We've made it through the holiday season, but now it's Saturday with plenty of NHL action. Thanks to a lot during the afternoon, there are seven games on the evening slate with the first pucks dropping at 7 p.m. EST. Here are my DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are two teams on the second leg of a back-to-back. With the Wild, it doesn't mean that much given their top goaltending tandem. However, it's still worth noting they'll be facing the Kings after visiting the Ducks on Friday. The Canucks will be hosting the Bruins, but that does matter as Thatcher Demko started Saturday and Kevin Lankinen is neither Filip Gustavsson nor Jesper Wallstedt.
GOALIES
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. NAS ($8,100): I want to know what makes Wolf feel so comfortable in Calgary as he's posted a 1.94 GAA and .930 save percentage at home this season and a 3.97/.865 on the road. Nashville has climbed to the margins of the bottom-10 in goals per game, yet I don't think they're a top-10 offense either and Wolf is essentially a Vezina-caliber goalie at home.
Jeremy Swayman, BOS at VAN ($8,000): Swayman has been up and down for a while, but only allowed two goals in each of his last two starts. The Canucks rank bottom-10 in goals and will be playing for the second straight day, so Swayman could easily continue his streak for a third consecutive outing.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Gabriel Vilardi, WPG at OTT ($5,600): Vilardi notched 25 points with the extra man last year and is currently at 10. This is notable as two penalty kills have separated themselves from the pack as clearly the two worst in the NHL. One is Seattle. And you've likely deduced the other is Ottawa.
Anders Lee, NYI vs. TOR ($4,700): Lee doesn't have found the scoresheet across his last three appearances, yet has still gone off for 12 points in the last 14. The longtime Islander has also directed 100 shots on net so far. The Leafs have allowed a league-high 31.5 shots per game, which is partially why they enter Saturday with a 3.33 GAA.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Bruins at Canucks
Fraser Minten (C - $2,700), David Pastrnak (W - $8,100), Marat Khusnutdinov (W - $2,500)
The Bruins have been interestingly setting up their lineup. Pastrnak has been on the third line at even-strength while continuing to get all the minutes on the power play. And that makes this a favorable stack as it's easier to manage from a salary perspective. As for the matchup, the Canucks are on the second leg of a back-to-back and Kevin Lankinen has struggled to an .885 save percentage.
The 21-year-old Minten has almost doubled his career game total coming into this season and has already tripled his previous point haul at 15, which includes two assists last time out. Since returning from injury, Pastrnak has racked up 15 points - five of those on the man-advantage - and 38 shots through 11 matchups. Khusnutdinov has been productive of late with a point from five of his last eight outings.
Capitals vs. Blackhawks
Dylan Strome (C - $5,800), Alex Ovechkin (W - $7,100), Aliaksei Protas (W - $5,100)
I know the Blackhawks have allowed 30.0 shots on net per game. What I don't know, as of posting this, is who will start on the first leg of a back-to-back. Arvid Soderblom has a career .887 save percentage while Spencer Knight has struggled to an .892 over his last 15 appearances. So either way, I'd want to stack Washington's top trio.
The goals haven't been there for Strome, which is unusual as he's had at least 23 in every year since joining the Caps. He's also supplied 23 assists with three goals in his last five games. Ovechkin isn't the player he used to be, but can still tally 34 points alongside 109 shots. It's clear now that last season wasn't a fluke for Protas as he's so far generated 16 goals and 15 assists and just as productive with his shooting percentage only falling from 21.1 to 18.0. He's also hot of late with six goals and five helpers during his last eight.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG at OTT ($5,600): Morrissey has notched nine power-play points after 22 last season while averaging 3:07 on that unit. Most defensemen would love to have those totals, which could be useful on Saturday facing an Ottawa team ranked bottom-two on the penalty kill.
MacKenzie Weegar, CGY vs. NAS ($5,300): It took Weegar a while to get into gear as he's registered nine points and 29 shots in his last 10 games. I previously mentioned Wolf's home/road split in a positive way, so I'll flip that around and note Juuse Saros has posted an .883 save percentage on the road.
