This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The last couple of weekends have been afternoon-heavy for the NHL. This Saturday does indeed have four games with early starts, but there are six games starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. That means you can play the evening slate and still have plenty of options. Let's focus on that then for DFS purposes.
SLATE PREVIEW
There's only one team on the second leg of a back-to-back, and that's the Blue Jackets, who happen to have the second highest team GAA in the NHL. In fact, the bottom two teams in GAA are both playing.
GOALIES
Mikko Koskinen, EDM vs. MON ($8,400): It's only five games, but since returning from being out for a couple weeks Koskinen has a 2.50 GAA and .924 save percentage. This matchup could keep him hot, though. Montreal has scored a mere 2.36 goals per game, 31st in the NHL.
Vitek Vanecek, WAS vs. SEA ($8,200): The Capitals have only allowed 28.9 shots on net per contest. Meanwhile, the Kraken have only managed 28.8 shots on goal per game. Vanecek may barely face any shots Saturday. When he has faced shots this season, he has a .920 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS
J.T. Miller, VAN at TOR ($5,800): There's murmurings that Miller could get dealt at the deadline, and he's certainly bolstering his stock. He's got himself an eight-game point streak wherein he's tallies 15 total points. Jack Campbell has played so poorly recently that the Leafs turned to Petr Mrazek. That didn't work, so Campbell is starting Saturday. Over his last 20 games he has a 3.35 GAA and .893 save percentage.
Tom Wilson, WAS vs. SEA ($3,900): The Capitals know where their bread is buttered offensively. Three of the top four players on the team in terms of offensive-zone-start percentage are on their top line. Wilson is the one of the trio who isn't carrying a particularly-gaudy price point. However, Wilson still has 17 goals and 19 assists, and the Kraken have a 3.54 GAA.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Bruins at Blue Jackets: Erik Haula (C - $2,900), David Pastrnak (W - $7,000), Taylor Hall (W - $4,800)
As I said, the Blue Jackets have the second-highest GAA in the league, and they are also on a back-to-back. On top of that, they are last in shots on net allowed per game. A porous defense is backstopped by questionable goaltending in Columbus. The Bruins have considered to run with Jake DeBrusk on the top line, leaving Pastrnak as a shining star on the second line.
Haula admittedly only has 24 points this season, but he has a five-game point streak where he's tallied seven points. Hmm…I wonder what changed. On a surely-unrelated note, Pastrnak is on a seven-game point streak of his own where he's tallied seven goals and four assists. He has 31 goals on a staggering 242 shots on net in 55 games. Hall doesn't have a ton of goals (12), but he's racked up 28 assists in 55 outings.
Oilers vs. Canadiens: Connor McDavid ( C- $8,900), Zach Hyman (W - $5,400), Warren Foegele (W - $2,600)
The NHL's leading scorer versus the NHL's worst defense. Montreal has a 3.82 GAA, pacing the league in goals allowed by a comfortable margin. Right now, the Oilers are missing a couple key forward in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi. Of course, this is largely considered a two-man team anyway, and one of them is involved on this line.
McDavid is the aforementioned leading scorer. He's tallied 79 points in 54 games. Sure, he's well off his pace of last year when he had 105 points in 56 games, but let's not quibble. Hyman has 19 goals and 17 assists in 49 games. Also, due to injuries he's now on the top power-play unit again. Over the last seven games he's averaged 3:57 with the extra man. Foegele doesn't really play on the power play, but he has 20 points in 55 games and has 102 shots on net. What's key, though, is he's now on McDavid's wing.
DEFENSE
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. VAN ($6,100): Rielly has put 144 shots on goal in 54 games, but there is one aspect of his game that has me most intrigued. He's averaged 2:48 per contest with the extra man and has tallied 15 power-play points. The Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill, so this matchup is right up Rielly's alley.
Evan Bouchard, EDM vs. MON ($4,600): Bouchard ended a point drought in his last game, giving him 28 points in 55 games on the blue line. Also, Tyson Barrie is day-to-day right now. If he can't go, Bouchard might move up to the top power-play unit. Against the 31st-ranked penalty kill, that could pay off.
