This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's another Saturday in the NHL and there are eight games on the evening docket, with the first beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET to give you plenty of time to get your lineups in before the first puck drops and before the World Series begins. You know, if you prefer to watch that while your DFS NHL lineups do their thing.
SLATE PREVIEW
We've got some interesting matchups, including the team with the most goals per game taking on the team with the highest GAA. We also have three clubs playing on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Panthers and Red Wings played one another Friday, but now both are on the road with the Wings heading from Detroit to Toronto. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, had to travel from Carolina to St. Louis.
GOALIE
Jack Campbell, TOR vs. DET ($8,200): It was fair to come into this season with questions after Campbell surprised with a 2.15 GAA and .921 save percentage last season. But so far, he's posted a 2.31 GAA and .918 save percentage. The Wings are doing better offensively this season, but they still ranked 30th in goals per game last year and that's a larger sample size - even if it isn't a perfectly analogous one.
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. CHI ($7,600): The Blackhawks sit in the bottom-five in goals per game and are on the road for the second of a back-to-back. They'll also likely be without Patrick Kane again. And even if he can play, he'll be returning from an absence related to COVID-19 protocols. Binnington's 3.02 GAA is not good, but his .916 save percentage is respectable and he enters with a 4-1-0 record.
Linus Ullmark, BOS vs. FLA ($7,500): This is about the salary that Ullmark is available at and the fact he's playing a team on their second straight road outing. It's not a knock on Florida's offense, which I largely believe in; this is usually a tricky situation for an NHL team to be in. And Ullmark has produced a .916 save percentage over the last three seasons, even though he played in Buffalo the last two.
VALUE PLAYS
William Nylander, TOR vs. DET ($6,900): Nylander has been moved on Toronto's top line swapping spots with Mitch Marner, and it's hard to argue against that. While Marner is off to a slow start, Nylander has racked up six points in eight appearances. He's also put 29 shots on net, so he's been quite active. The Wings managed a 3.00 GAA last year, and they're on the road for the second game in as many nights.
Kasperi Kapanen, PIT vs. NJD ($4,400): Maybe it's because of the players that have been missing, but Kapanen has averaged 3:39 per game with the extra man. The Devils held the worst penalty kill in the NHL last season, so that's encouraging. Kapanen also has four points in seven after 30 in 40 games last year.
Tanner Pearson, VAN vs. EDM ($3,900): In his first campaign with the Canucks, Pearson produced 45 points in 69 games. Last season was rough, but he's at least been active this year. The 29-year-old has directed 23 shots on net, the most of any Canucks forward. And Pearson's 4.3 shooting percentage is bound to improve. Meanwhile, the Oilers have allowed a league-high 37.0 shots on net per contest.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Jets at Sharks
Pierre-Luc Dubois (C - $5,200), Kyle Connor (W - $8,600), Nikolaj Ehlers (W - $6,700)
It's the West Side Story matchup. The Sharks have struggled defensively for a few years, the defensemen keep getting older, and the goaltending situation never gets solved. Other than that, they're a juggernaut. San Jose posted a 3.50 team GAA last year, so they've turned to Adin Hill as their top goalie and he's posted a 2.95 GAA and .893 save percentage.
Dubois' first season in Winnipeg didn't go great, but he's had nine points and is on a six-game point streak. Getting to center a line with Connor and Ehlers definitely helps. Connor has been one of the league's most-productive players with 13 points. He'll slow down, but even his 19.4 shooting percentage isn't too unsustainable. Ehlers is in the opposite situation with 29 shots on goal, but only a 6.9 shooting percentage that's likely to improve.
Blues vs. Blackhawks
Tyler Bozak (C - $3,900), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $5,600), Jordan Kyrou (W - $5,200)
Remember when I said the highest-scoring team in the NHL was playing the team with the highest GAA? This was the contest I was talking about. Ryan O'Reilly is out right now, which changed the center landscape for the Blues. But this matchup is good enough not to sweat it, especially with Chicago being on a back-to-back.
Bozak is a decent-enough center, and his salary is low. Skating with Buchnevich and Kyrou on his wings should help. Buchnevich opened the season with consecutive point efforts before getting suspended. He's back now and also broke out with 48 points in 54 games last year. Kyrou has nine in six, and has only been held scoreless once.
DEFENSE
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. DET ($5,900): Rielly will never score 20 goals again and may never reach double-digit in that category. However, he's still a playmaker with 30 assists last year and four this season. Rielly has also managed 20 shots on net.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, VAN vs. EDM ($4,400): I mentioned earlier the Oilers have allowed 37.0 shots on net per contest. Ekman-Larsson seems to have been reinvigorated by the move from Arizona to Vancouver leading the club with 32 shots on net. More points would be nice, but being this active offensively is always a positive for a defenseman.
Colton Parayko, STL vs. CHI ($4,000): Why not dip into that Blackhawks matchup again? When a team allows six goals one night and has to play the following evening, it just feels like the right thing to do. Parayko plays plenty of minutes, averaging a whopping 25:17. He only played in 32 games last season, but he scored 10 goals in each of the previous two campaigns.
