This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are only three games in the NHL on Friday as the Penguins travel to Florida to face the Panthers while the Blues go on the road to meet a Blue Jackets side that just played Thursday and the Wild finish off their back-to-back set in Edmonton. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. MIN ($7,600): After an awful start, Skinner has been especially hot of late winning five straight. Skinner is 9-7-1 with a 3.03 GAA and .889 save percentage overall and has only given up eight goals on 141 shots over those last five victories. The Wild come in ranked 18th at 3.08 goals per game and were just shut out on Thursday by the Canucks.
Jet Greaves, CLS vs. STL ($7,500): Greaves represents a value play as there are only three games on the schedule and he's poised to make his season debut. The 22-year-old has only appeared in one NHL game and was outstanding when he made 46 saves against Toronto back in April. The Blues sit 23rd in NHL scoring averaging 2.88 goals.
VALUE PLAYS
Jake Neighbours, STL at CLS ($4,300): Neighbours has notched 10 goals with only one assist so far. The youngster has been on a tear of late with eight tallies and a helper from his last 10 games. Neighbours is participating on the Blues' top power play and that will eventually help his stats with one of his goals have coming on the man-advantage.
Frederick Gaudreau, MIN at EDM ($3,500): Gaudreau has only produced a goal and two assists, but managed all three points over his last four outings. He's also getting time on Minnesota's third line and second power play.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Panthers vs. Penguins
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,700), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $7,300), Evan Rodrigues (W - $5,800)
This trio doesn't play together, but could be an outstanding stack considering their salaries. Barkov has racked up seven points in his last five games to give him 24 on the year. Tkachuk has only registered a goal and assist from 10 outings, but is capable of breaking out at any time based on his back-to-back 100-plus point campaigns. Rodrigues is coming off his best game of his career as he accumulated four points versus Dallas on Wednesday to give him seven across three appearances.
Oilers vs. Wild
Connor McDavid (C - $10,300), Zach Hyman (W - $9,100), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (W - $6,000)
McDavid is riding a seven-game point streak where he's totaled four goals and 15 assists. Hyman has been great of late and just produced his first hat-trick of the year. Nugent-Hopkins is at a decent 19 points so far, including nine in nine games. Expect this group to pile on the points at home against the Wild.
DEFENSEMEN
Brandon Montour, FLA vs. PIT ($5,100): Montour missed the first 18 games of the season due to offseason shoulder surgery. He's only posted two points from the nine since returning, though he went off for 73 last season and he's starting to direct more pucks on net.
Zach Werenski, CLS vs. STL ($6,600): Werenski has five assists from his last five outings to give him 20 points overall. He's only registered three points on the power play despite quarterbacking the top unit and that should improve as the season goes on as he's managed double-digits in that category from five of seven years.
