This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Friday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT and features four games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Capitals (vs. New Jersey) and Blues (vs. Anaheim) are both massive home favorites and should provide the main building blocks for most lineups. Meanwhile, the Flames (vs. Winnipeg) and Coyotes (vs. San Jose) are both very narrow home favorites. Devils-Capitals and Jets-Flames are tied for the night's highest over/under at 6.0 goals, while the other two games come in at 5.5.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at CGY ($7,400): The Flames' offense has dried up recently, as Calgary has produced a grand total of two goals during its three-game losing streak despite facing the lowly Senators twice in that stretch. Getting back on track will be exceedingly difficult for Calgary against the reigning Vezina winner in Hellebuyck, who's coming off a dominant two-game set against Vancouver, in which he stopped 60 of 61 shots en route to a pair of victories.
Martin Jones, SJ at ARI ($7,500): Jones had been in the middle of a third consecutive forgettable season when he suddenly found his game over the past four starts. He has gone 3-0-1 in that stretch, setting aside 142 of 147 shots for a .966 save percentage. Keep riding him while he's hot against a 28th-ranked Arizona offense that's managing only 2.42 goals per game.
Ilya Samsonov, WAS vs. NJ ($8,100): Samsonov figures to start this second leg after Vitek Vanecek beat the Devils 4-3 on Thursday. The Russian netminder suffered his first regulation defeat of the season at the hands of the Rangers in his last outing, but Samsonov still has a splendid 6-1-1 record to go with a 2.48 GAA and .908 save percentage.
Ville Husso, STL vs. ANH ($8,100): Husso has the night's best matchup against a Ducks team that's scoring only 2.15 goals per game — third-fewest in the league. The Blues' backup has a low floor due to his 3.40 GAA and .885 save percentage, though he has already faced the low-octane Ducks offense twice and emerged victorious both times, stopping 54 of 59 shots for a .915 save percentage. He'll likely get a chance to beat Anaheim a third time after Jordan Binnington manned the crease for Thursday's 2-0 loss to the Wild.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Andrew Copp, WPG at CGY ($4,500): Copp registered a dominant four-goal performance Wednesday against the Canucks to stretch his point streak to three games, so it's worth seeing whether he can keep rolling in Calgary. At $4,500, he's still priced below six other Winnipeg forwards and 10th among Jets skaters overall.
Evander Kane, SJ at ARI ($7,500): Kane's two-goal effort Wednesday against the Kings gave him a 6-4-10 line in his last nine games and a 14-15-29 line overall. He has a nice opportunity to stay hot against a Coyotes team that has won only twice in its last eight games.
Dillon Dube, CGY vs. WPG ($3,900): Should the dormant Flames offense wake up for this one, Dube's positioned to deliver strong bang for the buck. He's skating on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, and the 22-year-old Dube has already matched last year's total of 16 points thanks to his assist on the team's lone goal Wednesday. Seven of those 16 points in 31 games have been goals.
Jesper Bratt, NJ at WAS ($4,300): With a power-play goal in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Capitals, Bratt extended his point streak to six games. The locked-in winger remains affordable despite his recent production, so keep locking Bratt in while he's hot.
Maxime Comtois, ANH at STL ($5,200): Perhaps a matchup with a Blues team that's playing its second game in as many nights will allow the subpar Ducks offense to take flight, and Comtois is the best bet on the team to light the lamp if that's the case. His goal in Wednesday's loss to the Wild was Comtois' team-high 10th, and his 20 points have him just one shy of Rickard Rakell's team lead.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Capitals vs. Devils
Evgeny Kuznetsov (C - $4,600), Alex Ovechkin (W - $8,800), T.J. Oshie (W - $4,800)
Kuznetsov is an absolute steal at just $4,600, as his two-goal game Thursday against New Jersey gave the Russian center a 3-6-9 line over the last eight games — a stretch in which Kuznetsov has failed to record a point only once. He's playing like a first-line pivot again but certainly isn't priced like it. Ovechkin has been as hot as anybody this side of Mika Zibanejad facing the Flyers, with seven goals in his last seven games and two assists thrown in for good measure. Oshie hasn't been able to keep up with his linemates recently but has a 7-13-20 line in 31 games. Five of those seven goals have come on the power play, and Oshie has a nice opportunity to produce with the extra man against New Jersey's league-worst, 71.4 percent penalty kill.
Blues vs. Ducks
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $6,600), David Perron (W - $7,200), Jordan Kyrou (W - $4,900)
St. Louis will be eager to get back on track against the lowly Ducks after being outscored 7-1 by the Golden Knights and Wild in its last two games. In the game prior to those two defeats, this line combined for 11 points in a win over the Sharks. Overall, this trio and Brayden Schenn (12-12-24) compose St. Louis' top four scorers in both goals and points. Perron tops both categories with a 12-21-33 line through 33 games, followed by O'Reilly (10-21-31) and Kyrou (10-14-24).
Coyotes vs. Sharks
Johan Larsson (C - $2,700), Clayton Keller (W - $5,000), Phil Kessel (W - $3,600)
Jones has been hot of late in San Jose's net, but his overall body of work this season remains underwhelming (3.23 GAA, .902 save percentage). Arizona's top line will look to cool him down and offers a nice mix of productivity and affordability. Keller and Kessel are tied for the team lead in goals at 10, and they rank second and third in points with 24 and 22, respectively. They're hot on Conor Garland's (25) heels for the team points lead, and Kessel has been especially productive recently, as he enters this game riding a three-game point streak. Larsson was bumped up to this line last game and produced an assist, so he should remain a nice value play as long as he stays in this high-profile role.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson, WAS vs. NJ ($6,800): Carlson remains a key part of any Capitals stack. He has a 7-21-28 line in 32 games this season after exceeding a point-per-game pace last season, and Carlson comes into this one riding a four-game point streak. If you can't afford Carlson, Justin Schultz ($3,400) is an enticing bargain alternative after dishing out six assists in his last five games.
Mark Giordano, CGY vs. WPG ($5,700): Giordano has been an all-around force in the last four games. He has two goals, 15 shots and 12 blocks in that stretch, mustering at least three shots in each game and at least three blocks in all but one. With Calgary's playoff push hitting desperation time, the team should continue to lean heavily on its top defenseman.
Mario Ferraro, SJ at ARI ($4,200): Ferraro has quietly put together a solid two-way stretch over the past eight games. He has five points in that stretch, as well as 17 blocks. Ferraro has averaged nearly 22 minutes of ice time in that stretch, so he should continue to get plenty of opportunities to contribute on both ends against a Coyotes team that's allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to defensemen.
Vince Dunn, STL vs. ANH ($4,000): Dunn's having a pedestrian season, but he's picked things up recently, with a 2-1-3 line in his last three games. The 24-year-old blueliner already has a 35-point season under his belt, so he's capable of keeping his recent hot streak going for a bit, especially with the Ducks in town.
