This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
There is just one game on the NHL schedule Friday, with the Hurricanes heading to Arizona at 9:00 p.m. EST, but you can still play NHL DFS contests on DraftKings. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Hurricanes are clear betting favorites on the road Friday, with an over/under of 6.0 goals. DraftKings NHL Showdown single-game contest lineups consist of one Captain slot with a 1.5x multiplier on both salary and fantasy points, plus five additional Flex plays. There are no positional requirements for your lineup, but the breakdown below will be done position.
GOALIES
Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR at ARI ($10,600): Kochetkov is a strong candidate for your Captain slot, though justifying a gargantuan $15,900 salary in that scenario won't be easy given his usual light workloads behind Carolina's stout defense. The Russian netminder has faced more than 22 shots only once in his last six starts, yet he has still surrendered multiple goals in four of those. Overall, Kochetkov has a nice 13-9-3 record and 2.52 GAA, along with a pedestrian .902 save percentage. The Coyotes are tied for the seventh-fewest goals per game at 2.90 and average the third-fewest shots (26.6), so Kochetkov's unlikely to be busy Friday.
Karel Vejmelka, ARI vs. CAR ($10,000): With the ice likely to be tilted toward Arizona's goal, Vejmelka has some upside as an against-the-grain play, but his 6-12-2 record, 3.36 GAA and .897 save percentage don't inspire much confidence. Connor Ingram got hurt in Arizona's previous game, so both teams are banged up in net. The Hurricanes are tied for the 10th-most goals (3.31) and sixth-most shots (33.0) per game.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Jordan Martinook, CAR at ARI ($4,600): Martinook often toils on the fourth-line, but he has been used in a middle-six role recently and capitalized with an offensive burst. The physical winger has six goals in his last 12 games and is coming off a two-assist effort Tuesday in Dallas. He's a nice value to round out your lineup against a Coyotes team that ranks in the middle of the pack defensively.
Logan Cooley, ARI vs. CAR ($3,000): Cooley's talent level is well ebyond that of your typical $3,000 skater. The 19-year-old is averaging half a point per game and lit the lamp in Arizona's most recent game. Three of the seven goals for the third overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft have come in the past seven games, and he features on the power play.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Hurricanes at Coyotes
Sebastian Aho (C - $10,400), Andrei Svechnikov (W - $9,200), Teuvo Teravainen (W - $7,000)
All three members of Carolina's top line have some Captain spot appeal. Aho leads the team in both goals and points with a 19-38-57 line, while no teammate has more than 41 points. The team's second-leading scorer is Seth Jarvis ($8,200). Svechnikov's 11-19-30 line has come in just 31 appearances. Using Teravainen in your Captain slot opens up more salary for your Flex spots, and the Finnish winger has been hot lately with a 2-7-9 line in his last nine games.
Coyotes vs. Hurricanes
Jack McBain (C - $5,600), Clayton Keller (W - $9,600), Nick Schmaltz (W - $7,600)
Keller is the top Captain candidate among Coyotes. Like Aho, he leads the team in both goals and points, with a substantial gap over second place in the latter category. Keller's 21-28-49 line has him 15 points above second-place Matias Maccelli ($6,600). Schmaltz has a solid 14-17-31 line in 49 games, but Carolina's fourth-ranked penalty kill (84.3 percent) will make it difficult for Schmaltz to add to his lofty totals on the power play, as he leads the team with eight power-play goals and ranks second behind Keller's 21 with 14 power-play points. McBain is the latest player to get a crack on the top line among Arizona's rotating cast of centers, giving the physical pivot more upside than his modest 6-10-16 line suggests.
DEFENSEMEN
Brady Skjei, CAR at ARI ($7,200): There hasn't been much separating Skjei and Brent Burns ($8,400) this season, making the former the better value play among Carolina's top blue line options at $1,200 less. Burns has one more goal and two more points through 52 games, but Skjei boasts an impressive 7-21-28 line of his own. Their shots plus blocks totals are also nearly identical, with Burns holding a 175-171 edge.
Juuso Valimaki, ARI vs. CAR ($3,200): Valimaki has been the best source of offense from Carolina's blue line since the All-Star break, notching a point in three of four games. He has also blocked at least one shot in 16 of the last 17 games, so Valimaki's a solid two-way contributor available at a modest valuation.
