After taking Thanksgiving off, the NHL returned in a big way on Friday. And there are eight games on Saturday for DFS purposes, with the first pucks dropping at 7 p.m. EST. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
With a busier-than-usual Friday, Saturday is full of teams on the second day of a back-to-back. In fact, literally every team on the slate also played Friday. (With the only teams that weren't in action - the Oilers and Kraken - facing each other at 4 p.m. EST.)
GOALIES
Jacob Markstrom, NJD vs. PHI ($8,300): Markstrom has started slowly and was hindered by injury, though he's posted a .914 save percentage in his last two outings. The Flyers still sit bottom-10 in goals and shots per game even after putting six past Jake Allen a week ago. And that matchup was in Philly while Saturday's tilt will be in Jersey.
Jeremy Swayman, BOS vs. DET ($7,500): The Wings and Bruins get a slight boost from playing early Friday afternoon, yet Boston benefits from being at home for both. Detroit got a bit unlucky in drawing Swayman as he's been awesome this month with a 2.09 GAA and .936 save percentage through nine starts. This is one of the cases where a club actually opted to save its No. 1 netminder for the second day of a back-to-back that you can take advantage of.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Braeden Bowman, VGK vs. SAN ($3,800): Mark Stone's return has diminished Bowman's power-play role, but he's remained a top-six forward and has done well during his debut with seven points and 19 shots across nine appearances. The Sharks allow plenty of shots and Yaroslav Askarov started on Friday, leaving Alex Nedeljkovic and his career .903 save percentage to go Saturday.
Connor Dewar, PIT vs. TOR ($2,800): I was slightly hesitant to roster one of Pittsburgh's well-seasoned players on the second consecutive day, though Dewar is 26. He's recently received a chance to skate on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust and has notched a point from two of his last three games. Toronto is one of the teams bottom-5 in GAA and shots allowed, so there's opportunity by taking a shot on Dewar.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Kings vs. Canucks
Quinton Byfield (C - $5,200), Adrian Kempe (W - $6,800), Kevin Fiala (W - $6,700)
The Canucks are in turmoil with arguably the NHL's worst defensive team as they're bottom-8 eight for GAA, shots allowed, and penalty-kill percentage. Thanks to the Kings opting for a five-forward unit while up a man, all three of these players participate on that group.
Puck luck has let Byfield down, but he's still managed 18 points over 24 games - including five on the power play. Kempe has also been unfortunate in the goal department, yet is up to 20 points and 78 shots on target. Fiala hasn't faced the same issue as he's at 10 goals to go with seven assists. He also thrives on the man-advantage having racked up at least 24 PPPs in each of the last three seasons.
Wild vs. Sabres
Joel Eriksson Ek (C - $6,200), Matt Boldy (W - $7,400), Marcus Johansson (W - $3,200)
When the Wild combined Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov on the same trio, the salary outlay for a stack was a bit expensive. This line is easier to work with alongside a worthwhile matchup. While the Sabres' penalty kill has been an outlier in terms of quality, they still rank bottom-8 in GAA and shots allowed. And two of these players are significant power-play producers.
Eriksson Ek has registered seven points in his last nine games to give him 16 overall even though he's only potted four goals on 75 shots. Boldy previously reached 30 goals and 70 points, though this season should be his best as he's already at 14 goals and 14 assists with two three-point efforts during his last four. Johansson has been lucky, yet he did score 19 goals three seasons ago and it's plausible he can compile a solid campaign at 35. To that end, he's notched eight goals and 12 assists and hasn't found the scoresheet only three times from his last 16 outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Mikhail Sergachev, UTA at STL ($5,400): Streaky would be the watchword for Sergachev, but he's still recorded 16 points overall with seven on the power play. He's also directed at least three shots on net during six of his last nine games. Though St. Louis allows an average number of shots, they're still bottom-6 in GAA due to poor goaltending and a dicey penalty kill.
Brandt Clarke, LOS vs. VAN ($4,300): Drew Doughty has missed the Kings' last four-plus matchups, so it's not a coincidence Clarke logged over 20 minutes in each with a man-advantage uptick. He hasn't been a major point producer, yet has 12 points and 47 shots. While Clarke may not see lots of time against the Canucks' bottom-5 penalty kill, he'll likely receive 20-plus minutes facing a bottom-3 GAA.
