This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Most of the NHL is in action Saturday. I won't be looking at the five afternoon games for DFS purposes, though I will likely be watching, but that still leaves us with nine NHL matchups starting at 7 p.m. EDT or later. Time to get to the recommendations!
SLATE PREVIEW
Friday was a light night, with only two games. That means we only have two teams on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Canadiens, who are at home, and the Jets, who are on the road. I'm here to recommend players you should use in your lineup, but I will point out that two teams that you might tend to turn two are squaring off and may limit their fantasy upside as a result. The Avalanche and Hurricanes are loaded with talent, but Frederik Andersen and Darcy Kuemper have dueling .926 save percentages.
GOALIES
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. ARI ($8,500): Markstrom's last start was rough, but even so he still has a 2.24 GAA and .922 save percentage. This is a great matchup for him to get back on track. The Coyotes rank last in goals (2.45) and shots on net (25.7) per game by a large margin.
Vitek Vanecek, WAS at MON ($8,400): Vanecek has a 2.63 GAA even with a .910 save percentage, thanks in large part to the Capitals only allowing 29.1 shots on goal per contest. The Canadiens have only scored 2.53 goals per game, and they are also on the second night of a back-to-back.
Craig Anderson, BUF vs. PHI ($7,800): Normally, you wouldn't want any part of Anderson. At home against the Flyers, though, offers intriguing opportunity. The Flyers have scored 2.55 goals per game, second lowest in the NHL. They've also started working young, inexperienced players into their lineup, which in the short term likely lowers their chances of scoring goals and winning games.
VALUE PLAYS
Viktor Arvidsson, LOS vs. CLM ($6,600): Arvidsson excels at putting pucks on net. He's tallied 220 shots on goal this year in only 61 games. The Blue Jackets, on the other hand, have allowed league-high 35.4 shots on net per contest. Arvidsson has four games with five shots on net or more in his last eight outings. I'd bet the over on that Saturday.
Nick Paul, TAM vs. WPG ($3,000): Since joining the Lightning, Paul has seven points in 13 games. Now, Tampa has moved him to the top line to see how he might fit in with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. The Jets are as middling as you can get defensively – they rank 17th in GAA – but they are also on the road for the second night of a back-to-back.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Capitals vs. Canadiens: Nicklas Backstrom (C - $3,900), T.J. Oshie (W - $3,000), Marcus Johansson (W - $2,500)
The Canadiens have the league's highest GAA, and they are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Not only that, Jake Allen is done for the season. Carey Price did surprisingly return and start Friday, but that still leaves Sam Montembeault (3.64 GAA, .895) save percentage likely starting this one. Two players from Washington's second line are on the top power-play unit, and the Canadiens have a bottom-five penalty kill.
Backstrom has 29 points in 40 games, and a whopping 14 of those points have come on the power play. In this matchup, that's not a concern. Injuries have limited Oshie to only 36 games, but when he's played he's averaged 3:19 on the power play and tallied eight power-play points. Johansson only has one point since rejoining the Capitals via trade, but maybe a move to the second line is what he needs to get going. Or a matchup with the Habs.
Flames vs. Coyotes: Elias Lindholm (C -$6,600), Johnny Gaudreau (W - $7,200), Andrew Mangiapane (W - $4,000)
The Coyotes are last in penalty-kill percentage and tied with the Blue Jackets for last in goals per game. They also have the third-highest GAA, which counts as progress for them, I suppose. Karel Vejmelka has been going through hell in net, as he's allowed six goals in each of his last three games. The Flames recently dropped Matthew Tkachuk from their top line, probably to try and get Mangiapane going, which makes it a little easier to stack this line, salary wise. Of course, this is the kind of matchup you splash cash for.
Lindholm has tallied 74 points in 74 games, and he's shooting more than ever. The Swede has 212 shots on net, and he's never had more than 182 before. And yet, Lindholm can't hold a candle to his linemate Gaudreau. He has his first 100-point season, and he's also put up multiple points in four of his last six games. The line swap does seem to have helped Mangiapane. He recently broke a 12-game goal drought with his 31st goal of the season. On top of that, he's gotten to average 2:51 with the extra man in his last four outings.
DEFENSE
John Carlson, WAS at MON ($6,800): With Dmitry Orlov banged up, you may not have a salary-saving option on the Washington blue line worth a shot. That being said, I'm happy to shell out on Carlson against the team with the highest GAA in the NHL that's also on the second leg of a back-to-back. Carlson is also scorching, with 11 points in his last five games.
Rasmus Andersson, CGY vs. ARI ($4,200): Andersson has six assists in his last nine games, giving him 42 assists this season. The 25-year-old also has 17 points on the power play. As I noted, the Coyotes have the league's worst penalty kill.
Owen Power, BUF vs. PHI ($2,900): The first-overall pick is in the NHL, and in his second game he looked ready to compete at this level. He played 23:10 and picked up an assist and three shots on goal. The Flyers have a 3.58 GAA and have allowed 34.0 shots on net per game, and Carter Hart may also be done for the season.
