This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Every NHL team has played at least a half-dozen games, and some are knocking on the door of double-digit contests on the season. Saturday night, 14 teams will add to their game totals at 7 p.m. ET or later. It's the final Saturday of October. Let's make the weekend count! Here are my DFS recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Three teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Golden Knights and Kings are playing one another, with the Kings getting to be at home after playing in Arizona on Friday night. Then, the Canucks host the Rangers. While Vancouver gets home games for both nights of this back-to-back, the Rangers have the benefit of rest (and facing a backup goalie).
GOALIES
Ilya Sorokin, NYI at CLM ($8,300): I'm a little concerned with how many shots Sorokin has been facing, but when you can make 45 saves on 47 shots, it makes it easier to have some trust. Plus, I certainly trust a goalie with a career .923 save percentage. On the other hand, I'm not sure I trust that the Blue Jackets will finish middle of the league in goals, which is where they are now. Right now, they are there on 2.86 goals per game, and when scoring levels normalize for all the NHL teams that number will not rank as high.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at MON ($8,000): It's too early to talk about a "tale of two seasons," but also it's been a tale of two seasons of Hellebuyck. His first three starts went poorly, but over his last three starts he has an 1.64 GAA and .948 save percentage. The American goalie may not be that good, but he is "career .916 save percentage" good. While Montreal has averaged 3.14 goals per game, it has also averaged 28.7 shots on net per contest. Scoring at that rate isn't really sustainable.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Reilly Smith, PIT vs. OTT ($4,600): Smith has enjoyed playing alongside Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh thus far. He has six points through seven games and just had a two-goal effort. The Senators have been alternating starts for their goalies, which presumably means Anton Forsberg in net. He has a career .907 save percentage and allowed five goals on 18 shots in his last outing.
Kyle Palmieri, NYI at CLM ($4,500): Palmieri is off to a hot start to the campaign. He has a point five of six contests, and three shots on net in four of six games. Since dealing with an illness following a couple strong starts, Elvis Merzlikins has looked more like how I expected. He's played the Wild, Ducks, and Canadiens and posted a 3.49 GAA and .869 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Rangers at Canucks
Filip Chytil (C - $4,300), Artemi Panarin (W - $6,400), Alexis Lafreniere (W - $3,600)
Vancouver's new backup goalie is Casey DeSmith, and while his first two starts this season have gone well, neither of them came on a back-to-back. Plus, he spent years as a backup in Pittsburgh and brought a career .912 save percentage into this season. That's not bad, but it isn't imposing, and certainly not in a circumstance such as this. As a result, I'd stack the Rangers' second line.
Chytil has six assists through seven games. While he doesn't have a goal, he's put 18 shots on net, so the goals will come. Indeed, he had 22 goals last year. Panarin, well, he's an offensive dynamo, and this year has been no different. He has a point in every game this season, 10 total, and has put 28 shots on net. The Russian has tallied five of his points on the power play, but the Canucks had the league's worst penalty kill last year. Is Lafreniere finally going to take his game to the next level? A vaunted prospect when he was the first-overall pick, Lafreniere has four goals this season and is on a three-game goal streak.
Jets at Canadiens
Adam Lowry (C - $2,800), Nino Niederreiter (W - $3,800), Mason Appleton (W - $3,400)
I was not expecting to recommend the Jets' third line much this year, if at all, but this trio is hot right now. Meanwhile, much as how the offense in Montreal has been lucky, so has the defense. The Canadiens have a 3.29 GAA, but have allowed 35.3 shots on net per contest. Montreal's goaltending trio of Jake Allen, Sam Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau isn't going to sustain against that many shots.
Lowry, Winnipeg's new captain, has four points this season, all assists. That includes assists in each of his last two games. Niederreiter had a goal and an assist in his last game. Also, he has a 6.3 shooting percentage on the year, so more goals should come in time. Now, Appleton hasn't necessarily been robust as a point producer in the past, but he has five points this season and has two multi-point games. That includes back-to-back games with points.
DEFENSEMEN
Charlie McAvoy, BOS vs. DET ($6,600): McAvoy had 52 points in 67 games last year, even though he actually had slightly less of a role in terms of ice time. This year, though, he's back up to 24:36 per game in ice time, including 3:50 with the extra man. Sure enough, he has six assists, 15 shots on net, and 17 blocked shots in seven games. Detroit has been off to a hot start, but it has been winning with offense. In net, Ville Husso has a 3.38 GAA and .893 save percentage.
Josh Morrissey, WPG at MON ($6,100): It seems like Morrissey wanted to make sure we realized last season's 76-point campaign was no fluke. He has seven points and 19 shots on net through seven games. The Habs have allowed 35.3 shots on net per contest, so Morrissey should have plenty of opportunity.
