This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
I know what the highlight of Saturday's sports slate is: New Hampshire vs. Bryant, live from the Lundholm Gymnasium! Aside from that, though, there are 12 NHL games starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. You have a lot of options for your DFS lineups, but what are the best choices? Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Only four NHL teams played Friday, and all four of them play Saturday as well. Nashville and Minnesota are at home, while Dallas and Philadelphia are on the road. However, the Stars face the lowly Blackhawks, while the Flyers have to visit the red-hot Jets.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. ANA ($8,400): This has been far from a vintage season for Vasilevskiy, but at home against the Ducks, maybe he can put up numbers reminiscent of his old form. The Ducks rank 29th in goals per game, and right now Leo Carlsson and Trevor Zegras are both hurt.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. PHI ($8,300): At this rate, Hellebuyck is going to take home his second Vezina. He has a 2.20 GAA and .923 save percentage, and that's with him having a slow start to the season! The Flyers have been unlucky, as they are in the bottom 10 in goals per game and the top 10 in shots on net per game. Even so, being on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back against hockey's hottest team? I have no worries about Hellebuyck.
Connor Ingram, ARI at MIN ($7,500): Two Vezina winners, and two guys named Connor. The bloom is off the rose for Ingram a smidge, but through 25 appearances he has a 2.62 GAA and .915 save percentage. With offense up in the NHL from years past, that's perfectly sufficient for the right matchup. The Wild may be at home, but they are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kirill Kaprizov is back skating, but it's too soon to imagine him returning to the lineup. Even with him for most of the season, the Wild are in the bottom 10 in goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Jake Guentzel, PIT at CAR ($7,700): Rumors are beginning to swirl about Guentzel's future in Pittsburgh, but he's reliable picked up goals with gusto and put shots on net by the bucketful. This year he's tallied 18 goals on 148 shots on net through 40 games. The Hurricanes are first in shots on target allowed per contest, so maybe Guentzel doesn't put eight or nine shots on net, something he has done in two of his last seven outings. Due to goaltending injuries, though, Antti Raanta will likely start for Carolina. He has an .862 save percentage. It might just take two or three shots from Guentzel in this one.
Lawson Crouse, ARI at MIN ($5,100): Crouse has been a 20-goal guy for a few seasons, and this year he already has 17 goals in only 39 games. That includes four goals in his last nine contents. There is talk Filip Gustavsson could be an option – could – for this one, but he wasn't an option Friday, so that seems optimistic. Maybe they'll rush Gustavsson into net, though, because Jesper Wallstedt allowed seven goals in his sole NHL start.
Nick Paul, TAM vs. ANA ($3,900): Paul gets credit for consistency. He has 11 goals, 11 assists, and 11 of his points have come on the power play. The Ducks have an average penalty kill, but have a 3.39 GAA and have allowed 32.7 shots on net per contest. A middling penalty kill doesn't worry me here.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Jets vs. Flyers
Vladislav Namestnikov (C - $3,800), Cole Perfetti (W - $5,000), Alex Iafallo (W - $4,300)
Both Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers are day-to-day, though both have a good chance of playing Saturday. Just to be on the safe side, though, I'll go with Winnipeg's second line. The Flyers are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, as I noted. Addiitonally, Samuel Ersson is in line to start. He has a 2.46 GAA in 18 appearances, but largely because of Philly's defense. The Swede only has a .903 save percentage. Any slip from the Flyers' defense in these circumstances and it doesn't bode well for them with Ersson in net.
Namestkinov has never consistently been a productive scorer, but in this lineup right now, the Jets are getting all sorts of production. The Russian has 11 points over his last 13 games. With 14 goals in 41 games, Perfetti has already blown past the eight he scored in his rookie campaign. He has five goals and five assists over his last 12 outings, but his 16.7 shooting percentage in that time isn't so lofty that harsh regression toward the mean is on the horizon. Iafallo has been kind of a disappointment after joining the Jets from the Kings, but he has 17 points in 41 games. He's also averaged 2:42 per contest with the extra man, so maybe those power-play minutes will start paying off for him.
Kraken at Blue Jackets
Yanni Gourde (C- $3,200), Oliver Bjorkstrand (W - $5,200), Eeli Tolvanen (W - $4,200)
The Blue Jackets have allowed 34.1 shots on net per game. Then, you throw Daniil Tarasov in net. In his career he has a 3.70 GAA and an .895 save percentage. This may be Seattle's third line, but this isn't your traditional third line, in terms of production and minutes.
Gourde has four points in his last five games, and has put at least three shots on net in each of his last four contests. On the year he has a 7.8 shooting percentage, so there is room for improvement if his puck luck levels out. With an assist in each of his last two games, Bjorkstrand is up to 20 helpers on the season. He has 12 points with the extra man on the season, and Columbus has a middling penalty kill. Tolvanen's production has come in fits and starts, but right now he's in form. The Finn is on a four-game point streak, including two multi-point outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Roman Josi, NAS vs. NYI ($7,200): Josi has been his usual productive self, tallying 35 points in 42 games, 16 with the extra man. He also has notched 138 shots on target. Even on the second leg of a back-to-back, I'll go with Josi and his high salary in this matchup. The Islanders have been surprisingly porous, as they have allowed 35.1 shots on net per game and also have a bottom-five penalty kill.
Darnell Nurse, EDM at MON ($5,200): Nurse has points in back-to-back games, giving him 16 points on the season. He's also put 86 shots on net in 38 contests. Nurse won't see much of Montreal's bottom-10 penalty kill, but he will be facing a team that has allowed 33.6 shots on goal per game.
Adam Larsson, SEA at CLM ($3,900): Larsson isn't as productive as his teammate Vince Dunn, though Dunn is the one of Seattle's first pairing that sees power-play time. Still, Larsson has averaged 23:48 per game in ice time, and he has six points over his last 11 contests. Columbus and San Jose are the two teams in the bottom three in both GAA and shots on net allowed per game, making this one of the NHL's best matchups.
