This article is part of our FantasyDraft NHL series.
One of the final weekends of the NHL regular season is upon us. There are five games on the slate Friday, and here are some of the values that intrigue me the most for daily fantasy purposes.
GOALIE
St. Louis Blues, STL vs. VAN ($17,000): The Blues have won three games in a row as they fight for a playoff spot, while the Canucks have lost their last seven games. Vancouver is also on the second night of a back-to-back and has only scored 2.56 goals per game. Meanwhile, the Blues have allowed 29.9 shots on net per contest, which really helps their goalies out.
CENTER
Ryan O'Reilly, BUF vs. MON ($13,500): O'Reilly has 52 points in 72 games, and he's been a real power-play maven. He's averaged 3:33 per game with the extra man and scored 16 power-play points (including 12 goals). The Canadiens have the league's worst penalty kill, which certainly bodes well for O'Reilly.
Jonathan Drouin, MON at BUF ($10,600): Drouin has started 59.1 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest on the Canadiens. Though he has been a bit of a disappointment this season, the 22-year-old does have five points in his last six contests. The Sabres, meanwhile, have a 3.28 GAA, third highest in the NHL.
WING
Jaden Schwartz, STL vs. VAN ($13,300): Schwartz has 53 points in 53 games including 11 in his last 10 contests. He's also put 30 shots on goal in those games. The Canucks have a 3.25 GAA, but they are also on the second night of a back-to-back. That could mean Anders Nilsson (3.50 GAA, .902 save percentage) in net.
Kyle Palmieri, NJD at PIT ($11,100): Palmieri has tallied 10 points and 50 shots on net in his last 13 games. He's also averaged 2:48 per game with the extra man and tallied 19 power-play points in 54 contests. The Penguins have a 3.09 GAA since the All-Star break, but March has gone even worse for them. In this month they have a 3.50 GAA.
Alex Galchenyuk, MON at BUF ($10,500): Galchenyuk's numbers have been hurt by an 8.3 shooting percentage well below his career average, but he still has 16 goals and 44 points in 74 games. He's also notched 20 of those points on the power play. As previously noted the Sabres have a 3.28 GAA, and they have the 21st-ranked penalty kill as well.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF vs. MON ($11,500): Ristolainen has 35 points in 64 games and has put 163 shots on net. He's also averaged 3:36 per game on the power play and tallied 18 points with the extra man. The Canadiens have a 3.12 GAA, but on the road that number shoots up to 3.59. Also, as mentioned earlier, the Habs have the worst penalty kill in the NHL.
Vince Dunn, STL vs. VAN ($7,300): Dunn has started 61.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest among Blues defensemen. He also has seven points in his last eight games, although admittedly four of those came in one contest. Still, the 21-year-old has offensive skill, and he's averaged 2:04 per game on the power play. Vancouver is on the second night of a back-to-back, and it also has a 3.25 GAA.
