This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's a robust Saturday for the NHL. There are 12 games in the evening slate, which starts at 7 p.m. EST. That doesn't even count Boston and New Jersey playing in the afternoon.
Let's get into the slate so I can get to my recommendations…
SLATE PREVIEW
Obviously, with 24 teams in action the quality runs the gamut. We have some of the highest-scoring and low-scoring teams both represented. Also, unsurprisingly there are a few teams on the second game of a back-to-back. The Sabres, Hurricanes, and Blue Jackets are all at home for the second day in a row. The Flyers and the woeful Coyotes are both on the road for the second consecutive night. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have traveled from Toronto to Buffalo to play the aforementioned Sabres.
GOALIE
Juuse Saros, NAS vs. ARI ($8,500): A goalie with a 2.28 GAA and .925 save percentage? The team with the lowest goals per game on the road for the second night of a back-to-back? This is a slam dunk. The only question is whether or not the Predators might let David Rittich have the easy matchup to give Saros a little rest.
Braden Holtby, DAL vs. PHI ($8,000): Holtby has slipped a bit after a strong start, but he still has a 2.54 GAA and .918 save percentage. While the Flyers are middling in goals per game and not a great matchup in a vacuum, they are also on the road for the second game of a back-to-back.
Alex Nedeljkovic, DET vs. MON ($7,800): Ned's numbers are still being held down by the fact the allowed a whopping seven goals in the season opener to the Lightning. OK, so that is significant of course. That being said, since then he's posted a 2.29 GAA and .928 save percentage in his last seven appearances. In his breakout campaign last year the former Hurricane had a .932 save percentage, and Montreal is down in the bottom four in goals per contest.
VALUE PLAYS
William Nylander, TOR at BUF ($7,700): Nylander is absolutely scorching. Not only is he on a six-game point streak, he has a whopping 29 shots on goal in that time. Even on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, I'm not worried about Nylander against the Sabres. Buffalo is also on a back-to-back and with Craig Anderson banged up third-string goalie Aaron Dell might be in net.
Kevin Fiala, MIN at SEA ($6,100): Fiala is snakebit to start the season, as he has a 5.0 shooting percentage. In spite of that, he's got eight points in 13 games. He's also started 65.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, second highest on the Wild. The Kraken have been struggling with goal prevention, as you might expect from an expansion team. They have a 3.64 GAA.
Evan Rodrigues, PIT at OTT ($3,800): With both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out, Rodrigues is currently the second-line center for the Penguins. That's helped him to eight points in 12 games, and he's played 2:53 per game with the extra man as well. Meanwhile, the Senators have a 3.46 GAA and have allowed 34.5 shots on net per contest.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Predators vs. Coyotes: Mikael Granlund (C - $5,900), Matt Duchene (W - $5,900), Luke Kunin (W - $3,400)
The team with the highest GAA in the NHL? On the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. When the worst team in the NHL is in your building, it's time to take advantage. Granlund is perhaps surprisingly centering Nashville's top line over Ryan Johansen, although both get to play on the top power-play unit. Granted, Granlund has arguably earned it, as he has 15 points in 14 games, 13 of them assists. Somebody is scoring goals off of all those assists, and Duchene has certainly been a beneficiary. He has eight goals on the season, and six in his last six games. Kunin is a newer at getting big minutes in the NHL, but the 23-year-old has five points in his last six contests.
Blues at Hurricanes: Ryan O'Reilly (C - $4,800), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $3,700), Jordan Kyrou (W - $4,300)
This is a case where a back-to-back situation really changes things. Frederik Andersen has been great to start the season, but he also started Friday against the Flyers. He's only sat out one game this season, but it was also on the second leg of a back-to-back. That means Saturday we might see Antti Raanta in net, if he has recovered from his concussion, or third-string goalie Alex Lyon, who has a career .893 save percentage.
O'Reilly hasn't notched a point after returning from COVID-19 protocols, but I'm not worried. He had 54 points in 56 games last season. Buchnevich has also missed time this year and has five points in 10 games. The Russian did have 48 points in 54 games last season, though. Kyrou arguably had a semi-breakout last year with 14 goals and 21 assists in 55 games. This year? The 23-year-old has 14 points in 12 contests.
DEFENSE
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at SEA ($5,600): Spurgeon has started 62.1 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest among Minnesota defenseman. That's helped him to eight points in 13 games. Also, as I previously noted, the Kraken have a 3.64 GAA.
Quinn Hughes, VAN at VGK ($5,300): The Golden Knights have allowed 33.4 shots on net per contest, and Hughes is shooting more than ever this year. He's tallied 28 shots on net in 13 games, which have yielded two goals to go with his 10 assists. Hughes is also already established as a power-play dynamo. He's played a robust 4:28 per game with the extra man and has six power-play points. Vegas is in the bottom half of the league on the penalty kill.
Moritz Seider, DET vs. MON ($5,000): Seider is gunning for the Calder this season. He's tallied 11 points in 15 games, including five with the extra man. Montreal has a 3.33 GAA, and a big reason for that is the fact it has a bottom-five penalty kill.
