Christmas is under a week away and the NHL will soon be on a short break. For now, you can make the most of your NHL DFS opportunities with seven games on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
A few teams are on the first leg of a back-to-back, so keeping an eye on starting goalie confirmation will be important. Shout out to Vegas for naming Akira Schmid the Saturday starter early on. However, there are also three clubs playing for a second straight day. Anaheim are at home for both, with Columbus their Saturday opponent. Both Carolina and Vancouver are on the road facing the Lightning and Bruins, respectively.
GOALIES
Joseph Woll, TOR at NAS ($7,700): Toronto has been porous defensively, though Woll and Dennis Hildeby have been solid. Woll has only played in nine games this season, but has a 2.39 GAA and .923 save percentage. By the way, the Leafs are on the first leg of a back-to-back. So even if Hildeby gets the call, he's posted a .915. The Predators are bottom-eight in goals and bottom-five in GAA, so Toronto should be in line for a road win.
Yaroslav Askarov, SAN vs. SEA ($7,500): The Sharks have allowed the most shots, so Askarov's task hasn't been easy. After a hot stretch, his save percentage is now down to .900. That being said, a home matchup against the Kraken will hopefully help him find his footing as they've only managed 2.47 goals and 25.7 shots per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Leo Carlsson, ANA vs. CLM ($7,200): Anaheim may be on the second day of a back-to-back, but both are at home. Carlsson is only 20 and is also the one young Duck regularly getting minutes on the top power play where he's produced 11 points. Columbus is still a matchup worth considering as they're bottom-three in GAA, shots allowed, and penalty-kill percentage.
Easton Cowan, TOR at NAS ($4,400): I mentioned Nashville listing a bottom-five GAA, and indeed that sits at 3.48. Cowan is a 20-year-old rookie, yet recently has teamed up with John Tavares on the second line. Six of his 10 points have come in his last 13 outings while registering two shots from four of his last five.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins vs. Canucks
Elias Lindholm (C - $6,200), David Pastrnak (W - $7,900), Morgan Geekie (W - $7,300)
This isn't exactly a trio you find in the bargain barrel when it comes to collective salary, though the Bruins are quite top-heavy and this matchup is definitely worth taking advantage of. Vancouver is far from home and on the second day of a back-to-back. Thatcher Demko is healthy (for now), but he started Friday. That leaves Kevin Lankinen on Saturday, who's made 17 appearances and has struggled to a 3.49 GAA and .878 save percentage.
Lindholm has 12 points over his last 10 games and 11 PPPs overall facing the Canucks' 29th-ranked penalty kill. Pastrnak has reached 100 points in each of the last three seasons and is currently at 38. He's also excellent at getting pucks on net with 104 shots. Geekie and puck luck appear to be besties. He broke through last year with 33 goals on a 22.0 shooting percentage and he's currently at 24 with a 27.9. That kind of number is basically unsustainable, yet Geekie has also scored 12 times across 14 appearances.
Canadiens vs. Penguins
Oliver Kapanen (C - $5,000), Juraj Slafkovsky (W - $5,400), Ivan Demidov (W - $5,300)
Here's a stack option that won't break the bank. The Canadiens have recently tweaked their top-six to give them (hopefully) two viable units. This trio isn't as reliable as the top one, but consists of promising young talent. As for the Penguins, they're old and have lost seven straight, Stuart Skinner allowed five goals in his first start with the club, and Arturs Silovs has produced an .800 save percentage over his last five outings.
The rookie Kapanen secured a role with the big club this year and is at 10 goals on the campaign alongside 27 shots from his last 12 outings. Slafkovsky was a first-overall pick and still only 21. He's tallied 11 points during his last 14 with 11 PPPs on the season. While Demidov is no longer the favorite for the Calder, that doesn't mean he's been disappointing as he's notched 13 points in his last 16.
DEFENSEMEN
Charlie McAvoy, BOS vs. VAN ($5,600): McAvoy has two points, eight shots, and eight blocked shots over the four games since returning from injury. That puts him up to 16 points overall, with all of those assists. The goals will eventually come. As mentioned above, the Canucks are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back and expected starter Kevin Lankinen enters with an .878 save percentage.
John Klingberg, SAN vs. SEA ($5,500): The Sharks carry a lot of young talent, but let's not overlook Klingberg. He's averaged 3:36 on the man-advantage with seven PPPs. The Kraken have the league's worst penalty kill, so rostering Klingberg could pay off on Saturday.
