This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Saturday is a big day for college football, but this is the first Saturday of the NHL season, and as somebody who grew up in Michigan watching Hockey Night in Canada, I think of Saturday as being for the NHL. That, of course, means it is a great day for DFS NHL action as well. There are 12 games starting at 7 p.m. ET or later. Here are some lineup recommendations!
SLATE PREVIEW
Obviously, the season is quite fresh. The Blues are actually making their season debut Saturday. On the flip side, five teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back. San Jose at least gets to be at home for both games, but the Canadiens, Red Wings, Blue Jackets, and Lightning are all on the road. I will note the first three of those teams were all poor defensively last year as well.
GOALIES
Ilya Sorokin, NYI vs. ANA ($8,100): Sorokin may have a Vezina in his future. In his career he has a 2.33 GAA and .923 save percentage. The Ducks were in the bottom 10 in goals and shots on net per contest last year, and the roster seems primed to be a little worst offensively this year.
Logan Thompson, VGK at SEA ($8,000): Thompson had a .914 save percentage last season in 19 games, and he's off to a strong start to his first season as a primary goalie. In fact, he's coming off a shutout against the Blackhawks. The Kraken offense will likely be a bit better this season, but they averaged 2.60 goals and 29.0 shots on net per game last year, so they have a long way to go to even get to decent offensively.
Petr Mrazek, CHI at SAN ($7,000): A gamble, to be sure. Mrazek has never been a consistent goalie, but that means highs are peppered in among the lows. The Sharks are at home, but they are also on the second night of a back-to-back. They were 30th in goals per game last year, so this could be a matchup worth rolling the dice on Mrazek.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Robert Thomas, STL vs. CLM ($4,600): Opportunity, experience, and health led to a breakthrough campaign for Thomas last season. He had 77 points in 72 games, and he's centering St. Louis' top line these days. The Blue Jackets allowed 35.2 shots on net per contest last year, and as I noted they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Elvis Merzlikins will likely make his first start of the season, but last year he had a 3.22 GAA and .907 save percentage.
Ondrej Palat, NJD vs. DET ($3,700): Palat has left the comfortable confines of the Tampa Bay lineup, but he has stepped into a slot alongside Jack Hughes, and also a spot on the top power-play unit. The Czech forward had over 40 points in each of his final three years with the Lightning. Detroit is on the road for the second game of a back-to-back, and Alex Nedeljkovic had a 3.31 GAA and .901 save percentage last year, his first with the team.
Jason Zucker, PIT vs. TAM ($3,100): Last year, Zucker was snakebit. He couldn't stay healthy, and when he was, bad puck luck yielded a 7.8 shooting percentage. Zucker is healthy now, he's on Evgeni Malkin's wing, and he had a goal and an assist in Pittsburgh's opener. Catching the Lightning on the second leg of a back-to-back means getting Brian Elliott instead of Andrei Vasilevskiy. Elliott has a .905 save percentage over the last six seasons.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins vs. Coyotes
David Krejci (C - $5,500), David Pastrnak (W - $8,000), Pavel Zacha (W - $4,300)
The Coyotes are technically an NHL team, but that's about as positive as I can get about this squad. If they finish last offensively and defensively I wouldn't be surprised. They allowed 35.5 shots on net per game last year and finished 30th in GAA. Now, though, their goaltending and defensive situation is even worse. Karel Vejmelka had a 3.68 GAA and .898 save percentage last year. He allowed six goals on 53 shots in Arizona's opener. Times are bleak in the desert, but that bodes well for the Bruins on Saturday.
Krejci returned from Czechia and was given his rightful place on the team: The second-line center position. So far, so good, as he had a goal and two assists in Boston's opener. It helps that he gets to play alongside David Pastrnak. In each of his last two full seasons, Pastrnak has potted at least 40 goals, and he put 312 shots on net last season. Zacha had a goal in his debut with the Bruins. He had over 30 points in each of his last three seasons with the Devils.
Capitals vs. Canadiens
Dylan Strome (C - $3,900), Anthony Mantha (W - $3,900), Alexei Protas (W - $2,500)
The Habs had a 3.87 GAA last season, highest in the NHL. They did not do anything to improve their goaltending situation. Jake Allen is the top netminder, but he started Friday. That leaves Sam Montembeault to tend the goal for Montreal on Saturday. In his career, Montembeault has an .892 save percentage. Right now, this is the second line for the Capitals, and until a couple key guys return from injury that should be the case.
Strome had 48 points in 69 games with the Blackhawks last year. He's now on the top power-play unit, and he's averaged 6:21 with the extra man so far. Mantha only played in 37 games last year, but had 23 points. He has a goal on seven shots on net to start this season. Protas is unproven at the NHL level, but he's only 21. He's put two shots on goal in both of his games to start this season.
DEFENSEMEN
Seth Jones, CHI at SAN ($5,900): Jones' first season with the Blackhawks was rich with incident. He picked up 51 points – 19 on the power play – to go with 194 shots on goal and 155 blocked shots. So far he's averaged 26:05 in ice time, so clearly Chicago is leaning on its one proven commodity on the blue line. The Sharks are at home, but the second leg of a back-to-back could still take something out of them. It also likely means Kaapo Kahkonen in net, and he had a .908 save percentage in his career.
Drew Doughty, LOS at MIN ($5,400): Doughty doesn't have a point yet, but he had 31 points in 39 games last year. He's also averaged 26:13 in ice time this season, including 3:33 on the power play. The Wild had the 25th-ranked penalty kill last year, and I have questions about the 37-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury. He allowed seven goals in Minnesota's opener after having a .908 save percentage last year.
Damon Severson, NJD vs. DET ($3,500): Severson had more opportunity last year because Dougie Hamilton missed time, but he made the most of it. He had 46 points, including 16 with the extra man. Hamilton is healthy, but Severson had a goal, three shots on net, and saw 24:36 in ice time in New Jersey's season opener. As I noted, the Red Wings are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Nedeljkovic had a .901 save percentage last year.
