SLATE PREVIEW
It's a light NHL schedule with four games Friday night. Vegas travels to go up against the Rangers while Pittsburgh hosts Florida, LA heads to Colorado and St. Louis plays in Seattle. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Logan Thompson, VGK at NYR ($7,700): Thompson has won three of his last four games, including a 29-save performance last week in a 5-1 win over the Rangers. Thompson is 16-9-4 with a 2.73 GAA and a .907 save percentage on the season and comes in at a relatively low salary.
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. LA ($8,200): Georgiev has been solid since being dealt to the Avs last offseason. The Kings are slumping, having gone 2-5-3 from their last 10 games. And while they're an outstanding 14-5-3 on the road, they're only 1-5-2 in their eight most recent trips away from home.
VALUE PLAYS
Ivan Barbashev, VGK at NYR ($4,800): Barbashev is on a four-game point streak with three goals and four assists to put him at 26 points overall. He's skating on the second line alongside Nicolas Roy and Jonathan Marchessault and on the second power play.
Blake Wheeler, NYR vs. VGK ($3,800): The Rangers shuffled their lines at practice Thursday and Wheeler was back on the top trio with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He's only registered two goals over his last 12 games - both versus Seattle last Tuesday - but enjoyed plenty of success prior to that having played with the elite duo. Wheeler is a strong selection at a reasonable salary.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Kings
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $10,700), Mikko Rantanen (W - $10,100), Jonathan Drouin (W - $5,200)
Colorado's lead group have been outstanding. MacKinnon has been on a tear riding a 12-game point streak where he's racked up 26 points, including nine from his last two appearances. He's yet to be held off the scoresheet at home in 24 outings and has been only kept pointless once across 32 appearances. Rantanen has also been hot with nine goals and 12 assists during the same stretch. Drouin fills out the line and his value makes a solid addition to your lineups. He's finally begun to click having notched 19 points in his last 20 games.
Golden Knights at Rangers
Mark Stone (W - $7,600), Pavel Dorofeyev (W - $4,800), Chandler Stephenson (C - $5,200)
The Golden Knights first line is led by Stone. He saw his six-game point streak come to an end Tuesday, but managed three goals and seven assists during that run. When he faced the Rangers last week, he picked up two helpers. Dorofeyev is getting a look in the top-six and lead man-advantage. He's yet to post a power-play point this season, though has produced 14 points over 28 outings. Stephenson also had a five-game scoring stretch halted on Tuesday, where he had accumulated seven points. This trio is worth the investment if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to the previous recommendation.
DEFENSEMEN
Drew Doughty, LA at COL ($6,200): Doughty has recorded three goals and an assist in his last five games to give him 25 points on the year - including 10 on the power play. He also potted a goal against Colorado earlier this season.
Aaron Ekblad, FLA at PIT ($4,900): Ekblad has gone pointless in seven of his last eight games, though the one where he found the scoresheet netted a goal and three assists. He's produced 13 points in 30 games this season and is worth taking a chance on Friday.
