This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are three games in the NHL on Friday. The Lightning head to the east side of the state to take on the Panthers in the battle of Florida, while Colorado hosts Seattle and Detroit is in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Ville Husso, DET at CHI ($8,100): Husso will attempt to make amends after giving up five goals on 36 shots in an overtime loss to the Kings on Monday. He is 1-0-1 with the win coming on a 29-save shutout against Montreal a week ago. Husso will face the Blackhawks, who have scored only seven times in three games. If the Red Wings decide to go with Alex Nedeljkovic in net, then he is the play instead of Husso.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at FLA ($7,600): Vasilevskiy is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Flyers on Tuesday. Vasilevskiy excelled in the Stanley Cup playoffs against Florida as he was 4-0 and gave up only three goals on 154 shots in the sweep. Look for the Lightning's netminder to get back on track Friday.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Filip Zadina, DET at CHI ($3,500): Zadina was a healthy scratch on Opening Night but found himself back in the lineup when Tyler Bertuzzi suffered an upper-body injury that will cause him to miss 4-6 weeks. Zadina played on the second line Monday, alongside Andrew Copp and Lucas Raymond. He was held off the scoresheet in 14:25 of action which included 1:04 of power play time on the second unit. He is worth the price against the Blackhawks.
Alexander Wennberg, SEA at COL ($3,100): Wennberg has a goal and two assists in five games and sees first power play time, although he has yet to garner a point with the man-advantage. Wennberg had two assists Wednesday against the Blues and will look to carry that over when he plays against the Avalanche.
Nick Paul, TB at Florida ($3,800): Paul has yet to pick up a point this season as the Lightning have been slumping offensively, except Stamkos. Paul was dynamite last season once he was dealt from the Senators as he had five goals and 14 points in 21 regular season games and then chipped in five goals and nine points in 23 Stanley Cup contests. He is valued nicely at this time.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Red Wings at Blackhawks
David Perron (W - $5,200), Dylan Larkin (C -$5,900), Dominik Kubalik (C - $3,700)
The Red Wings switched their lines around while Larkin remains on the top unit, he has new linemates in Perron and Kubalik. The trio are also on the first power play unit and will play a weak Chicago team Friday. Larkin and Perron each have four points in three games while Kubalik has three points in the same number of contests.
Avalanche vs. Kraken
Mikko Rantanen (W-$8,200), Nathan MacKinnon (C-$9,200), Artturi Lehkonen (W-$6,400)
This is the top line in action Friday and the pricing to match. This is a great spot for Lehkonen as Gabriel Landeskog – the usual left winger on the top line – is out of action for 12 weeks after undergoing knee surgery earlier in the week. Rantanen and MacKinnon are top-10 scorers in the NHL as Rantanen has nine points and MacKinnon eight, while Lehkonen has four points in four games. He managed eight goals and 14 points in 20 Stanley Cup playoff games last season and did not play on the top line, so the talent is there.
Lightning at Panthers
Brandon Hagel (W-$3,800), Brayden Point (C-$5,400), Nikita Kucherov (W-$7,400)
The Lightning took Steven Stamkos off the line and replaced him with Hagel. The move severely lowered the value of Point and Kucherov, making this an interesting stack to take, especially if you are interested in a defenseman like Cale Makar or Victor Hedman. Kucherov has five assists in four games while Point has struggled with only a pair. Hagel is pointless thus far in four games and does not see much power play time but there is too much talent on the line for the trio to not be scoring.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL vs. SEA ($7,900): The best defenseman in the NHL has five assists in four games this season after a Norris Trophy winning campaign in 2021-22 when he potted 28 goals and 86 points in 77 games. He will face a Seattle team that has given up 20 goals in five games.
Vince Dunn, SEA at COL ($3,700): Dunn has two assists in five games and quarterbacks the Seattle first power play. Dunn had a nice season in 2021-22, scoring seven times and adding 28 assists as he was the Kraken's top rearguard as far as scoring was concerned. The Kraken have scored six power-play goals on 19 chances this season, making Dunn a good play on defense.
Bowen Byram, COL vs. SEA ($4,000): Byram moves up the depth chart as fellow rearguard Devon Toews will likely be out of action with an undisclosed injury. Byram was drafted fourth overall in 2019 and has a goal and an assist in four games thus far. He has seen his ice time rise as he played under 19 minutes in each of his first two games and played 23:44 on Wednesday in an overtime loss to the Jets. Byram will see second power play time against the Kraken.
