Fantasy buzz: Oesterle seizing prime role with Blackhawks

All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.

DraftKings value picks for Tuesday

CENTER:

Value pick: Lars Eller, WSH ($3,400 vs. VAN): The Washington Capitals center has three points (two goals, one assist) in the past five games. He's averaging 2.9 DraftKings points per game over that stretch. Eller saw his ice time increase to 17:01 against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday and capitalized by scoring a goal on two shots on goal. He will center a line with left wing Brett Connolly and right wing T.J. Oshie against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, SNP, NHL.TV). Eller averages 2.7 DraftKings points per game at home compared to 1.7 on the road.
Spend up for: Aleksander Barkov, FLA ($6,200 at STL)

WING:

Value pick: Chris Kunitz, TBL ($3,000 vs. CAR):The Tampa Bay Lightning left wing brings value to DFS formats against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, FS-CR, NHL.TV). The 38-year-old will be on a line with center Steven Stamkos and right wing Nikita Kucherov, each among the League's top five in scoring. Kunitz played 14:15 against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday and had two shots on goal and has a strong track record when playing alongside elite center Sidney Crosby during his years with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Spend up for: Johnny Gaudreau, CGY ($6,900 at MIN)

DEFENSEMAN:

Value pick: Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF ($4,800 vs. WPG):The Buffalo Sabres defenseman has been playing well with six points (two goals, four assists) in his past five games. Ristolainen is averaging 4.3 DraftKings points per game in the span compared to 2.8 on the season. He will skate on the top pairing with Marco Scandella and anchor the point on Buffalo's top power-play unit against the Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN3), who will be starting backup goaltender Steve Mason.
Spend up for: Roman Josi, NSH ($6,300 vs. EDM)

GOALTENDER:

Philipp Grubauer, WSH ($8,000 vs. VAN):The Washington Capitals backup goaltender has two wins in 13 games (10 starts) because of a slow start, but has been playing well with a .936 save percentage in his past nine games. He has a favorable matchup at home against the Canucks, who are winless in their past four games. He stopped all 37 shots faced in a 1-0 shootout loss against the New York Rangers on Dec. 27 for 9.4 DraftKings points.

Oesterle emerging on Blackhawks top pair

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jordan Oesterle (14 percent owned in Yahoo) scored a goal in their 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. This goal marks Oesterle's fifth point (three goals, two assists) in the past five games.
His three goals are tied for most among Blackhawks defensemen despite him playing 16 of their 41 games. He signed a two-year contract with the Blackhawks on July 1, but did not see consistent playing time until Dec. 10.

Oesterle has logged at least 23:00 in each of the past five games, including 2:07 on the power play against the Oilers, second among Chicago defensemen behind Duncan Keith. Since being moved to the top pair, Keith and Oesterle have been on the ice for 12 goals and four goals against.
The 25-year-old defenseman provides great value for DFS formats at $4,000 in DraftKings. In deeper season-long formats, Oesterle is
worth adding for the second half
of the season. In 16 games, he has eight points (three goals, five assists) and 35 shots on goal. Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook is expected to be a healthy scratch against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, NBCSCH, NHL.TV), giving Oesterle added DFS value.

Dubois stays hot on first line, power-play unit

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois (C/LW, 29 percent owned) scored a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, giving him eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past 10 games. He is centering Columbus' top line alongside left wing Artemi Panarin and right wing Josh Anderson.
Dubois played 21:59 against the Maple Leafs, with 3:27 coming on the power-play (T-1st among Columbus forwards). He's made the most out of his high power-play usage with five power-play points in the past 10 games (tied for Blue Jackets lead with defenseman Seth Jones).
Dubois is worth adding in deeper leagues and has high upside in DFS formats considering his prime power-play role. He has
staying power on Columbus' top line
in the second half, especially for as long as center Alex Wennberg is sidelined with a back injury.
The 19-year-old has the third-most points (17 in 21 games) among rookies since Nov. 27 behind Boston Bruins forward Danton Heinen (C/LW/RW, 19 points in 18 games) and Vancouver Canucks right wing Brock Boeser (18 points in 18 games).

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