This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
If you like hockey, and you probably do, Saturday is the day for you. There are 13 games starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. Here are some lineup suggestions to consider when setting up your DFS lineups for this Saturday.
SLATE PREVIEW
Some matchups, like the Bruins versus the Maple Leafs, are to be skipped with so many options out there. Too much defensive talent to consider offensive players, but also too much offensive talent to consider the goalies. On the other hand, there are three teams on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back: Pittsburgh, Edmonton and New Jersey.
GOALIES
Martin Jones, SEA at CHI ($8,000): Jones has picked up back-to-back shutouts. He won't have a third in a row…unless he does. This is a great matchup for Jones. The Blackhawks have averaged 2.23 goals and 26.7 shots on net per contest, which rank last and 31st in the NHL respectively.
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN vs. ARI ($7,800): Fleury and Filip Gustavsson have been swapping starts, and that would mean Fleury is up to start this one. He has a 2.38 GAA and .925 save percentage over his last seven starts. The Coyotes are 28th in goals per game but a decided last in shots on net allowed per contest.
Darcy Kuemper, WAS vs. PHI ($7,700): Kuemper has been up-and-down since returning from injury, but all in all this season he has a 2.52 GAA and .919 save percentage. He's at home against a Flyers team that has averaged 2.83 goals and 29.8 shots on net per contest, so this should be one of Kuemper's better starts.
VALUE PLAYS
Brock Nelson, NYI vs. MON ($7,300): Nelson doesn't have a goal in his last 11 games, but he has six assists in that time. He also has 15 goals through 43 contests this season. The Canadiens have a 3.79 GAA, fourth highest in the NHL, so this could be the night Nelson lights the lamp once again.
Brandon Hagel, TAM at STL ($6,700): Hagel is one my favorite DFS archetypes: the "other guy" playing alongside two elite linemates. He gets to skate with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, and he has 17 points over his last 15 games. The Blue have a 3.58 GAA as a team, and Jordan Binnington has an .892 save percentage.
Dominik Kubalik, DET vs. CLM ($6,400): After getting dropped down the lineup, Kubalik is back up to the second line. He also has a point in back-to-back games. The Blue Jackets have a 3.98 GAA and have allowed 35.5 shots on net per contest, so Kubalik has a good chance to make it three games in a row with a point.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Panthers vs. Canucks
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,600), Sam Reinhart (W - $6,200), Anton Lundell (W - $4,400)
There are three teams pacing the league in terms of allowing goals. It's an ignominious trio, and the Canucks are one of them with a 3.95 GAA. Vancouver's primary problem is having the league's worst penalty kill, the second week in a row where this is true. This isn't just Florida's top line, but also features two members of the first power-play unit.
Production from Barkov is not unexpected, and he has 33 points in 33 games, including 11 points in eight games since returning from injury. He also has 16 points with the extra man on the year. Reinhart's last four points have all come on the power play. Last year, his first as a Panther, he had 31 points with the extra man, so he's certainly proven himself with the man advantage. Lundell is perhaps the odd man out, but he does have 15 points in 34 games. That's with a 5.1 shooting percentage, though, a number that should certainly improve.
Hurricanes vs. Penguins
Paul Stastny (C - $3,500), Martin Necas (W - $7,500), Andrei Svechnikov (W - $7,200)
The Penguins are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. They are in the bottom 10 in shots on net allowed per game, and they are missing Tristan Jarry. Casey DeSmith will likely be in net, and he has a 3.18 GAA and .904 save percentage. Stastny is now centering a lineup with two quality wings, which lifts his upside and improves this line as a stack opportunity.
Stastny has six points over his last nine games. He has a 4.4 shooting percentage on the season, a number that should improve, which will help the veteran center. Necas has a much bigger role this year, having averaged 19:22 in ice time, including 3:33 on the power play. He also has 11 points over his last 13 games, plus 51 shots on net as well. Svechnikov has 19 goals on 144 shots on net through 42 games. He's been shooting a ton recently as well, having put 46 shots on goal in his last nine contests.
DEFENSEMEN
Jared Spurgeon, MIN vs. ARI ($5,600): Spurgeon has 19 points and 72 shots on goal through 41 games. That includes eight points over his last 13 contests. The Coyotes have a 3.71 GAA and have allowed 34.7 shots on net per contest, both bottom-five in the NHL.
Brett Pesce, CAR vs. PIT ($5,300)): Brent Burns is the top offensive player on the Carolina blue line, but a lot of his success comes on the power play, and the Penguins have a top-five penalty kill. That penalty kill may not be at full strength Saturday, but it's still enough for me to be concerned. Pesce doesn't play as much on the power play and has nine points over his last nine games.
Jake Walman, DET vs. CLM ($4,400): Walman has been moved up to the top pairing for the Red Wings. He has six points over his last 11 games, including an active three-game point streak. As I mentioned, the Blue Jackets have a 3.98 GAA and have allowed 35.5 shots on net per contest.
