This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
We've got a dozen games on the docket for the first Saturday of the NHL season. That's with Tampa and Carolina getting postponed due to the weather issues down in Florida. The first pucks drop at 7 p.m. EDT. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Two teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Chicago visits Edmonton while Philly's in Calgary. It could be a big night for Alberta hockey.
GOALIES
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. CLM ($8,400): It's possible Justus Annunen will get the call on Saturday, but Georgiev is the top netminder on the depth chart for now. This is more about expecting the goalie in net for the Avalanche at home to get the win in this matchup. Columbus ranked 25th in goals last season while the current roster doesn't look imposing.
Linus Ullmark, OTT at MON ($7,800): Ullmark finishing a season with a 1.89 GAA and .938 save percentage was anomalous, though he's posted a career .918 while demonstrating above-average netminding. He did that again in his first game with the Sens by making 30 saves on 31 shots against Florida. Montreal may be better offensively this year, yet the club averaged 2.83 goals and 27.7 shots last season and I'm betting on those numbers staying in the lower-half of the league.
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. PHI ($7,700): Dan Vladar flailed in Calgary's opener, so perhaps Game 2 will go to two-time AHL goalie-of-the-year Wolf. The Flyers finished 27th in offense during 2023-24. And while this is a new year, only so much improvement seems possible while they'll be on the road for their second game in as many nights.
VALUE PLAYS
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM vs. CHI ($7,300): You know Nugent-Hopkins is going to be on the NHL's best power-play unit, and that's a great place to start. He's racked up at least 20 power-play points in each of the last six seasons. The Blackhawks sat 27th on the penalty kill last season, Petr Mrazek is still around in net, and the team while be away for the second leg of a back-to-back on Saturday.
Alexis Lafreniere, NYR vs. UTA ($6,400): It's usually not impressive to say that you were "in" on a player who went first overall, but I was high on Lafreniere in 2022-23 when it felt like he had largely been forgotten prior to his 28-goal campaign last year. And he's already supplied a goal and an assist this season. Connor Ingram managed a .907 save percentage in each of his first two seasons on the Coyotes with an .882 through two starts.
Andrei Kuzmenko, CGY vs. PHI ($4,700): This is Kuzmenko's first full season with the Flames. At the moment, he's on both the first line and man-advantage and recorded an assist in the opener. The Flyers are on the road for the second straight night as noted. And while Ivan Fedotov was good in the KHL, he's 27 and the NHL is a step up in competition. To that end, he allowed 10 goals on 53 shots faced last season.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Ducks at Sharks
Mason McTavish (C - $5,800), Trevor Zegras (W - $5,100), Robby Fabbri (W - $3,800)
The Sharks struggled to a 3.98 GAA while conceding 35.1 shots on net per game last season. They've now got two rookie centers in key roles and their head coach is leading an NHL team for the first time. All that is to say the defense likely won't be much better this year, and the team did allow five goals in their first outing. While the Ducks are only one step ahead of the Sharks in their rebuild, I like this line.
McTavish has exceeded 40 points in each of his last two seasons, including 19 goals and 23 assists in only 64 games last year. And he was only 20, so more improvement is expected. Zegras was once the Ducks' flashy future star, but needs a refresh. Last season was tough as he only made 31 appearances with an 8.2 shooting percentage. If Zegras looks like the forward who notched 23 goals twice while finding the back of the net 12.6 percent of the time, he'll get back on track. Fabbri joins the team from the Red Wings where he potted 18 goals. As a veteran on a young team, his role should be larger than it was in Detroit.
Senators at Canadiens
Tim Stutzle (C - $7,400), Brady Tkachuk (W - $8,400), Claude Giroux (W - $6,500)
Sam Montembeault made 48 saves in his first start, though the fact the Canadiens gave up 48 shots isn't a good sign. I feel even stronger about that given his career .899 save percentage. Montreal finished 30th in shots allowed and carries a young defense, so pucks should get on net - especially from this Ottawa trio.
Stutzle posted 70 points last year and it qualified as a step back for him, which tells you how good he's become. He was also quite unlucky based on a 9.4 shooting percentage with only one power-play goal, and he's already matched that last stat. Some are as good as Tkachuk at directing pucks on net, but nobody is better with over 340 from each of the last two campaigns while scoring at least 30 goals in each of the last three. Giroux notched 64 points last year, including 19 with the extra man. And the Canadiens maintained the 24th-ranked penalty kill last season.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Andersson, CGY vs. PHI ($5,700): Andersson started off well with a goal and assist against the Canucks. He also put three shots on net and picked up six blocked shots. The Flyers will be tired on their second consecutive night with a goaltending situation where Andersson could easily get back on the scoresheet.
Mattias Ekholm, EDM vs. CHI ($5,600): Ekholm had 11 goals and 177 shots last season, both personal-bests. While he's on the second PP, he skates next to Evan Bouchard on the top defensive pairing and that's still prime real estate. Petr Mrazek should be in net behind a defense on the last leg of a back-to-back while producing an .899 save percentage the last four years.
Samuel Girard, COL vs. CLM ($4,000): Between multiple stints out of the lineup, last season was rough for Girard. As such, it's great that he registered two assists in Colorado's opener. Columbus finished 31st in GAA and shots allowed last year, and I don't expect much to change there with the same defense and goaltending.
