This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Enjoy hockey? I've got good news for you. There are 12 NHL games taking place Saturday night starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. That's a lot of hockey, which of course means you will have decisions to make for your DFS lineups. With so many options, here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
We have quite a few teams on the second leg of a back-to-back Saturday. Arizona, home for both games, hosts Buffalo, away for both games. The Bruins get to be at home against the Rangers with both teams doing the back-to-back thing. Then, we have the teams facing the rested squads. Nashville is at home against Washington, Dallas is in St. Louis, and the Islanders are visiting the Canadiens. Like I said, a lot of teams on the second leg of a back-to-back.
GOALIES
Cam Talbot, LOS at SEA ($8,200): Talbot's last start wasn't great, but he still has a 2.02 GAA and .927 save percentage. Facing the Kraken should help Talbot bounce back. Seattle has averaged 2.71 goals per game, 27th in the NHL.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at CGY ($7,800): Vasilevskiy's first four starts back from injury? Not so great! His last five starts, though? The Russian goalie has a 2.19 GAA and .930 save percentage. Calgary is just above the bottom 10 in goals per game, but if a team is below 3.00 this year (to do the round-number thing) that's not good, and Calgary is at 2.97 goals per contest.
Alex Lyon, DET at PHI ($7,300): Lyon has only made six appearances this year, but has a 2.13 GAA and .931 save percentage. The Flyers have been below average in terms of goals, but this is as much about who will be tending net for them. Carter Hart is dealing with an illness, so Samuel Ersson is getting the start. Ersson has an .885 save percentage, increasing the chances of Lyon picking up a win.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
John-Jason Peterka, BUF at ARI ($4,800): Peterka's sophomore season has been a true step up from his rookie campaign. The 21-year-old has 22 points on 31 contests. Both of these teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back, but in this instance, Peterka is catching Karel Vejmelka starting for the Coyotes. Vejmelka has an .892 save percentage.
Nico Hischier, NJD at CLM ($4,700): Fortunately, Hischier has been able to get healthy and start producing. In nine games since returning he's racked up 10 points. The Blue Jackets find themselves where I expected, which is to say in the bottom five on GAA. They've also allowed a whopping 34.7 shots on net per contest.
Anthony Cirelli, TAM at CGY ($4,000): Cirelli has been on fire, notching at least one point in five of his last six outings. Jacob Markstrom is working back from his finger injury, but he isn't expected back for this one. That means Dan Vladar, who has a career .894 save percentage, tending goal for the Flames.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Blues vs. Stars
Robert Thomas (C - $5,800), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $5,600), Jordan Kyrou (W - $5,500)
As I noted, the Stars are on the second leg of a back-to-back, but the Blues are at home and rested. Jake Oettinger started Friday, leaving Scott Wedgewood to start Saturday. It took him a couple years to find a consistent spot in the NHL (though spanning across three different teams), but in four seasons since carving out a regular role he has a 3.04 GAA and .909 save percentage. This year, he has a 3.25 GAA and .905 save percentage. St. Louis is trying to pick it up in the wake of axing Craig Berube. Hey, it worked for Edmonton and Minnesota.
Quietly, Thomas has 30 points in 29 games, including three in his last contest. Usually not a guy who shoots with frequency, over his last four contests he's put 15 shots on target. It took Buchnevich some time to get going – an early injury didn't help – but he has 19 points over his last 17 games. The Russian has also put 48 shots on net in that time. Kyrou has 18 points in 29 games, even though terrible puck luck has left him with a 5.4 shooting percentage. Last season he notched 37 goals on 272 shots on net, so his scoring should increase.
Penguins at Maple Leafs
Evgeni Malkin (C - $6,200), Reilly Smith (W - $3,700), Valtteri Puustinen (W - $3,000)
The Maple Leafs have allowed 32.3 shots on net per contest. That's not ideal, but with Joseph Woll hurt, it's quite concerning. Ilya Samsonov is having a woeful campaign, as he has a 3.51 GAA and .878 save percentage. Toronto's defense paired with a below-average goalie is a good recipe for a stack.
Malkin has an assist in each of his last three games. He's also put 72 shots on net through 28 games, and he put 240 shots on net last year. Smith's season has been up and down, but he has two points over his last three outings. He had 26 goals last season, so things could pick up. One assumes some acclimation was necessary. Up from the AHL, Puustinen has two points in three games. In addition to skating next to Malkin, he's averaged 2:12 per game on the power play with the Penguins for good measure.
DEFENSEMEN
Mike Matheson, MON vs. NYI ($6,300): Matheson has put 71 shots on net through 29 games. He's also tallied 12 points with the extra man. The Islanders are on the second leg of a back-to-back. They have good goalies, but they also rank 31st in shots on net allowed per game and have a bottom-five penalty kill.
Zach Werenski, CLM vs. NJD ($5,600): Werenski has eight points over his last eight games, all assists. He only has one goal, but he's put 72 shots on net, and his 1.4 shooting percentage should improve. The Devils, surprisingly, have a 3.52 GAA, which is bottom five in the NHL.
Justin Faulk, STL vs. DAL ($4,800): Faulk picked up two assists in his last game, giving him 14 helpers in 29 games. He doesn't have a goal yet, but he's put 66 shots on net. As I noted, the Stars are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and career backup Scott Wedgewood will be in goal.
