This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
While the NHL trade deadline happens a little late for my tastes, man, what a deadline this was. Now that the dust is settled, it's time to turn our attention to another day of NHL DFS. Saturday night sees six games starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. Here are my lineup recommendations. Good luck!
SLATE PREVIEW
Two teams are closing out a back-to-back, both on the road. The Blues are doing the Southern California doubleheader, with the Kings on deck for Saturday. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are facing the Predators.
GOALIES
Darcy Kuemper, LOS vs. STL ($8,100): Fortunately Kuemper just bounced back with 28 saves on 30 shots in a shootout loss at home to, hey, the Blues. He has a .911 save percentage 2.36 GAA. The Blues, on the second night of a back-to-back, are in the bottom eight of shots on net per contest. Los Angeles is second in shots on goal allowed per game. Kuemper isn't like to be too busy Saturday.
Ilya Sorokin, NYI at SAN ($8,000): Sorokin has been erratic in the new year, mixing in games with zero or one goal allowed with as many games with four or five goals allowed. In total, though, he has a .912 save percentage over his last 20 outings (which, I grant you, including New Year's Eve). The Sharks have only managed 2.63 goals per game, and they got less talented at the deadline as the rebuild continues.
VALUE PLAYS
Cole Caufield, MON at CGY ($7,100): Finally, Caufield has been both healthy and not suffering from a season-long bout of poor puck luck. He's comfortably pacing the Canadiens with 184 shots on net through 62 games and has 31 goals already. Five times in his last six games he's lit the lamp. The Flames have allowed 29.3 shots on goal per contest, which is in the bottom 10 in the NHL. They are also in the bottom 10 on the penalty kill, and Caufield has 10 goals with the extra man.
Anze Kopitar, LOS vs. STL ($6,000): The Kings have divvied out the power-play time a bit more evenly this year, but Kopitar has still averaged 2:33 per contest with the extra man and has 15 power-play points in 60 games. The Blues are down in the bottom four in terms of penalty-kill percentage, and don't forget they are on the road for the second day of a back-to-back.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Predators vs. Chicago
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $6,100), Steven Stamkos (W - $5,900), Luke Evangelista (W - $4,000)
Chicago one of two teams in the bottom four in both GAA and shots on goal allowed per game, and is also one of two teams on the second leg of a back-to-back Saturday. While Spencer Knight may be the goalie of the future in the Windy City, he also got the start Friday. That leaves Arvid Soderblom for Saturday. The 25-year-old has an .891 save percentage through 80 NHL outings, taking him out of the running for goalie of the future. Things look good for Nashville's first line.
In four of his last five games O'Reilly has netted at least one point. He's also put at least two shots on net in each of those outings as well. Stamkos was experiencing a lengthy cold stretch, but he has multiple points in each of his last two contests. Cold-stretch aside, he does have 38 points in 62 games. Having moved up to the top line, Evangelista has three points over his last two games as well. He may only have six goals after having 16 last season, but his 6.7 percent shooting should improve, especially if he is getting more minutes with better linemates.
Islanders at Sharks
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C - $4,900), Anders Lee (W - $6,400), Simon Holmstrom (W - $5,100)
The Sharks have allowed 32.0 shots on net per game. They are, with the Blackhawks, the other team in the bottom four in both GAA and shots on goal per contest. Alexandar Georgiev has been tapped to start. He was poor in Colorado, but has been worse with San Jose. Through 19 games he has a 3.87 GAA and .877 save percentage. Owing to injuries and trades, this is the Islanders' second line now, and this matchup can help them produce at a top-six level.
Pageau has 11 goals and 19 assists through 58 games. He also has eight points over his last 13 contests. On the year he's averaged 16:53 per contest in ice time, but over the last two games he's averaged 18:57. Lee has 23 goals, his fourth 20-goal season in a row. He's also put 171 shots on target. Holmstrom has taken a step forward this season, having notched 14 goals and 32 points through 54 games. While his 20.3 percent shooting looks high, last year he had a 20.8 percent mark, so that isn't necessarily anomalous or unsustainable.
DEFENSEMEN
Brady Skjei, NAS vs. CHI ($4,600): Skjei has 22 points through 62 games However, with Roman Josi out, he's the number-one defenseman for Nashville now. Over the five games Josi has missed Skjei has averaged 23:36 per game in ice time, including 2:09 on the power play. All that ice time Saturday will come against a Chicago squad that is in the bottom five in GAA and shots on goal allowed per contest.
Timothy Liljegren, SAN vs. NYI ($4,500): Liljegren has three points in his last four contests. What intrigues me, though, is the power-play situation for the Sharks with Jake Walman now an Oiler. Against Colorado on Thursday, Liljegren played 4:22 on the power play. The Swedish defenseman finds himself in the position to get some quality minutes with the extra man, and the Islanders have a bottom-four penalty kill.
