This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There's a lot of sports action starting in the afternoon on Saturday, but there will be enough time to get your NHL lineups in with 10 games starting at 7 p.m. EDT or later. There are some intriguing options for your DFS lineups, so let's take a look at the slate for Saturday night.
SLATE PREVIEW
I'm starting to look more at the stats from this season in terms of making my lineup assessments. A few of the NHL's worst defenses are in action Saturday, and for several of those teams I don't think that is merely early-season struggles. This could be a high-scoring day. Only one club is on a back-to-back with the Sabres visiting the Lightning.
GOALIES
Darcy Kuemper, WAS vs. ARI ($8,700): Given time to adjust to his new surroundings, Kuemper looks like his usual top self with a .922 save percentage after a .921 last season. He gets to host one of his former teams on Saturday, and the Coyotes have managed a paltry 23.1 shots on net per game.
Juuse Saros, NAS at VAN ($7,500): This is a bet on a couple of things regressing toward the mean. Saros has struggled to start the season, but enters with a career 2.56 GAA and .919 save percentage. Vancouver ranks top-10 in goals, but has only averaged 29.2 shots on net. There could be better luck for Saros, and the opposite for the Canucks.
Cam Talbot, OTT vs. PHI ($7,300): Betting on Talbot is betting on mystery as this will be his first start as a Senator. He's recorded a career .915 save percentage, but this is a new situation. That being said, the Flyers have averaged just 2.60 goals and 26.3 shots on net. Sounds like a favorable situation for Talbot's season debut.
VALUE PLAYS
Oliver Bjorkstrand, SEA at PIT ($6,000): Bjorkstrand is the current king of bad puck luck with 45 shots on net, but only one goal. A 2.2 shooting percentage is effectively unsustainable for a forward, and the former Blue Jacket has produced six assists. I don't know if that will continue, but the Penguins have allowed 35.5 shots on net to start this campaign.
Logan Couture, SAN vs. ANA ($5,700): The Sharks boast a strong top line, and then there's Couture left to center the second unit and basically provide any offensive upside beyond the top-three. He's been up to it so far with four goals and four assists through 13 games. The Ducks have posted a 4.64 GAA and have allowed a whopping 38.7 shots on goal, putting Couture in a position to succeed even without ideal linemates.
Conor Sheary, WAS vs. ARI ($4,700): Sheary is currently on Washington's top trio with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin. He's posted four goals and three assists, yet hasn't found the net in a while. It wouldn't be surprising if Sheary lit the lamp Saturday as Karel Vejmelka has registered a career 3.72 GAA and .898 save percentage.
LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Predators at Canucks
Mikael Granlund (C - $5,200), Filip Forsberg (W - $7,000), Matt Duchene (W - $6,400)
This is not only Nashville's top line, but it also consists of three players on the first power play. That matters in this matchup since the Canucks come in with the league's worst penalty kill. I'd worry about the sample size more, but Vancouver was also last on that front last season.
Granlund has notched 10 points, even though only two of them have come on the power play. And last year, he accumulated 28 with the extra man. Forsberg has multi-point games in three of his last four games while averaging 3:54 on the man-advantage with five PPPs. Duchene has also recorded multiple points in three of his last four outings while contributing 29 PPPs last season, including 16 goals.
Golden Knights at Canadiens
William Karlsson (C - $5,200), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $6,400), Reilly Smith (W - $5,300)
Vegas's second line is deployed in a more offensively-minded manner than its first unit based on offensive zone start percentages. It also features one player from the top power-play unit and two from the second group. Jake Allen has a 2.88 GAA and a .908 save percentage, and since joining the Canadiens he has a .906 save percentage. This is the level of play to expect, which should benefit the Golden Knights.
Karlsson has posted four goals, though his 18.2 shooting percentage will likely regress. Fortunately, he's also added five assists. Marchessault has registered five goals, even though he hasn't done so in his last six outings. He's kept shooting with 18 pucks on net in those six games. Smith has been consistent in putting up eight points while never going more than two games without a point. And yet, he's been unlucky with a 7.9 shooting percentage.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, SAN vs. ANA ($7,400): Karlsson has been so scorching hot you can't really get a "steal" in terms of his salary. But just because a player has a high salary doesn't mean he won't prove to be a good value. The Swedish defenseman has exploded for 18 points and 38 shots. John Gibson has a .902 save percentage over the last four seasons, and he's a big reason why the Ducks list a 4.64 GAA this year.
Dougie Hamilton, NJD at CGY ($6,300): Hamilton will face a former team Saturday, and he's racked up seven points and 43 shots on net. The Flames don't allow a lot of shots, but the ones that have gotten on target have often proved fruitful with Jacob Markstrom posting a .903 save percentage. If you want to chalk that up to being early, recall that two seasons ago that number was at .904.
Dmitry Orlov, WAS vs. ARI ($4,400): Whether or not John Carlson returns, I like Orlov in this matchup having recorded five points and 25 shots on net. Arizona enters with a 3.70 GAA while allowing 37.1 shots on net a night. That's with the Coyotes somehow performing well on the penalty kill thus far, and all the other indicators say that won't continue.
