Fantasy picks: Lightning worth stacking at home

Each day this season, NHL.com's fantasy staff will provide daily picks for DraftKings NHL contests. This article includes expensive and value plays and should be used as a basis for your roster decision-making.

TOP CENTER: Tyler Johnson, TBL ($5,500)
Johnson, playing on the Tampa Bay Lightning's top line and first power-play unit with surging Nikita Kucherov, has multipoint games in three of his past five. He has 18 points, seven on the power play, in 21 games since the turn of the calendar year and 24 points in 29 home games. Stacking Johnson with Kucherov could pay huge dividends against the Hurricanes, who have been outscored 91-65 on the road.

VALUE CENTER: Artem Anisimov, CHI ($5,200)
Anisimov has been a consistent producer at home with 25 points in 28 games, and remains a nightly threat to return value on the Chicago Blackhawks' top line with Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin. Anisimov has nine points, eight blocks and 16 shots on goal in his past 10 games for an average of 3.4 DraftKings points per game. He provides cheap exposure to the Blackhawks against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who will be on the second of a back-to-back set.
TOP WING: Nikita Kucherov, TBL ($7,700)
Even with all the attractive forward options in the Blackhawks-Penguins game, Kucherov is the hottest scorer with the most favorable matchup. In his current three-game point streak, Kucherov has combined for five goals, four assists, three blocks and 16 SOG. His shot volume has been stellar in his past 10 games (41 SOG). He has two assists and six SOG in two games against Carolina this season and 10 in nine career games. He's also better than a point per game at home (34 points in 27 games).

VALUE WING: Chris Kunitz, PIT ($4,700)
Kunitz is playing with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin at even strength, making him a glaring bounce-back candidate against the Blackhawks. He's been held without a point in six of his past seven games, but previously had a stretch of six points in six games from Jan. 26 to Feb. 9. The Blackhawks went 9-1-0 in February, but no one should be surprised if the Penguins go toe-to-toe with them offensively in this game.
TOP DEFENSEMAN: Duncan Keith, CHI ($5,500)
Keith is covering all three major DraftKings categories with nine points, 12 blocks and 19 SOG in his past 10 games for an average of 3.5 DraftKings points per game. He's tied for fourth among defensemen in points (42) entering Tuesday, and is in a prime spot at home, where he has 24 points in 32 games with eight on the power play. He's on the first man-advantage unit with Kane, Panarin, Jonathan Toews and Richard Panik, and priced fourth among defensemen.

VALUE DEFENSEMAN: Brian Dumoulin, PIT ($3,100)
With Kris Letang (upper body) unlikely to play Wednesday, expect Dumoulin to see a heavy workload and potentially even get in on the scoring. He had an assist and 3.0 DraftKings points in 23:18 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2017 NHL Stadium Series game on Saturday, and played 3:09 on the second power-play unit. That increased offensive role could lead to his first goal of the season (none on 55 SOG).
GOALIE SPOTLIGHT: Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL ($8,200)
So far, so good for Vasilevskiy after Ben Bishop was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. He stopped 39 of 40 shots faced in a 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Monday. He had a strong game against the Hurricanes on Dec. 31, stopping 26 of 27 shots faced for 7.2 DraftKings points. Eight of his 12 wins have come at home, and he's a threat for a shutout against Carolina, who's 1-5-1 in its past seven with a combined eight goals. The Lightning are five points out of Stanley Cup Playoff position entering Tuesday, so every home game is crucial the rest of the way to help Vasilevskiy build confidence.

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