This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Friday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EST and features five games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Red Wings-Lightning and Bruins-Flyers are rematches from Wednesday's action, during which Tampa Bay players in general and the Bruins' stars delivered superb performances. Predators-Panthers is a rematch of Thursday's wild 6-5 Nashville overtime win, while the Sharks-Ducks and Kings-Golden Knights matchups provide some fresh west coast action. Tampa Bay and Vegas are both massive favorites, so those teams should supply most of the lineup building blocks, but there are plenty of enticing options across the remaining three games as well.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. DET ($8,500): Assuming he gets the nod again, Vasilevskiy will be the safest goalie option against a hapless Red Wings offense that he held to one goal on 16 shots Wednesday. He remains in the conversation for the league's best goalie, with a 6-1-1 record, 1.99 GAA and .927 save percentage, though a lack of work could limit his upside if Detroit is stifled by the Lightning's superior skaters but avoids being shut out, which is what happened Wednesday.
Robin Lehner, VGK vs. LA ($8,400): Lehner's the other obvious choice in net. His start (2-1-1, 2.95 GAA, .885 save percentage) has left a lot to be desired, but Lehner should get rolling at home against a Kings team that's scoring 2.89 goals per game after averaging only 2.53 last season.
Martin Jones, SJ at ANH ($7,400): Jones will be fresh with the Sharks having last played Jan. 28, and he has three wins in five tries despite ugly underlying numbers. While Jones' floor is low in any matchup, he won't have a better opportunity to post a strong performance than this matchup with an Anaheim offense that's scoring a league-low 1.73 goals per game.
Chris Driedger, FLA vs. NSH ($7,700): Driedger figures to get the second half of Florida's back-to-back set against Nashville after Sergei Bobrovsky started Thursday. The backup has been outstanding so far this season, with a 2-0-1 record, 1.95 GAA and .937 save percentage. Driedger has a nice opportunity to build on his strong start against a Predators team that was averaging only 2.33 goals per game through its first nine before scoring six on a shaky Bobrovsky.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Brayden Point, TB vs. DET ($7,700): Point's tied for the team lead with four goals through eight games and is one point shy of the 10 that Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman have racked up. The top-line center also leads the Lightning with 26 shots and should continue to build on his strong start against the lowly Red Wings.
Jakob Silfverberg, ANH vs. SJ ($4,000): If Jones' poor play (3.91 GAA, .871 save percentage) persists, even the dreadful Ducks offense should produce some value here. Silfverberg is tied for the team lead with three goals and five points through 11 games, and he reached the 20-goal mark in four of the previous five seasons.
Joel Farabee, PHI vs. BOS ($3,700): Farabee's goal in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins was his fourth in the last two games and pushed his line to 6-3-9 through 11 games. The 20-year-old Syracuse native is coming into his own in his second NHL campaign, and Farabee's valuation should only keep climbing from here.
Filip Forsberg, NSH at FLA ($5,500): Forsberg was dominant in Thursday's meeting between these teams, racking up two goals, three assists and eight shots, including the overtime winner. He was leading the Predators in scoring even before Thursday's outburst, and the Swedish winger now sports a 6-5-11 line through 10 games. Expect his valuation to get a substantial bump once Forsberg's five-point night gets factored in.
Patric Hornqvist, FLA vs. NSH ($5,900): Teammate Jonathan Huberdeau stole the show Thursday with three goals and two assists, but Hornqvist quietly had another strong performance, dishing a helper and tying for the team lead with six shots. The veteran winger has fit in tremendously with his new team, posting a 5-3-8 line and 27 shots through seven games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins at Flyers
Patrice Bergeron (C - $8,300), Brad Marchand (W - $7,900), David Pastrnak (W - $9,000)
There may not be a better line in hockey than this one, and Philadelphia had no answer for it when these teams met Wednesday. Pastrnak recorded a hat trick and an assist in that one, bringing his season totals to five goals, two assists and 19 shots in just three games. Bergeron also had a four-point night to bring his season line to 6-9-15 in 10 games, while Marchand only had one assist but is right on Bergeron's tail overall with a 6-8-14 line. This trio can dominate any matchup and is worth going right back to for this rematch.
Golden Knights vs. Kings
Chandler Stephenson (C - $4,100), Max Pacioretty (W - $6,900), Mark Stone (W - $6,400)
The last time the Golden Knights were in action was Jan. 26, when Pacioretty scored a hat trick on eight shots against the Blues. Overall, the veteran winger has six goals on 32 shots through seven games after ranking third league-wide with 307 shots last season, and a Kings team that's allowing 3.22 goals per game will be hard-pressed to slow him down. Stone had three helpers in Vegas' last game and is off to a stellar start, with 11 points through seven games. Stephenson brings some affordability to this line and can chip in offensively, with a 9-16-25 line in 48 games since joining the Golden Knights.
Lightning vs. Red Wings
Anthony Cirelli (C - $5,100), Alex Killorn (W - $4,600), Tyler Johnson (W - $3,200)
Tampa Bay's affordable second line carried the mail in Wednesday's 5-1 win over Detroit, as Cirelli and Killorn both lit the lamp while Johnson dished out a helper to go with a team-high four shots. Going right back to this unit can help clear out cap space for some of this slate's other stars while still capitalizing on Tampa Bay's favorable matchup against a 2-7-2 Red Wings team that's getting outscored 3.64 to 1.91 on average. Overall, Cirelli's two points off the team lead with eight in as many games, Killorn has a 2-4-6 line and Johnson has a 1-3-4 line in seven appearances.
DEFENSEMEN
Ryan McDonagh, TB vs. DET ($4,000): If Victor Hedman's ($7,600) too rich for your blood, McDonagh's a solid low-cost alternative. While he lacks Hedman's elite offensive capabilities, McDonagh brings a high floor for the heavily favored Lightning. The three-time 40-point scorer potted a goal Wednesday against Detroit and is a consistent source of both shots and blocks, with 15 and seven respectively, over his last five games.
Keith Yandle, FLA vs. NSH ($5,000): With so many pricey forwards in this slate, it's important to carve out cap space where you can, and Yandle has delivered comparable production to teammate Aaron Ekblad despite coming in $1,500 cheaper. Ekblad's the more proficient goal-scorer, but Yandle's an excellent source of assists and power-play points, with a 2-5-7 line and six points with the extra man through seven games. He should continue to find success against the struggling Predators penalty kill.
Cam Fowler, ANH vs. SJ ($3,500): Fowler led all Ducks defensemen in goals (nine) and points (29) last season, and he has scored at least 28 points in eight of 10 previous NHL campaigns. He's off to a slow start with just one goal and one assist through nine games, but this matchup with a Sharks team that has been the most generous to opposing defensemen from a fantasy perspective offers a nice buy-low opportunity on Fowler.
Alec Martinez, VGK vs. LA ($5,200): Martinez is playing tremendous two-way hockey, with five assists, eight shots and 25 blocked shots through seven games. He should play an even larger role against his former team with fellow Vegas blueliner Alex Pietrangelo still in the COVID-19 protocol.
