This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Friday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT and features seven games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Wild (vs. Anaheim) and Avalanche (in Los Angeles) are Friday's two overwhelming favorites, though the Capitals are also clear favorites in what's expected to be the night's highest-scoring game (over/under 6.5 goals) at home against Philadelphia. While the other four games are expected to be more competitive, there's still plenty of value to be found in those Detroit-Columbus, Dallas-Tampa Bay, St. Louis-Vegas and Arizona-San Jose matchups.
GOALIES
Cam Talbot, MIN vs. ANH ($8,400): Talbot's 18-7-5 with a 2.58 GAA and .918 save percentage, including an 11-2-2 record at Xcel Energy Center. A visit from the 30th-ranked Ducks offense (2.19 goals per game) should help the resurgent netminder further pad his stats here.
Matiss Kivlenieks, CLS vs. DET ($7,900): Kivlenieks is primed for a strong season debut at the NHL level against a visiting Detroit team that's won only six of its 26 road games this season. He's been strong at the AHL level this season with a 6-1-0 record, 2.27 GAA and .926 save percentage, while the Red Wings average a league-low 2.15 goals per game.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. DAL ($8,200): Something about facing the Stars — probably the memories of beating them for the Stanley Cup last season — has brought out the best in Vasilevskiy this season. He's 6-1-0 with a 1.42 GAA and .943 save percentage against Dallas, including three shutouts.
Josef Korenar, SJ vs. ARI ($7,600): Korenar got off to a rough start at the NHL level, but the rookie netminder has settled in nicely, going 3-1-0 in his last four starts and stopping 98 of 106 shots in his last three (.925 save percentage). He's 2-0 against the Coyotes in his young career and is a nice bargain option against Arizona's 26th-ranked offense (2.59 goals per game).
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Mikko Rantanen, COL at LA ($8,600): Rantanen had a five-game multi-point streak and nine-game point streak snapped by the Sharks in his last game, but he's likely to start building some new streaks with this game. The star winger has a tremendous 29-30-59 line in 47 games, and while Rantanen can't match Nathan MacKinnon's ($9,200) overall productivity, he's been the far more effective goal scorer this season.
Sean Couturier, PHI at WAS ($6,800): Couturier has quietly had an outstanding season. Despite missing 11 of Philadelphia's 53 games, he sits just five points off Jakub Voracek's team lead and one behind Joel Farabee in goals with a 16-22-38 line in 42 games. Couturier has been especially effective against the Capitals, with a 3-4-7 line in six meetings. While Washington's players will be the main focus in what's expected to be a high-scoring game, there should be plenty of offense to go around for both sides.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, CLS vs. DET ($5,800): Bjorkstrand has carried the Blue Jackets' offense down the stretch, mustering a 3-7-10 line in his last nine games to go with 29 shots in that stretch. He needs three goals in the last two games to reach the 20-goal mark for a third consecutive season and will be motivated to get there against the lowly Red Wings.
Phil Kessel, ARI at SJ ($5,300): No team has been kinder to opposing right wings than the Sharks, who give up the most fantasy points per game to the position. Kessel plays that position and has been Arizona's most effective forward this season. He's tied with Jakob Chychrun for the team goals lead (18) and sits one point back of Chychrun's team-high 38, but Kessel can be had for $2,100 less than the pricey blueliner.
Mattias Janmark, VGK vs. STL ($3,400): Janmark's a nice bargain option as long as he's filling in for Max Pacioretty (undisclosed) on the top line. The trade deadline addition has an 11-12-23 line in 52 games between the Blackhawks and Golden Knights, including a helper last game.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Capitals vs. Flyers
Lars Eller (C - $4,100), T.J. Oshie (W - $6100), Conor Sheary (W - $3,900)
Washington's secondary scorers have stepped up with the team missing a few of its top contributors due to injury, and that should continue to be the case against the league-worst Flyers defense (3.60 goals allowed per game). Oshie logged a hat trick on seven shots Wednesday against the Rangers, giving him seven goals in his last seven games. Sprong has produced at a goal-per-game pace over his last five and should be an effective value play assuming he's over the illness that kept him out Wednesday. Eller has been quiet recently, but perhaps skating in the second-line center spot usually filled by Evgeny Kuznetsov (COVID-19 protocols) will get him going.
Wild vs. Ducks
Ryan Hartman (C - $3,100), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $6,900), Mats Zuccarello (W - $5,400)
Kaprizov is running away in the Calder Trophy race, as the rookie's scored 10 goals in his last 10 games while putting at least four pucks on net in eight of those games and totaling three shots in each of the other two. Zuccarello has added a 5-5-10 line in his last 12 games, while Hartman set up both of Kaprizov's goals in Minnesota's last contest and offers nice upside at $3,100 as long as he's centering this line. Anaheim's known more for its anemic offense, but the Ducks have been far from stingy defensively, allowing 3.13 goals per game — ninth-most in the league.
Blues at Golden Knights
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $6,500), David Perron (W - $6,400), Brayden Schenn (W - $5,200)
An against-the-grain Blues stack could pay off against a Vegas team that's in just a bit of a rut and could remain without one of its best players in Pacioretty. The Golden Knights have been outscored 13-11 in their last four games, and while they've gone 2-2-0 in that span, they've needed overtime in both wins. O'Reilly and Perron are both scorching hot at the moment, as the former has a 6-5-11 line in his last seven games and the latter's at 2-6-8 in his last six. Overall, the two are tied for the team lead with 50 points apiece through 51 games, though O'Reilly holds the clear edge in goals (23-15). Schenn has had a down year with a 14-18-32 line after scoring at least 54 points in each of the previous five seasons, but he'll look to build some momentum heading into the postseason here.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL at LA ($6,700): Makar should feast on a Kings team that's allowing the third-most fantasy points to defensemen. He's producing at a point-per-game pace in 39 appearances this season and is capable of carrying lineups on his best days, having scored 28.8 or more fantasy points twice in his last seven games.
Mikhail Sergachev, TB vs. DAL ($5,100): Sergachev's been snakebitten for most of the season, but his shooting luck has turned around down the stretch. He has a goal in each of the last two games and has reached double-digit fantasy points in four of the past five.
Dmitry Orlov, WAS vs. PHI ($4,700): Orlov's surged down the stretch, as Wednesday's three-assist effort gave him a 3-8-11 line over his last 12 games. The defensively challenged Flyers are unlikely to slow his roll.
Cam Fowler, ANH at MIN ($3,500): Fowler's another defenseman who's enjoying some offensive success as the season winds down. Even with all of the Ducks' struggles, he has still managed to churn out five points in his last six games. As well as Minnesota's played this season, the Wild have still been among the 10 most generous teams to opposing defensemen in the fantasy realm.
