This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Friday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EST and features six games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are three massive favorites that will likely provide the majority of your lineup building blocks in this slate: the Avalanche (vs. Anaheim), Golden Knights (at San Jose) and Lightning (at Chicago). The Vegas and Tampa Bay games are also tied with Washington-Boston for the night's highest over/under at 6.0 goals. Blues-Kings and Wild-Coyotes matchups out west round out Friday's schedule.
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, COL vs. ANH ($8,400): Grubauer found his groove with a 26-save shutout of the Sharks on Wednesday, improving his record to 11-6-0 to go with a 2.07 GAA and .920 save percentage. He should be the chalk play in net against a Ducks team that's scoring a league-low 2.04 goals per game.
Curtis McElhinney, TB at CHI ($7,900): Tampa Bay's little-used backup will likely start the second of two consecutive games in Chicago, and McElhinney's a solid option with the powerhouse Lightning team skating in front of him. He has sandwiched a six-goal clunker in between two solid starts, giving up just one goal in each of those other two outings.
Jonathan Quick, LA vs. STL ($7,500): The last time Quick faced the Blues, he logged a 31-save shutout Feb. 22. The veteran goaltender will hope for a similar result in this rematch, and Quick makes for an intriguing against-the-grain value option if he gets the nod over Cal Petersen in the Kings' net.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
David Pastrnak, BOS vs. WAS ($9,100): Pastrnak scored Boston's only goal when these teams met Wednesday, raising his season line to 10-9-19 in just 13 games. The star winger has rarely disappointed and is worth paying up for to lead your lineup against a Capitals team that's allowing 3.09 goals per game.
Gabriel Landeskog, COL vs. ANH ($5,900): The most affordable member of Colorado's top line has more then held his own recently, as Landeskog has a three-game goal streak going and racked up four points Wednesday in San Jose. Regardless of linemate Nathan MacKinnon's (head) status, the streaking Landeskog's a solid option here.
Marcus Foligno, MIN at ARI ($3,200): Foligno's in the midst of a surprising scoring binge, with three goals and an assist in his last two games and a 5-3-8 line over his last six. The affordable winger's worth locking in while he's hot against a Coyotes team that has allowed at least three goals in five of its last six games.
Clayton Keller, ARI vs. MIN ($5,000): With a goal in each of the last two games, Keller's up to a 5-6-11 line over his last 12. The 22-year-old winger already has a 65-point campaign under his belt, so this recent success is sustainable. In a balanced Arizona attack that features five guys with seven-plus goals and six players with at least 15 points, Keller stands out as the one to target.
Rickard Rakell, ANH at COL ($4,200): Rakell's a strong against-the-grain pick against the heavily favored Avalanche, as he's finally starting to catch some breaks after an unlucky start to the season. The two-time 30-goal scorer is still shooting just 4.2 percent compared to a career 11.4 percent mark, and that's after breaking out to the tune of a 2-3-5 line in his last three games. If Rakell's positive shooting regression continues here, he should outplay his $4,200 valuation.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Golden Knights at Sharks
Chandler Stephenson (C - $4,200), Max Pacioretty (W - $7,400), Mark Stone (W - $5,700)
Vegas' top two wingers have been reunited on the top line, while Stephenson continues to perform admirably in between them heading into a matchup with the Sharks team that's battling Ottawa for worst defense in the league with 3.80 goals allowed per game. Stone leads the Golden Knights with 24 points — including seven in the last two games — while Pacioretty's 10-7-17 line has him first on the team in goals and second in points. Meanwhile, Stephenson continues to make the most of his top-line deployment with a 5-4-9 line in his last 11 games.
Blues at Kings
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $5,800), Jordan Kyrou (W - $4,700), Zach Sanford (W - $3,700)
Los Angeles is turning back into a pumpkin after a surprising six-game winning streak, having gone 0-2-1 since. St. Louis' surging top line should help add to the Kings' recent struggles. Kyrou (8-12-20) and O'Reilly (7-13-20) are tied for second on the team in points through 23 games behind David Perron (23), and Kyrou has a three-game point streak going while O'Reilly has marked the scoresheet in three of the last four. The affordable Sanford has been tremendous in a top-line role over the past three games, producing a 4-2-6 line and 12 shots while lighting the lamp in each contest.
Lightning at Blackhawks
Anthony Cirelli (C - $4,800), Steven Stamkos (W - $7,200), Alex Killorn (W - $3,300)
All three members of this line lit the lamp in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win in Chicago, and Killorn also had a helper. With a great mix of productivity and affordability, this line is among the most dangerous in this slate. Stamkos leads the team in goals (11) and is tied with Victor Hedman for the team points lead with 21, while Cirelli has added a 6-7-13 line in just 15 games and Killorn's contributed a solid 4-8-12 line.
DEFENSEMEN
Victor Hedman, TB at CHI ($6,900): Hedman's point-per-game pace has him tied with Stamkos for the team points lead. The elite blueliner is therefore a key piece of Lightning stacks if you opt to go that direction and is capable of delivering tremendous stand-alone value as well.
Samuel Girard, COL vs. ANH ($4,900): Girard should be a mainstay in fantasy lineups as long as Cale Makar (upper body) remains out of the lineup. In Makar's absence, Girard is thriving in a top-pairing role, with a 2-2-4 line in his last three games and over 25 minutes of ice time in each.
Matt Dumba, MIN at ARI ($4,700): Dumba's a high-floor two-way performer, with over 7.0 fantasy points in six of his last seven games thanks to a 1-3-4 line, 13 shots and 15 blocks over that stretch. His excellent shot also gives Dumba plenty of upside for a defensemen — he's on pace to pit double-digit goals for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
Urho Vaakanainen, BOS vs. WAS ($3,500): Vaakanainen has shown us a lot to like through four games this season, contributing across the board. He has two assists, eight shots and 10 blocks. If the 2017 first-rounder keeps playing like this, he won't be available for just $3,500 much longer.
