This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a small three-game slate for Friday before a busy Saturday with 14 games, and the Jets are the only team playing the second half of a back-to-back. Expect David Rittich to get the start after Connor Hellebuyck stymied the Sabres on Thursday night.
With two games in California, the Jets at Penguins game will be excluded from the Late Night slate. All three games will be available on the Main slate.
A high-scoring game is awaiting with Oilers at Sharks. Goaltending is optional in this game, and it will feature the league's best player and one of the best high-volume shooters in Timo Meier on the other side.
GOALIES
David Rittich, WPG at PIT ($8,200): It should be the battle of the backups with Casey DeSmith getting the start for the Pens with Tristan Jarry on injured reserve. The Pens may have just snapped their six-game losing streak, but they also fell behind 3-0 in their most recent game, and DeSmith was pulled before they staged a comeback to beat the lowly Canucks. The Jets are far more in sync and have a healthy lineup for one of the few times this season. Rittich's save percentage is low, but his GAA is also low because the Jets are pretty good at preventing high-quality chances and they should provide ample goal support.
Vitek Vanecek, NJ at ANH ($8,400): There aren't many quality goalies taking the start Friday and it's a small slate, so Vanecek should be a popular pick. He's probably the best choice of them all. The question really isn't whether the Devils will win, but by how much. Vanecek has won four straight games and has gone 4-0-0 against the Pacific this season.
VALUE PLAYS
Dylan Holloway, EDM at SJ ($4,000): Playing with Connor McDavid has its perks. It's been a quiet season for the highly regarded rookie, but after getting moved up to McDavid's wing, Holloway scored a goal in 14 minutes of action. It was his second goal in four games, comprising two-thirds of his season total. Against a weak defensive team and playing next to McDavid should put Holloway in a good spot to score again.
LINE STACKS
Devils at Ducks
Jack Hughes (C - $9,600), Tomas Tatar (W - $5,400), Erik Haula (C - $4,300)
Haula's just along for the ride, and his main purpose on this line is to win faceoffs, so it's nice that he's scored five assists in his past six games. Hughes is obviously the lynchpin of this line, and it'll be a matchup between one of the league's best teams at generating shots against the league's worst defensive team by a country mile and perhaps also in the history of the cap era.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, SJ vs. EDM ($7,600): If two assists in three games is considered "quiet" for Karlsson, it's still much better than what the rest of the competition has to offer on most nights. Despite Karlsson being far more productive this season, his salary is just slightly more than Dougie Hamilton's or Josh Morrissey's, both of whom are having fine seasons but who are not on the same level as Karlsson offensively.
Ty Smith, PIT vs. WPG ($4,100): Smith registered two assists in his last game against the Canucks and he's stepped in as the quarterback on PP1 in Kris Letang's absence. He's not just passing pucks, either, as he's put 14 shots on goal during a five-game stretch, raising the floor of his nightly fantasy production.
