This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
While most eyes will be on Friday's four college basketball contests, there are just as many hockey games for fans to peruse. Each of Friday's four matchups features one well-rested team facing an opponent on the second night of a back-to-back set. Additionally, there are imbalances to be exploited with a double-digit standings gap between each set of competitors. Both season-long and daily owners can benefit from these differences in rest and quality if they know where to look, and this preview is designed to help those owners optimize their lineups for the night with player recommendations ranging from Brent Burns to Brayden Point.
Featured Matchups
Islanders (PP:26, PK:15) at Penguins (PP:3, PK:19), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (25-16-5, 2.67, .914), Marc-Andre Fleury (18-8-6, 2.94, .911)
Key Injuries:Johnny Boychuk (lower body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Shane Prince (lower body), Ryan Strome (upper body),Trevor Daley (knee), Jake Guentzel (concussion), Carl Hagelin (lower body), Ron Hainsey (upper body), Kris Letang (upper body), Olli Maatta (hand), Evgeni Malkin (upper body), Bryan Rust (arm)
Both of these Metropolitan rivals are battling injuries, but neither can afford to let up with the Penguins in a three-way battle for home ice advantage through at least the Conference Finals and the Islanders just trying to make the postseason. Greiss will unsurprisingly be in net for New York after appearing in every contest since Feb. 19, but he'll have his work cut out for him against the Penguins' league-best offense. New York's top scoring trio of John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey have a combined 73 points 30 games under head coach Doug Weight, but Fleury's 3-0-1 record, 1.31 GAA and a .959 save percentage in four appearances this month suggest he won't make it easy for them to continue their high-scoring ways.
Lightning (PP:4, PK:16) at Red Wings (PP:28, PK:12), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Andrei Vasilevskiy (17-16-6, 2.68, .915), Petr Mrazek (16-20-7, 3.01, .900)
Key Injuries:Johan Franzen (concussion), Darren Helm (lower body), Ryan Callahan (hip), Tyler Johnson (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee)
Vasilevskiy has allowed four goals in each of his past three appearances without a win in that stretch after going 6-0-1 over his previous seven, but he'll be fresh after sitting in favor of Peter Budaj on Thursday. If you're willing to take a gamble on the inconsistent Russian, the payoff could be tremendous against a Detroit offense that has mustered just 2.39 goals per game. Brayden Point and Vladislav Namestnikov are centering the Lightning's top two lines due to injuries, making both worth speculative looks considering the Red Wings have surrendered 2.96 goals per contest. Though Tampa Bay has scored more than three goals only twice in the past 11 games, Mrazek is unlikely to find success here after allowing all but one of his past seven opponents to reach that mark.
Sharks (PP:24, PK:11) at Stars (PP:22, PK:30), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Martin Jones (32-19-6, 2.26, .916), Antti Niemi (11-11-4, 3.35, .892)
Key Injuries:Mattias Janmark (knee), Antoine Roussel (hand), Jason Spezza (back), Jannik Hansen (undisclosed), Melker Karlsson (lower body), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (illness)
San Jose has an excellent opportunity to put an end to its four-game losing streak against the league's second-worst defensive team. Top Sharks skaters like Brent Burns should be worth their high daily prices against their former teammate in net, especially considering Niemi owns an unsightly 5.20 GAA and .816 save percentage over his past four appearances. Jones, on the other hand, should be able to shut down the middling Stars offense without issue after holding his past nine opponents to 16 combined goals.
Jets (PP:23, PK:29) at Ducks (PP:20, PK:4), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Michael Hutchinson (6-11-3, 3.11, .897), Jonathan Bernier (16-7-3, 2.50, .917)
Key Injuries:John Gibson (lower body), Clayton Stoner (abdomen), Toby Enstrom (concussion), Tyler Myers (lower body), Ondrej Pavelec (knee), Jacob Trouba (upper body)
The underdog Jets have a number of elite weapons to throw at Anaheim. Mathieu Perreault has 18 points in 15 games since being promoted to a top-six role, thanks in large part to playing on a line with one of the eight guys performing above a point-per-game pace this season in Mark Scheifele. Additionally, Patrik Laine will be hungry to extend his rookie goals lead after nudging one ahead of Toronto's Auston Matthews with his 34th Thursday. Bernier is well-equipped to contain Winnipeg's top-heavy offense given his 7-1-1 record, 1.64 GAA and .948 save percentage this month, though. Hutchinson comes into this one riding a two-game winning streak of his own, and could well turn this into a surprisingly low-scoring affair. Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm have other ideas after registering eight shots and three points, respectively, in the team's last game.
Recommended Pickup
Ales Hemsky, RW, DAL - Hemsky has missed all but 11 games due to a hip injury, but he's rounding into form just in time to put some savvy owners over the top down the stretch. The veteran winger set season highs in goals (two), points (two), shots (seven) and ice time (17:48) Thursday in Chicago, and is set up to deliver the rest of the way as a first-line winger alongside Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin. The two-time 70-point scorer isn't even on most people's radar, but he possesses the right combination of skill and opportunity to be a difference-maker for those who add him now.
