This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are four games in the NHL on Friday with Vegas traveling to New York to face the Rangers, Florida is in Pittsburgh, Colorado hosts LA and Seattle is home to St. Louis. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Joey Daccord, SEA vs. STL ($8,300): Daccord snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday, stopping 32 shots in a 6-2 win over Chicago. Daccord has solidified his hold on the top job with the Kraken, going 14-8-8 with a 2.32 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Daccord has been a pleasant surprise this season as it was thought that Philipp Grubauer would be the No. 1 netminder with the Kraken. Daccord will take on the Blues, who have won three games in a row.
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. LA ($8,100): Georgiev has won two straight games, giving him a 26-11-2 record, the most wins in the NHL. He is 1-1-0 against the Kings this season, giving up five goals on 73 shots. The Kings have been slumping terribly of late, as they are 1-5-2 on the road, after starting the season as road warriors, going 13-0-1.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. VGK ($6,000): Zibanejad had a four-game point streak end Tuesday. He had a goal and four helpers on his streak, giving the Swede 15 goals and 44 points in 46 contests. He has 21 points on the power play this season. Zibanejad had a new linemate at practice Thursday as Blake Wheeler joined Kreider on the top line. Zibanejad is the lowest price he has been this season and is worth taking a chance in DraftKings on Friday.
Pavel Dorofeyev, VGK at NYR ($3,800): Dorofeyev has really come on since the calendar switched to 2024. He has four goals and six points in 10 games and has moved to the top line with Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Dorofeyev is also seeing time on the top power-play unit, but has yet to pick up a point on the power play this season. He is a great price on DraftKings.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Kings
Nathan MacKinnon (C-$10,200), Mikko Rantanen (W-$8,800), Jonathan Drouin (W-$4,100)
The top line in the NHL, especially of late, is led by MacKinnon. He has 82 points and trails only Nikita Kucherov by one point in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. MacKinnon has nine points in his last two games, including a huge game Wednesday versus Washington, when he picked up four goals and added an assist. Rantanen has 65 points, fourth in the NHL. He also had a five-point night versus Washington. Drouin's salary really helps this forward stack, but he has been no slouch of late, as he has 19 points in his last 20 games. The trio have really clicked and finally the trade of Drouin from Montreal in the offseason is paying off, as he and MacKinnon have regained their magic play together from their junior days with Halifax of the QMJHL.
Panthers at Penguins
Matthew Tkachuk (W-$7,500), Sam Bennett (C-$5,200), Carter Verhaeghe (W-$7,200)
Tkachuk has been exceptionally hot since Christmas, picking up 10 goals and 24 points in his last 13 games. The Panthers' best player has 15 goals, 48 points and 176 shots on goal in 47 games. Tkachuk has only one goal on the power play, but he has made up for that with 15 assists. Bennett has only played in 35 games this year, as once again he has proven to be injury-prone. Bennett missed 12 of the Panthers first 13 games with a lower-body injury, but has managed to play in the last 34 straight games. He has 11 goals and 22 points this season, and has been hotter of late, scoring five goals and adding five assists in his last 10 games. Verhaeghe has been the most productive this season, tallying 24 times while adding 25 assists. Verhaeghe has points in 11 of his last 13 games, picking up eight goals and adding 13 assists. All in all, this line is well-priced and a good selection if you want to stack your lineup with a complete line.
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Fox, NYR vs. VGK ($5,600): Fox has five points in his last three games and five goals and six assists in his last 10 outings. The 25-year-old defenseman has eight goals and 35 points in 37 games this season, including 20 points on the power play.
Vince Dunn, SEA vs. STL ($5,500): Dunn returned to action after a four-game absence due to an undisclosed injury. He picked up an assist Wednesday, giving him four goals and seven assists in his last nine games. Dunn has eight goals and 36 points in 43 games this season, after a big 2022-23 campaign in which he had 14 goals and 64 points in 81 outings. He is the Kraken's top offensive defenseman and is a good price Friday.
