strome (C - $6,000), Alex Ovechkin (W - $6,200), Aliaksei Protas (W - $5,800)
Ovechkin is on a four-game goal-scoring streak with five goals and six points across that span. By contrast, his linemates aren't hot, but they're certainly capable of stepping up. Strome has 10 goals and 34 points in 44 appearances, while Protas has 16 goals and 31 points in 43 outings in 2025-26.
Montreal hasn't been great in its own zone this campaign. The Canadiens are tied for 23rd in goals allowed per game with 3.20. Montreal is also likely to be exhausted going into its second game in as many nights, third in four days and fifth in seven.
DEFENSEMEN
Evan Bouchard, EDM at NAS ($7,000): Bouchard is coming off a fantastic game in which he supplied two goals and an assist to extend his point streak to five games. He's up to 11 goals and 46 points in 46 outings this year.
John Carlson, WAS vs. MON ($6,400): Carlson has accumulated a goal and six points over his past four appearances. That's brought him up to nine goals and 35 points in 42 games this season.
Ivan Provorov, CLM vs. CAL ($5,200): Provorov has been a fairly steady contributor recently for a defenseman at his price point, supplying four assists across his past six outings. The Flames have struggled on the road this campaign, going 7-15-2 while allowing 3.46 goals per game, so this is a decent time to take Columbus players.
