This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are eight games in the NHL on Friday. Ottawa will play in Toronto, Florida hosts LA, a tired Detroit team is on the Long Island to play the Islanders. Vegas travels to New York to take on the Rangers, while San Jose is in Carolina, the Devils come off a 6-4 loss to Nashville on Thursday and travel to Dallas. The Blue Jackets are in Vancouver and in the final game of the night, Seattle hosts Calgary. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. VGK ($7,600): Shesterkin is having another great season, going 21-8-7 with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 save percentage. While it has not come close to his Vezina-winning campaign of 2021-22 -- when he also finished third in Hart voting behind Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid -- Shesterkin remains a top-three goaltender in the NHL. He turned aside 25 shots in a 5-1 win over Vegas earlier in the season. The Golden Knights have scored only 11 goals in their last five games with six coming against the Capitals at home last Saturday.
Ilya Sorokin, NYI vs. DET ($8,000): Sorokin is having a terrific season despite his record, as he has a 2.44 GAA and a .922 save percentage with a pedestrian 15-16-4 campaign. Sorokin has struggled his last two games, giving up nine goals on 64 shots, playing Carolina and Toronto, two of the best teams in the NHL. The Islanders are 0-4-2 in their last six starts, but get the Red Wings, who are tired after upending Montreal in overtime Thursday. Sorokin was 1-1-1 versus Detroit last season, giving up eight goals on 108 shots.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Teuvo Teravainen, CAR vs SJ ($4,000): Teravainen has four goals and 21 points in 37 games but has been coming on of late, scoring once and adding seven assists in his last 10 games. Teravainen is seeing first line time with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis in even strength situations, as well as second power play time, where he has two goals and six points.
Conor Garland, VAN at CLS ($3,600): Garland scored the lone Canucks goal Wednesday in a 6-1 loss to Seattle. Garland is on a mini three-game scoring streak, giving him nine goals and 24 points in 47 games. He has J.T. Miller centering his line in five-on-five situations, as Garland also is on the second power play.
Alexis Lafreniere, NYR vs. VGK ($3,200): Lafreniere is also on a three-game points streak, scoring once and adding a trio of assists. The former first overall pick in 2020, Lafreniere has struggled at the NHL level, but could finally be finding himself, playing alongside Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. Lafreniere plays on the second power play but has not been effective there, with only one assist. Overall, Lafreniere has six goals and 22 points in 47 games this season, but his price makes him valuable if you are up against the cap.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Stars vs. Devils
Joe Pavelski (W-$5,600), Jason Robertson (W-$8,400), Roope Hintz (C-$6,300)
The trio finally are back together after Hintz missed seven games with an upper-body injury. They combined for a goal and four points in a 3-2 loss to Buffalo Monday and then Robertson scored once in a 3-2 loss to Carolina on Wednesday. Overall, Pavelski is the only member of the line averaging less than a point a game with 47 points in 50 contests (.94 points per game), while Hintz has 45 points in 42 games. Robertson leads the line with 33 goals and 66 points, good for sixth overall in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Robertson has already set a career high with 24 points on the power play.
Panthers vs. Kings
Matthew Tkachuk (W - $8,200), Aleksander Barkov (C -$6,700), Sam Reinhart (W - $5,300)
Tkachuk has been red-hot in his last 12 games, picking up points in 11 contests, with eight goals and 19 points. Tkachuk has 62 points in 47 games as he is on pace to beat last season's outstanding campaign of 104 points. Barkov has 43 points in 40 games and is currently on a nine-game points streak, with four goals and 13 points. Reinhart struggled early in the season, and has 16 goals and 38 points, but has points in eight of his last nine games, scoring four times while adding eight assists. All three are on the top power play. The Kings give up plenty of goals as they are tenth worst in the NHL, allowing 3.38 goals per game.
Maple Leafs vs. Senators
Auston Matthews (C-$8,800), William Nylander (W-$7,300), Michael Bunting (W-$4,500)
The Leafs top line is led by Matthews and Nylander with Bunting chipping in nicely to give the line value. Nylander is having a career season with a team-leading 26 goals. He is also tied for the team lead with Mitch Marner with 57 points in 49 games. Matthews, the Rocket Richard winner the last two seasons, has fallen back with 'only' 25 goals in 47 games, to go with 28 helpers, while Bunting has 33 points this season. The Maple Leafs take on the Senators, who are 20th in the NHL, giving up 3.26 goals per game.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, SJ at CAR ($7,800): Karlsson snapped a two-game pointless streak Tuesday, only the third time this season he has gone two games in a row without hitting the scoresheet. Karlsson continues to amaze this season as he is seventh in NHL scoring with 64 points, including 15 goals. He is second in the league in assists with 49, tied with Connor McDavid and only three in arrears of Nikita Kucherov. Karlsson's career-high is 82 points, and he is well on his way to smashing that mark. Karlsson is in line to be the first defenseman since Brian Leetch in the 1991-92 season, to hit the 100-point mark.
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. CLS ($5,100): Hughes is having another good season with the malfunctioning Canucks, who changed their head coach earlier in the week, bringing in Rick Tocchet to replace Bruce Boudreau. Hughes has four goals and 43 points in 44 games and has three goals and 12 points in his last nine contests. He had an assist against the Blue Jackets earlier in the season and had four helpers in two games last season.
Moritz Seider, DET at NYI ($5,400): Seider had a big three assist night Thursday in a win over Montreal, giving him a goal and 10 assists in his last nine games. Seider has only 24 points in 47 games this season as the 'sophomore jinx' hurt him earlier in the campaign. Seider is an outstanding player who has snapped out of his slump and is expected to do plenty, the remainder of the season.
