This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Only two NHL teams aren't playing Saturday, the Flames and the Ducks. However, a few games are in the afternoon, leaving us with 11 NHL games starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. Even so, that means more DFS options than usual. As such, recommendations might mean more to you this Saturday, and here are my lineup recommendations for you.
SLATE PREVIEW
We've got two teams on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Blackhawks and the Panthers. Florida is at home against Winnipeg, but Alex Lyon will likely be in net. Meanwhile the Blackhawks are visiting the Lightning, but their better goalie, Alex Stalock, is the presumed starter.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. CHI ($8,500): Even with a tough recent run of play, Vasilevskiy has a 2.69 GAA and .914 save percentage. This is exactly the matchup he needs to get on track, though. Not only are the Blackhawks on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, they are in the bottom two in goals and shots on net per game, and no longer have Patrick Kane and Max Domi.
Vitek Vanecek, NJD at MON ($8,400): Vanecek's own play has been below average, in line with his career numbers, but has a 2.55 GAA because the Devils have allowed a mere 28.2 shots on net per contest. The Canadiens have scored the fifth-fewest goals per game, and they've lost players due to trades and injuries.
Pheonix Copley, LOS vs. NAS ($8,000): This is not about Copley's play, but the odds he gets a win and the opponent's offense. The Predators have averaged only 2.84 goals per game, and they were a seller at the deadline.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Dawson Mercer, NJD at MON ($5,100): Mercer has been on fire, as he has an 11-game point streak. In that time he's put 39 shots on net as well. The Canadiens have a 3.55 GAA and have allowed 33.7 shots on net per contest, so Mercer could easily make it a dozen games in a row with a point.
Nino Niederreiter, WPG at FLA ($4,700): Speaking of the Predators as sellers, Niederreiter has done quite well since joining the Jets, and he has a four-game point streak. The Panthers are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and as I said Lyon will likely start. He's a 30-year-old journeyman with a career .893 save percentage.
Shane Pinto, OTT at VAN ($3,500): Pinto's rookie season started fast, then he cooled down, and now he's revved back up. He has eight points over his last 14 games and is getting to center a line with Alex DeBrincat and Drake Batherson on his wings. The Canucks have gotten Thatcher Demko back, but he has an .894 save percentage this season, and the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Blues at Blue Jackets
Pavel Buchnevich (C - $5,900), Jakub Vrana (W - $3,500), Kasperi Kapanen (W - $3,200)
The Blues have shifted their lineup, leaving this as the new second line for the squad. It happens to feature two new additions to the roster as well. Columbus is in the bottom four in GAA and shots on net allowed per game, and Michael Hutchinson seems likely to be in net with Elvis Merzlikins dealing with an illness. Hutchinson is a 33-year-old journeyman with a career .905 save percentage.
Lineup changes aside, Buchnevich has been on fire. He has 18 points over his last 11 games. The Russian also has 20 power-play points in 49 contests. Vrana has had a tough year, on and off the ice, but in two outings with St. Louis he's scored a goal and out 10 shots on net. Since joining the Blues, Kapanen has three points in five contests. He's also averaged 2:37 per game with the extra man with his new team.
Lightning vs. Blackhawks
Anthony Cirelli (C - $4,400), Brandon Hagel (W - $5,200), Alex Killorn (W - $4,500)
The Lightning, perhaps looking for a spark, recently put their big three on the top line, leaving this as the second line. By Saturday, everything could shift again, but this line looks good on paper. Stalock may be in line to start Saturday…but is he? He missed practice Friday with an illness. Could Petr Mrazek end up making back-to-back starts? Or will the Blackhawks have to call up an AHL goalie on an emergency basis? Regardless, it bodes well for the Lightning.
Cirelli is more defensively minded, but he has offensive upside. He has 21 points in 42 games this year, and scored 17 goals last season. Hagel is the one who dropped from the first line, perhaps because he's gone cold. On the year, though, he has 22 goals and 28 assists in 65 games, and he had 25 goals last year. Killorn has 10 points in his last 10 games, including four on the power play. His numbers with the extra man have been down this year, as his minutes on that front dropped, but over this 10 games he's averaged 2:49 per contest in power-play time.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG at FLA ($7,000): Out of nowhere, Morrissey has become as productive as any defenseman in the NHL this year. He has 67 points and 140 shots on net in 65 games, and that includes 26 points with the extra man. The Panthers have the 28th-ranked penalty kill, but they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back for good measure.
Thomas Chabot, OTT at VAN ($5,700): Chabot has averaged a whopping 4:00 per game with the extra man, notching 18 power-play points in 59 contests. As I noted, the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill, and the return of Demko isn't likely going to change that.
Torey Krug, STL at CLM ($4,400): Krug has been in and out of the lineup, but he has 24 points and 98 shots on net through 46 games. That includes 12 points with the extra man, business as usual for the veteran defenseman. The Blue Jackets are better than you might expect on the penalty kill, which is to say they rank 21st, but they still have a 3.72 GAA and have allowed 35.3 shots on net per contest.
