This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's a busy Saturday for the NHL with no fear of college football or NFL playoffs to deal with this week and 10 games starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. There are plenty of options for your DFS lineups, so I'll try to make things easier by providing my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Four teams are playing on the road on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Kraken host the Oilers, the Flames host the Predators, the Blue Jackets host the Blues, and the Avalanche host the Canadiens. I listed those based on an increasing level of matchup intrigue.
GOALIES
Jake Oettinger, DAL vs. UTA ($7,700): Oettinger has only posted a .903 save percentage through his last nine outings, but he's also managed a 2.19 GAA during that stretch as the Stars have only allowed 26.0 shots on net per game. Three times during those nine appearances has Oettinger played a full game while not even facing 20 shots. Utah has averaged 27.2 shots on goal per contest, so he may not be that busy Saturday.
Elvis Merzlikins, CLM vs. STL ($7,500): This one is all about the opponent as Merzlikins is admittedly on pace to once again finish with a GAA over 3.00 and save percentage below .900. The Blues are bottom-10 in goals and shots while on the road for the second straight night. This is the kind of matchup where Merzlikins can come out with solid numbers and a win.
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. NAS ($7,400): After a tough run of play, Wolf has excelled with a 1.97 GAA and .929 save percentage over his last five starts. The rookie netminder is playing well and now gets perhaps the best matchup possible going up against a visiting Nashville side sitting last in offense that also played on Friday.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Artturi Lehkonen, COL vs. MON ($6,600): Skating with Nathan MacKinnon for most of the year and with Mikko Rantanen as of late, Lehkonen has registered 14 goals and six assists. However, those 20 points came in only 27 games. The Canadiens rank bottom-10 in GAA, but as noted are away for their second game in as many days. Jakub Dobes will likely be making his second NHL start, so there remain questions about him.
Blake Coleman, CGY vs. NAS ($5,500): Coleman has four goals and four assists in his last nine matchups. He's only managed two power-play points overall, but that's not a worry in this matchup as the Preds maintain a top-10 penalty kill. They'll also be tired after playing late on Friday.
Tanner Pearson, VGK vs. BUF ($4,100): Pearson has notched five points during his last six games. With Ivan Barbashev on injured reserve, he's also recently made the move to the top line alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. And Vegas goes into a matchup with a Sabres team that's posted a 3.41 GAA.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Blue Jackets vs. Blues
Sean Monahan (C - $6,900), Kirill Marchenko (W - $7,600), Dmitri Voronkov (W - $6,400)
As we all expected, one of the most-productive lines in the NHL has been this Columbus trio. It's true! These three forwards have been stellar and remain in fine form. The Blues have been middling-to-decent at preventing goals and shots, though they do carry a bottom-10 penalty kill. Given that they're on the road for the second game of a back-to-back, that slightly changes the outlook.
In his first season with Columbus, Monahan has racked up 37 points with at least three in three of his last seven outings. Marchenko has posted five multi-point efforts across eight with 13 PPPs. Voronkov has tallied six goals and six assists over his last nine games, including four goals with the extra man.
Kraken vs. Oilers
Chandler Stephenson (C - $4,700), Jared McCann (W - $6,300), Andre Burakovsky (W - $4,100)
The Oilers are another team on the road for a second consecutive night. Calvin Pickard is in line to start for Edmonton, and the 32-year-old netminder has produced a career .904 save percentage while currently at .898. Seattle's lineup has shifted a fair amount, but its current second trio is worth stacking.
Stephenson potted a goal last time out, though he's mostly been dishing out assists with 20 overall and 12 on the power play. His role with the extra man is key as the Oilers have a bottom-10 penalty kill. McCann has been the Kraken's leading goal scorer during every season of their existence and is up to 13 to go with 15 assists. He's also directed 100 shots on net. Burakovsky has recorded three points over his last two appearances. He still only has a 5.8 shooting percentage, so there's room for improvement.
DEFENSEMEN
Vince Dunn, SEA vs. EDM ($6,500): Dunn has been on fire since returning from a lengthy injury absence with seven goals and seven assists in 15 games. He's also averaged 2:35 on the man-advantage while the Oilers maintain a below-average and - as noted - will be on the road for the second day of a back-to-back.
Neal Pionk, WPG vs. DET ($5,600): Pionk has produced 27 points through 40 games. He's only averaged 1:31 on the power play, yet has notched nine points there. That's worth noting since the Red Wings rank 31st on the penalty kill. They also have two goalies with save percentages hovering around .900.
Noah Hanifin, VGK vs. BUF ($5,500): Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo are around to grab a lot of the spotlight, but Hanifin has recently been up there in terms of production with eight points across nine outings. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has posted a 3.07 GAA on the season with a 3.83 since the start of December.
