This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are three games in the NHL on Friday. Chicago will be tired after a 4-1 loss to Vegas, and travel to Minnesota, while St. Louis comes off a controversial 4-3 shootout win over Edmonton and go down the road to take on Calgary. The Islanders are in Arizona for the final game of the night. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Ilya Sorokin, NYI at ARI ($8,400): Sorokin has lost four games in a row but has played poorly in just one, giving up five goals on 26 shots to the Blues on Dec. 6. Otherwise, he has given up just seven goals on 82 shots in the other three contests. Overall, Sorokin is 10-9-0 with a 2.36 GAA and a .925 save percentage. Those are great peripherals. He takes on the Coyotes, who are seventh in the Central Division standings, scoring only 74 goals in 27 contests.
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN vs. CHI ($8,500): Fleury got off to a rough start this season, giving up 11 goals on 49 shots in his first four periods of action, but has returned to form and takes on his former Chicago teammates. Fleury is 10-7-1 with a 3.05 GAA and an .895 save percentage that has been skewed by his poor start to the campaign. The Blackhawks are the worst team in the NHL, with a 7-17-4 start to the season and have scored less than any other team in the league, finding the back of the net only 66 times in 28 games.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Vladimir Tarasenko, STL at CGY ($5,500): Tarasenko scored his first career shorthanded goal Thursday, giving him five goals and nine points in his last 10 contests. Overall, Tarasenko has nine goals and 22 points in 28 games. He had a huge comeback season last year, scoring 34 and adding 48 assists.
Nick Schmaltz, ARI vs. NYI ($3,800): Schmaltz missed 15 games after getting hurt Opening Night and is rounding into form with four goals and seven points in 11 games since his return. The Coyotes have had a tough schedule to start the season as they have had only six home games compared to 21 on the road. Schmaltz has excelled in his two home games, scoring once and adding a pair of assists. He is nicely priced to fill out your roster Friday.
Dillon Dube, CGY vs. STL ($3,100): Dube has five goals and 14 points in 30 games and is coming off a two-assist effort against Vancouver on Wednesday. He has two goals and six assists in his last nine games and sees second line time in both even strength situations and on the power play.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Wild vs. Blackhawks
Kirill Kaprizov (W-$9,100), Mats Zuccarello (W-$7,800), Sam Steel (C-$4,000)
The Wild's top line has two outstanding players in Kaprizov and Zuccarello, and one low-priced center, who chips in with some points in Steel. Kaprizov has 17 goals and 36 points in 29 games while Zuccarello has 10 goals and 20 helpers this season. Zuccarello is on an eight-game points streak and has not picked up a point in only two of his last 17 contests. Kaprizov saw his 14-game points streak come to an end December 10, but has started a new streak with points in each of his last two games. Steel has a goal and an assist in his last three games with eight shots on goal, giving him six goals and nine points in 2022-23.
Flames vs. Blues
Jonathan Huberdeau (W - $5,100), Elias Lindholm (C -$5,900), Tyler Toffoli (W - $6,500)
Lindholm leads the Flames with 23 points in 29 games. He has started to show signs of scoring of late with three goals and seven points in his last seven games. Huberdeau had 115 points last season with the Panthers and has also shown signs of scoring with two goals and seven assists in his last 10 games. He had a tough start to the season with only three goals and nine points in his first 17 games as he may have had trouble adjusting to coach Darryl Sutter's style of play. Toffoli has 10 goals and 21 points in 30 games as he could be headed for a career-high in points, his career-best being 58 points set in the 2015-16 season. There are not a lot of choices Friday, but the trio of Lindholm, Huberdeau and Toffoli have the pedigree to explode, especially against Jordan Binnington., who has a 3.21 GAA this season and shouldn't be considered a top-20 goaltender at this time.
DEFENSEMEN
Shayne Gostisbehere, ARI vs. NYI ($5,400): Gostisbehere is having a very good start to the season, with six goals and 21 points in 27 games. He has been hot of late, scoring twice and adding nine assists in his last 10 games. The three-game schedule doesn't give you a lot of choices on the blue line, but Gostisbehere should certainly be at or near the top of the list.
Noah Dobson, NYI at ARI ($6,800): Dobson had a breakout season at the age of 21 last year with 13 goals and 51 points, and it has continued this season, as he has nine goals and 20 points in 30 games. Dobson has 89 shots on goal this season, placing him eighth among defensemen and has four goals and eight points in his last 11 contests.
