This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's a lighter Saturday night than usual for the NHL. There are only five games on the docket. That means fewer options than usual, but there are still some better choices than others to consider. With that in mind, here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
It may be a light night, but there are still several teams on a back-to-back. The Penguins and Sabres are finishing off a home-and-home in Pittsburgh. Calgary and Minnesota are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, while the Islanders are at home against the Hurricanes after spending their Friday night in New Jersey.
GOALIES
Matt Murray, TOR vs. CGY ($8,100): On a day rife with back-to-backs and poor goalies in line for starts, this is a tough day for choosing netminders. Murray is the clear top choice for me. He has a 2.34 GAA and .932 save percentage, and the Flames are below average in goals per game and also on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
Jonathan Quick, LOS at MON ($8,000): Quick has been bad, but like I said the choices are bad Saturday. I am throwing Quick in the mix as a secondary choice if you want to take a bit of a risk in net. The Kings have only allowed 29.9 shots on net per game. Montreal has only managed 29.2 shots on goal per contest and has scored 2.96 goals per contest, which is bottom 10 in the NHL. Hey, maybe Quick has an alright day and gets a win.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Evgeni Malkin, PIT vs. BUF ($6,100): Malkin may be an older player on the second leg of a back-to-back, but I still likely him Saturday. He has seven points in his last four games and has tallied 27 points and 88 shots on goal in 27 contests. Buffalo has exciting offense, but sketchy defense and questionable goaltending. Craig Anderson definitely can't go back-to-back as a fortysomething, which means Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen and his career .896 save percentage in net.
Michael Bunting, TOR vs. CGY ($4,100): Bunting is racking up assists left and right, dishing out at least one helper in seven-straight games. He also gets to play with Auston Matthews and William Nylander on Toronto's top line, and if that wasn't enough, those three are the top three guys on the team in terms of starting shifts in the offensive zone. Even though Dan Vladar and his .912 save percentage has been better than Jacob Markstrom, this is still a team on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Canucks vs. Wild
Elias Pettersson (C - $6,800), Brock Boeser (W - $4,300), Ilya Mikheyev (W - $3,500)
The Wild are middling in GAA, but have gotten below-average goaltending. Filip Gustavsson, who will likely be in net Saturday, has a .909 save percentage, and he's been better than Marc-Andre Fleury. Minnesota is on the second leg of a back-to-back, which should mean a defense that isn't firing on all cylinders in front of a mediocre goaltender. Vancouver has been trying to get something to click, and on that front this has been its second line recently.
Whoever is on his wing, Pettersson has been dominating this year. He has three multi-point games in a row, and he's put 87 shots on net in 27 games. Boeser has a 9.1 shooting percentage, well below his career 13.0 shooting percentage. As such, he should get better puck luck eventually, and he has 12 points over his last 15 games. Mikheyev had 21 goals in 53 games with the Maple Leafs last year. He has nine goals this season, and he's also getting the most playing time of his career. The Russian has averaged 17:06 per game in ice time.
DEFENSEMEN
Jeff Petry, PIT vs. BUF ($5,500): Petry has taken on huge minutes, especially on the power play, while Kris Letang recovers. A lot of minutes against this Sabres team bodes well. Buffalo is bottom eight in GAA and penalty-kill percentage, and Luukkonen's GAA is 4.14.
Matt Roy, LOS at MON ($4,200): The Canadiens have a 3.54 GAA and have allowed 32.9 shots on net per contest, but they have an above-average penalty kill. As such, I went with Roy over Sean Durzi, as Dursi is power-play dependent while Roy is not. Roy's four goals and eight assists have all come at even strength, and he has three points in his last five games.
