This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Four games make up the NHL's final Friday slate of 2016. This light schedule offers most teams some much-needed rest with 12 games taking place Thursday, and 11 more Saturday. Despite the relative lack of action, there is still plenty of fantasy value to be gleaned from the eight teams taking the ice. The evening's four matchups are detailed below, with a focus on the top fantasy commodities from each.
Featured Matchups
Blackhawks (PP:15, PK:29) at Hurricanes (PP:9, PK:1), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Scott Darling (10-3-2, 2.35, .923), Cam Ward (12-9-6, 2.27, .917)
Key Injuries:Bryan Bickell (illness), Justin Faulk (lower body), Marian Hossa (upper body)
Few expected it coming into the season, but Carolina has found far more special teams success than Chicago thus far. The Hurricanes have also been getting outstanding play from Ward, who is posting career-best numbers at age 32. Chicago's injuries up front have opened up opportunities for youngsters Ryan Hartman and Tyler Motte to join the top six forwards while skating on a line with an improving Jonathan Toews. Both have struggled to take advantage, though, and their production is capped by a lack of power-play time. Darling is getting a start over Corey Crawford in the second game of a back-to-back set, but the outstanding backup doesn't represent much of a step down in quality. He makes for a strong spot-start option with Carolina missing Faulk, who had been red-hot with four goals and three assists in his last five games before getting hurt last Friday.
Predators (PP:13, PK:14) at Blues (PP:6, PK:2), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Juuse Saros (2-2-1, 1.40, .950), Jake Allen (16-8-3, 2.63, .905)
Key Injuries:P.K. Subban (upper body)
Saros was highlighted as a player on the rise in my Crashing the Crease article this week, and makes for a decent DFS play despite the tough matchup. Allen has been no slouch himself, with an 11-1-2 record, 2.04 GAA and .924 save percentage at the Scottrade Center. Goals should be hard to come by in this one, especially with Nashville missing its biggest offensive threat from the blueline in Subban.
Ducks (PP:2, PK:20) at Canucks (PP:26, PK:21), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jonathan Bernier (6-3-1, 3.07, .897), Ryan Miller (8-10-1, 2.86, .908)
Key Injuries:Clayton Stoner (abdomen), Nate Thompson (achilles), Sami Vatanen (illness), Jannik Hansen (knee)
Both netminders are having seasons to forget, but Bernier has a far superior team in front of him. Anaheim's Rickard Rakell is a third-liner at even strength, but has already picked up six points with the man advantage thanks to his spot on the top power-play unit. The 23-year-old's 20 percent shooting percentage will likely drop closer to his career average of 11.7 at some point, but that decline is unlikely to start against the league's fourth-worst defensive team. The only three Canucks players with over 20 points are Bo Horvat and the Sedin twins, and the lone member of the team with over five points and a positive rating is Luca Sbisa.
Flyers (PP:17, PK:19) at Sharks (PP:20, PK:10), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Steve Mason (14-11-4, 2.78, .905), Martin Jones (19-11-1, 2.08, .920)
Key Injuries:Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Michael Raffl (lower body), Matt Read (oblique), Mark Streit (shoulder), Tomas Hertl (knee)
Neuvirth is back to traveling with the team, but is not yet ready to return to his sizable backup role behind Mason. Eight Flyers have at least 16 points this season, but all of them have negative ratings. This discrepancy occurs because the team's top scorers find much of their success on the power play, which will be tough to do against a Sharks penalty kill that has denied 83.7 percent of opposing opportunities. Rookie blueliner Ivan Provorov has already chipped in 14 points at even strength, which is just two away from second on the team behind Jakub Voracek's 22. Sharks rookie Kevin Labanc scored twice last Friday, and should continue to get plenty of offensive opportunities skating on a line with Logan Couture and Mikkel Boedker.
Recommended Pickup
Brian Boyle, C/LW, DAL - Boyle has been bumped to a top-six role with Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos both on the mend. The hulking forward brings plenty of experience and versatility to that role, and has skated at least 16:53 in each of Tampa Bay's last eight games. He has scored five goals over that span, flashing the offensive skills that have allowed him to pot at least 13 in both of his seasons with the Lightning despite skating on the third or fourth line. Factor in Boyle's ability to block shots on the penalty kill, and you get a player that should have plenty of value while his teammates are on the mend.
