Jake Allen's Devils and Alex Nedeljkovic's Penguins clash in a battle of backup goalies thrust into No. 1 roles and responsible for keeping their respective teams in the playoffs race.

On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games

14 games on Tuesday, Feb. 4

* - confirmed

Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN* at Jeremy Swayman, BOS* (7 p.m. ET)

Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ* at James Reimer, BUF* (7 p.m. ET)

Linus Ullmark, OTT at Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB* (7 p.m. ET)

Nico Daws, NJ* at Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT* (7 p.m. ET)

Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA* at Logan Thompson, WSH* (7 p.m. ET)

Adin Hill, VGK at Ilya Sorokin, NYI* (7:30 p.m. ET)

Stuart Skinner, EDM* at Jordan Binnington, STL* (8 p.m. ET)

Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR* at Eric Comrie, WPG* (8 p.m. ET)

Joseph Woll, TOR* at Dustin Wolf, CGY* (9 p.m. ET)

Samuel Ersson, PHI* at Karel Vejmelka, UTA* (9 p.m. ET)

Mackenzie Blackwood, COL at Thatcher Demko, VAN* (10 p.m. ET)

Cam Talbot, DET* at Joey Daccord, SEA* (10 p.m. ET)

Jake Oettinger, DAL* at John Gibson, ANA* (10:30 p.m. ET)

Sam Montembeault, MTL* at Alexandar Georgiev, SJ* (10:30 p.m. ET)

Goalies

Calvin Pickard, EDM at STL (11% rostered)

The Oilers are coming off two straight losses and playing the first game of a back-to-back, which means Pickard could get the start. If he does, he should be a popular waiver wire pickup. He's won five straight starts with two of the league's best offensive players supporting him while the Blues have not managed to score more than two goals in five straight games.

Given the Blue's offensive blues and the Oilers' stacked offense and stronger record, streaming Pickard should be a no-brainer. 

Cam Talbot, DET at SEA (51% rostered)

Players and goalies rostered in more than half of Yahoo leagues usually aren't featured, but Talbot's worth mentioning one last time. He's been excellent lately and the Kraken's offensive struggles date back to the franchise's inception. This might be a close battle because Joey Daccord is excellent and he can keep them in games, but the Red Wings have been on a roll with six straight wins.

Only once in a while does the Kraken offense come alive, but I'm willing to take that chance. Talbot should be a solid, all-round option as he goes for his fifth straight win. 

Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ at BUF (37% rostered)

It's a battle between two injury-riddled teams with the Jackets missing top sniper Kirill Marchenko (broken jaw) and the Sabres potentially missing their top scorer in Tage Thompson, who passed concussion tests following a hit to the head against the Devils but whose status is still questionable as of Monday evening. Merzlikins had his three-game winning streak snapped Sunday in Dallas but, generally speaking, he's been very good lately and the Jackets certainly have the edge. The Sabres are one of the few teams that allow more goals per game than the Jackets and rank 19th in shots per game.

I think this could be a high-scoring game. Given the Sabres aren't particularly good at generating shots, don't expect Merzlikins to rack up the saves like he did against the Stars, but if you're looking for a win, I think he is a good option. 

Jake Allen, NJ at PIT (41% rostered)
Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT vs. NJ (18% rostered)

What concerns me most is the Devils' recent play. They're 5-6-3 since Jan. 1, but on the bright side they're 3-2-0 in their past five and their offense has finally woken up. I think the Devils should win this game quite handily in spite of Allen's rather pedestrian thanks to an offense that has scored three or more goals in four of those five games.

Nedeljkovic has actually been the better goalie lately (.951 SP in past three games), but the Pens have had to grind out wins against mid-to-lower tier teams. I have concerns about how much goal support the Pens can provide, and note their defense is thinner after trading the steady Marcus Pettersson to the Canucks.

Don't hope for a shutout or any brilliance from Allen, but he'll be fine in such a lopsided matchup with the Devils' superior lineup. Nedeljkovic is the better option if you're looking for saves, but Allen's one of the best options available for a win. 

Samuel Ersson, PHI at UTA (23% rostered)
Karel Vejmelka, UTA vs. PHI (30% rostered)

Ersson is a pretty good goalie, but his problem is the Flyers can't score; they've been shut out in three straight games. Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier's status for this game is unclear as they deal with visa issues, which means the Flyers offense may be shorthanded once again.

Utah is likewise facing challenges on offense due to an injury to top center Logan Cooley. They've lost five straight and have not been able to score more than two goals in any of those games. This is shaping up to be a low-event, low-scoring game where the two teams are grinding it out and the winner determined by a coin flip.

I think Ersson and Vejmelka are both capable of having good games but note NHL.com's odds has Utah as the favorite. Sometimes, though, two low-scoring teams can end up in a high-scoring game because both teams are pushing for more offense and giving up some defensive structure in the process. It's difficult to predict how this game will go and there are better options out there on a busy night. However, if you already have Ersson or Vejmelka already rostered on your fantasy team, I think they're worth starting despite some risk. 

Charlie Lindgren, WSH vs. FLA (31% rostered)

The Capitals are in a bit of a slump with a 1-1-2 record following a six-game winning streak. They're coming off a 5-4 OTL to the Jets, and with Lindgren and Logan Thompson splitting the starts lately, Lindgren might start this game. Interesting to note that NHL.com's FanDuel odds have the Panthers as the slight favorite even though they're lower in the standings and the road team. Lindgren isn't having a strong season and the Caps defense has allowed 10 goals in two games while the Panthers offense has scored 14 in their past three. 

I don't have a ton of confidence in Lindgren and it's wiser to leave him on the waiver wire against a strong team. The Caps are the stronger team, but their momentum is trending down but opposite for the Panthers, especially their offense. 

Joonas Korpisalo, BOS vs. MIN (12% rostered)

The Bruins play back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday, so Jeremy Swayman may get this start; otherwise, he'll face the Rangers again after beating them on Saturday, 6-3. Korpisalo's inconsistency makes him difficult to rely on in fantasy. The Wild are coming off an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the Sens so they'll come out with a strong performance, and despite the Bruins' strong home record (17-8-3), the Wild are arguably the league's best team on the road (20-6-3).

If Korpisalo gets the start, I find it unlikely he'll get the win. Both his own performances and the Bruins are just far too consistent to be reliable, and Korpisalo is either really good or really bad. I don't think this is a good matchup for him because the Wild are a strong team even without Kirill Kaprizov. 

John Gibson, ANA vs. DAL (13% rostered)

The Ducks are indeed playing better, having won four of their past five, but with the acquisitions of Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci, the Stars are that much better deeper and better. I think Gibson can rack up the saves and this game might be closer than we think, but there's no doubt the Stars have the upper hand.

Unless you're looking for a multitude of saves, Gibson's chances of winning are very slim. It's not a hard pass, but there's little upside when the Ducks are major underdogs. 

Alexandar Georgiev, SJ vs. MTL (41% rostered)

The Canadiens were hot but now they're reeling with five straight losses. But is it any reason to pin more hopes on the Sharks and their poor goaltending? Nope. This actually might be the game the Habs can get on track following a a four-day break. 

Hard pass on Georgiev. 

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