This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The first Saturday of the NHL regular season is packed to the brim, even though the Lightning had to postpone their home opener due to the fallout of Hurricane Milton (donate if you can). There are still 12 games on the slate starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Two teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back – Blackhawks and Flyers. Both are on the road up in Canada, and both have goaltending situations that in my stats-and-analytics mindset would call "total trash." Plus, Chicago is facing Edmonton, who is probably feeling pretty annoyed that it opened the season getting housed by the Jets.
GOALIES
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. CHI ($8,500): Skinner was in the goal for the steamrolling Winnipeg delivered to Edmonton, but this matchup is well worth targeting. Though Chicago's lineup is a bit different, and Connor Bedard has a season of experience, this is a team that averaged 2.17 goals and 26.3 shots on net per game last year. That leaves a lot of room to improve just to get to decent, and don't forget Chicago is on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. I will note the Oilers are on the first leg of a back-to-back, so keep an eye on things to see if Skinner or Calvin Pickard gets the nod Saturday.
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. PIT ($8,300): Well, one game into the new season and Shesterkin already has one shutout to his name. It's worth remembering that his 2.57 GAA and .912 save percentage qualified last season as a "down" year for the Russian, so if that's his floor, all but the toughest matchups leave him viable as a lineup option. While Utah is off to a strong start to the year, and has a roster not insignificantly different from last year, the erstwhile Coyotes only averaged 27.7 shots on net per game in 2023-24.
Linus Ullmark, OTT at MON ($7,900): So far, so good. In Ullmark's first start with the Senators, he held the Panthers to one goal on 31 shots. Sure, he got help from his defense in Boston, but he had a .923 save percentage with the team, and that's certainly to his credit. The Canadiens averaged 27.7 shots on net per contest last year, so Ullmark should be less busy than he was against the Panthers.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Jeff Skinner, EDM vs. CHI ($4,600): Though the Oilers were blanked in their opener, Jeff Skinner recorded four shots on net in his first game with the team – a nice silver lining to take from that night. This is a guy who has routinely put over 200 shots on target over the course of a season, and this is the best lineup he's been a part of. Petr Mrazek is in line to get the call in net for the second night of Chicago's back-to-back. He has a .901 save percentage in his time with the team.
Mason McTavish, ANA at SAN ($4,200): I promise you this recommendation is not based on the fact the Ducks' new (old) look is a vast improvement. McTavish went from 17 goals as a rookie to 19 last season, and from 43 points to 42, but the important thing to note is that due to injury he did that in 16 fewer games. Technically, that means he improved, and he's still only 21, so there is more room where that came from. The Sharks finished last in GAA and shots on net allowed per game last season. While adding highly-touted young players is exciting, it does not tend to yield better defense.
Casey Mittelstadt, COL vs. CLM ($4,100): To call the Avalanche shorthanded offensively at the moment would be an understatement, so there are minutes up for grabs. In the first game of the season, Mittelstadt played 19:47, including 4:33 on the power play. He picked up a goal on three shots. This is my first time picking against Columbus this season, and it already feels like a bummer given everything that happened, but the reality is reality, and the reality is Elvis Merzlikins has a .897 save percentage over the last four seasons.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Flames vs. Flyers
Mikael Backlund (C - $4,400), Blake Coleman (W - $5,400), Connor Zary (W - $3,000)
As noted, the Flyers are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Ivan Fedotov is part of Philly's goaltending tandem this season and, um, he's tall? He's 27, has played in three NHL games and allowed 10 goals on 53 shots. Now he has to visit Calgary, and I like the look of its second line at the moment.
Backlund's shooting percentages are consistently low, but since he also consistently puts over 200 shots on net in a season he had 15 goals last year to go with 24 assists. The Swede played 1:54 on the power play in Calgary's opener, which is encouraging given he's got Nazem Kadri to compete with for power-play time. Coleman scored 30 goals last season and averaged 17:08 of ice time per game, which was a career-high. He played 1:41 on the power play in the opener as well, which is notable because he's never been a big part of the power play in the past. If he has a larger role with the extra man, his DFS value is even higher. Zary picked up a goal and an assist in Calgary's first game. He had 14 goals and 20 assists in 64 games as a rookie. He's a player I had earmarked to keep an eye on heading into this season.
Kraken at Wild
Matty Beniers (C - $4,100), Oliver Bjorkstrand (W - $5,500), Eeli Tolvanen (W - $3,800)
Marc-Andre Fleury decided he didn't want to retire and the Wild decided they wanted to keep giving him starts. He has a .905 save percentage over the last three seasons. At 39 years old, he's more likely to get worse than get better. For good measure, the Wild also had the 30th-ranked penalty kill last season. Seattle's top line looks good to me with Fleury tending goal.
Beniers experienced a sophomore slump after winning the Calder Trophy, but he still had 15 goals. He has a new head coach who sees him as a first-line center. He put three shots on target in the opener. Bjorkstrand tallied 20 goals in both of his first two seasons with the Kraken. He also had 25 points with the extra man last year. Tolvanen lit the lamp in Seattle's first goal of this campaign. The Kraken gave him the substantive role the Predators never did, and he responded with 16 goals and 25 assists.
DEFENSEMEN
Brock Faber, MIN vs. SEA ($5,000): Faber was one of the NHL's pleasant surprises in his rookie campaign, playing a whopping 24:58 per game and tallying 47 points. He's ensconced on the top pairing, but also now on the top power-play unit as well. Philipp Grubauer has yet to finish a season with the Kraken with a save percentage over .900. He allowed three goals on 25 shots in the opener this year.
Thomas Chabot, OTT at MON ($4,800): As per usual, Chabot was very active for the Senators in the opener, putting three shots on net and blocking five. Sam Montembeault made 48 saves in his first start of the season, but also he had to face 48 shots, which is not ideal. Given his career .899 save percentage, a performance like that is certainly an outlier.
Jake Walman, SAN vs. ANA ($4,500): Walman has gone from Detroit to San Jose, where suddenly the 28-year-old is seen as a veteran presence worthy of playing prime minutes. He played a whopping 24:59 in San Jose's opener and picked up an assist. Walman also blocked seven shots because, well, this is a team that is going to be defending quite a bit. Lukas Dostal is the top goalie for the Ducks for now. He has a career .902 save percentage.
