This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Since Sunday is New Year's Eve, it is a busier day than usual for the NHL in terms of Sunday action. In turn, Saturday is not as robust, with only seven games starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. Now, seven games are far from a meager lineup, so you still have DFS decisions to make. With that in mind, here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Not only is Sunday busy, but Friday wasn't exactly a day of rest for the NHL (a league that rested for three days around Christmas), so we have seven teams on the second leg of a back-to-back Saturday. There is at least one such team in six of the seven matchups, with Edmonton-Los Angeles having none of these teams and Washington-Nashville having two. The Rangers and Devils are the two on the road for both legs, though the Rangers are just doing the Sunshine State double. New Jersey had to go from Ottawa to Boston.
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. STL ($7,600): Oddly, Jarry's last two starts have yielded 7-0 scores. However, in the first one he was on the losing end, while in his last outing he pitched the shutout. All in all, though, Jarry has a .916 save percentage. The Blues are on the fringes of the bottom 10 in terms of goals per game, but being on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back won't help them offensively.
Yaroslav Askarov, NAS at WAS ($6,500): Kevin Lankinen was too sick to dress for Friday's game, so I doubt he's reading for Saturday. That would leave Askarov, a goalie prospect so touted he was drafted 11th overall, to start. At the very least, I trust he can handle a lackluster offense when both teams are playing for the second time in as many nights. Washington ranks 31st in goals per game, which means only San Jose is below it, and San Jose barely resembles an NHL team this season.
VALUE PLAYS
Charlie Coyle, BOS vs. NJD ($6,100): Coyle's hot start is well behind him, but he did just pot two goals the last time he took the ice. This may be a good time to buy back in. The Devils have the highest GAA of any of these teams, and are also on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
Seth Jarvis, CAR at TOR ($5,500): The Hurricanes haven't gotten a ton of scoring aside from the first line recently, save for Jarvis. While he's on the third line, he's on the top power-play unit, which is where Carolina has been doing its damage. Jarvis has seven points over his last nine games, with three coming with the extra man. The Maple Leafs are on the second night of a back-to-back, with Martin Jones likely to start. The 33-year-old journeyman started the year in the AHL because over the prior five seasons he posted an .895 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Penguins vs. Blues
Evgeni Malkin (C - $7,400), Reilly Smith (W - $4,500), Drew O'Connor (W - $3,600)
The hope here is that Malkin plays the rising tide that lifts all boats, making it so that you get something approaching value from Malkin and his elevated salary but get bang for your buck from his wings. The Blues, as noted, are on the road for the second night of a back-to-back. Joel Hofer, has played well recently, but has a .912 save percentage and 2.74 GAA. He's only been the goalie for the second leg of a back-to-back twice this year, with an iffy start against Montreal and a good start against a poor Anaheim offense. I think this Pittsburgh line can handle the matchup.
Malkin has yet to slow down, even this late in his career. He has 29 points and 87 shots on net through 33 games, and he has two multi-point games in his last four outings. Smith has had ups and downs in his first season with the Penguins, but he's spent basically the entire season next to Malkin, developing chemistry, and right now is an "up" period. He has six points in his last eight games. The other spot next to Malkin has been a bit of a musical chairs situation, but O'Connor is there right now. He has three points and 16 shots on net over his last seven contests.
DEFENSEMEN
Roman Josi, NAS at WAS ($8,000): Sometimes, my recommendations are in the vein of, "Don't eschew this high-salary player just because he's on the second leg of a back-to-back." Players like Josi often manage to justify their salaries in all sorts of scenarios. He's an elite point producer from the blue line, and his hefty minutes on the power play helps save Josi's legs a bit. The Capitals' overarching defensive numbers lean heavily on the play of Charlie Lindgren. Darcy Kuemper has a sub-.900 save percentage, and also had to step in for Lindgren on Friday as Lindgren is now on injured reserve.
Darren Raddysh, TAM vs. NYR ($3,700): Okay, so if I am going to recommend Josi, I do want to find a potential low-salary, high-upside player as well. Mikhail Sergachev is expected to miss another game at least. The player who benefits the most from that? Raddysh, who has been able to step onto the second power-play unit. Also, he does have 10 assists on the season. The Rangers are good defensively, but also on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. If Raddysh picks up a point, at his salary you'll be quite happy.
