Tuesday's nine-game schedule is again heavy on pitting sides against less familiar foes, featuring 14 teams engaged in interconference competition. Plus storylines aplenty. Early on, the Devils are looking to take advantage of the visiting, and frequently stumbling Blackhawks, while the Senators are hoping to repeat a recent 3-2 winning performance in their second and final match-up with the Kings. This time in Ottawa.
A little later, bench boss Paul Maurice visits his former club for the first time as Florida's coach, and Stars stellar forward Jason Robertson endeavors to extend his point-streak to 19 games when sibling Nicholas and the Maple Leafs visit. Remember, the younger Robertson - a part-timer in Toronto thus far this season - scored twice the last time these two sides met (Oct. 20). Oh, and then there's the matter of Mitch Marner's own record-breaking point-streak to monitor.
To wrap it all up, the Canadiens travel to Seattle where this year's fourth-overall draft selection lies in wait for the team that very intentionally picked Juraj Slafkovsky first-overall instead. Shane Wright has already been through alot this inaugural campaign. A strong performance against the organization that skipped him over, after he was projected for No. 1 selection, would go a long way in boosting the rookie's confidence.
Favorable scoring match-ups
Carolina Hurricanes at Anaheim Ducks
10 p.m., Honda Center, Watch live on ESPN+
Winners of four straight altogether, the Hurricanes are enjoying themselves a pleasant road trip, averaging 4.3 goals/game through stops in L.A., St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. The Ducks have surrendered precisely five goals in five of their past six contests. Carolina's most productive skaters appear in good shape to put up a few in this contest. Keep in mind, after missing most of November, Teuvo Teravainen is back and skating on a scoring line with Andrei Svechnikov.
Montreal Canadiens at Seattle Kraken
10 p.m., Climate Pledge Arena, Watch live on ESPN+
The Canadiens aren't likely to fall spectacularly apart for a second night in a row after conceding seven goals and blowing an initial 4-0 lead against the Canucks on Monday. Right? Still, considering how both team defenses are performing at present (rather generously), we should see a fair bit of scoring in this interconference affair. Since Nov. 12, Jake Allen and Martin Jones have "boasted" a .873 SV%/4.03 GAA and .866 SV%/3.91 GAA, respectively. There's one incentivized, dark-horse scoring asset on Seattle's side that intrigues me in particular. More on him below.
Mid-tier fantasy forwards
Shane Wright, Seattle Kraken (32.9%): "I'm just going to try to treat it as another game," Wright said. "Obviously, it's my first game back from Coachella [Valley] and going try to play with confidence if I'm in the lineup and not really think anything extra or special, just take it as a normal hockey game." Against the team that bypassed him with the No. 1 pick in the most recent Entry Draft. After spending most of this NHL campaign sitting as a healthy scratch or on a conditioning assignment in the AHL. (Where he scored four goals in five games for the Firebirds.) Nope, nothing extra or special about this game for Wright whatsoever.
See also:
Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers (67.5%)
Nicholas Paul, Tampa Bay Lightning (32.7%)
Deep league/Daily Fantasy value forwards
Zach Parise, New York Islanders (6.3%): Shooting up a storm, the veteran sniper is averaging 3.8 shots/game these past couple of weeks. He also has three goals and an assist through that stretch. Coming off Monday's 6-4 loss to the Rangers, St. Louis can't keep the puck out of their own net. While there's the temptation to invest in Thomas Greiss against his old team, the Blues' defensive woes go beyond how well (or not) the club's No. 2 and struggling starter Jordan Binnington are performing as individuals.
See also:
Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets (14.6%)
Max Domi, Chicago Blackhawks (17.1%)
Arthur Kaliyev, Los Angeles Kings (8.5%)
Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning (9.0%)
Dawson Mercer, New Jersey Devils (5.2%)
Mid-tier fantasy defensemen
Sean Durzi, Los Angeles Kings (34.3%): The Kings defender is on a tear since losing a pair of games to a lower-body injury. In the five contests since, Durzi has seven points - including five with the extra skater - and nine blocked shots. He accrued 2.1 fantasy points in standard ESPN.com leagues in his last meeting with the Senators (Nov. 27).
See also:
Filip Hronek, Detroit Red Wings (62.4%)
Vladislav Gavrikov, Columbus Blue Jackets (50.7%)
Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers (40.5%)
Deep league/Daily Fantasy value defensemen
Jake McCabe, Chicago Blackhawks (18.6%): The Blackhawks blueliner has four assists and 17 blocked-shots in his most recent six contests, which helps average out to 2.3 fantasy points/game (more than fellow Chicago defender Seth Jones). He's also good for a handful of hits, night in and out. Give McCabe a thought in leagues that appreciate those who sacrifice themselves in the spirit of goal prevention.
Goalies
Tristan Jarry (projected), Pittsburgh Penguins (93.0%): What a difference a matter of three weeks can make. Since mid-November, Jarry has been one of the league's most reliable netminders, winning six of seven starts, while riding a .937 SV% and 1.97 GAA. Wildly inconsistent, the opposing Blue Jackets will need to be at their best to penetrate the Penguins' No. 1, in Pittsburgh, on Tuesday evening.
See also:
Pyotr Kochetkov (projected), Carolina Hurricanes (10.1%)
Cam Talbot (projected), Ottawa Senators (52.5%)
Vitek Vanecek (projected), New Jersey Devils (73.7%)
Bench 'em
I know it feels like the Red Wings are scoring frequently right now and that's because they are. But most often against certain teams, like the Sharks, Blue Jackets, Coyotes, and Sabres. When meeting up with the Golden Knights and Maple Leafs, the pucks aren't finding the mesh nearly as often. Projected to start in Tampa's crease, Andrei Vasilevskiy has only lost to the Bruins (twice) since Nov. 13. He's beaten all other competition. Beyond Detroit's top fantasy performers, I'm looking elsewhere for supporting help.