This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's the first Saturday of December, but it's not as busy as your typical Saturday in the NHL. Only six games are on the docket starting at 7:00 p.m. ET or later. Still, that leaves you with some lineups to sort through. These are my NHL DFS recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are four teams on the second leg of a back-to-back, but Pittsburgh and Toronto are playing one another. Washington is on the road, but against Montreal. Finally, the Wild are visiting the Kings.
GOALIES
Alexandar Georgiev, COL at DET ($8,300): Georgiev has had a tough season and his play has not turned around in any substantive way, with the good and bad outings mixed pretty evenly. This is about the matchup, and also the Colorado defense. The Avalanche have only allowed 26.3 shots on net per game, while the Red Wings have only managed 24.9 shots on goal per contest. Georgiev might not even face 20 shots.
Linus Ullmark, OTT vs. NAS ($7,800): As with Georgiev, Ullmark has had a tough initial campaign for the Senators, but he does have a .925 save percentage over his last three games. Sure, that's just a trio of contests, but it's something, and this matchup is quite favorable. After all, the Predators have only managed 2.22 goals per game, the lowest in the NHL.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Cole Caufield, MON vs. WAS ($7,000): After having poor puck luck last season, Caufield has been much more fortunate this campaign. He's tallied 16 goals through 26 games on 71 shots. While his 22.5 percent shooting rate may regress, Caufield shoots a lot and scores plenty, so he should still be fine when regression hits (if it hits). Though Logan Thompson has a .913 save percentage, the fact the Capitals are on the road for the second night of a back-to-back, is enough for me to like Caufield, even if I wouldn't stack Canadiens.
Matthew Knies, TOR at PIT ($4,700): Knies was playing well before missing a couple of games with injury, but he's picked right up where he left off. He has four points in four outings since returning. Both of these teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back, but the Penguins are the one in the bottom five in GAA and shots on net allowed per game. Tristan Jarry is in line to start. He has a 3.88 GAA and a .884 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kings vs. Wild
Anze Kopitar (C - $5,600), Adrian Kempe (W - $6,600), Trevor Moore (W - $3,700)
The Wild, as noted, are on the second leg of a back-to-back. While Filip Gustavsson is having a strong campaign, Marc-Andre Fleury has a .905 save percentage. The 40-year-old also has a .905 save percentage over the last four campaigns. On top of that, the Wild have a bottom-10 penalty kill, and two of these Kings are on the top power-play unit.
Six times in his last 11 outings, Kopitar has tallied two points. On the year, he's averaged 3:03 per game in power-play time and notched 10 points with the extra man. Kempe has 12 goals and 12 assists in 26 games, and he's put 74 shots on net as well. Though he only has five power-play points this year, he had 27 power-play points last season. Moore has cooled off after a hot stretch, but he did recently have a goal and an assist against the Senators. Plus, he has a seven percent shooting rate on the season, so there's room for improvement on that front.
DEFENSEMEN
Philip Broberg, STL at EDM ($3,400): Broberg gets a chance to face his former team on Saturday. He has 12 points this season, but that's in only 15 games. Since returning from injury he has three points in three contests. While Stuart Skinner has played better recently, he has a .889 save percentage on the season. I like Broberg's chances of getting on the score sheet against his old teammates.
Devon Toews, COL at DET ($3,300): The Red Wings have the 31st-ranked penalty kill. Not only that but Cam Talbot is banged up, which leaves Ville Husso serving as the No. 1 netminder. Husso has a career .902 save percentage, and that's bolstered by having one really good season among seasons of sub-par play. Now, Cale Makar gets the bulk of the power-play time for the Avalanche, but his salary is quite high. Toews is easier to roster and he's averaged 1:04 per game on the power play. He also has an assist in each of his last two outings.
