Friday and Saturday have combined to deliver wall-to-wall NHL action. Saturday features eight games on the FanDuel slate starting at 7 p.m. EST. These are my lineup recommendations to try and help deliver you some DFS success.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are a few teams on the second leg of a back-to-back. Like, all 16 of them. Some got the benefit of being at home for both (or in the case of the Kings, there were in Anaheim on Friday and at home Saturday). What will be a difference maker on Saturday is which goalie started on Friday.
GOALIES
Carl Lindbom, VGK vs. SAN ($8,100): The Golden Knights have been near the top at preventing shots and now have Mark Stone back. Though the Sharks have Macklin Celebrini and he's fun and exciting, they've actually been one of the worst clubs at getting pucks on net. This could be one of those matchups where Lindbom allows two goals on 18 shots while still projected to pick up a win.
Karel Vejmelka, UTA at STL ($7,500): The Mammoth have saved Vejmelka for Saturday. While he's been better than Vitek Vanecek, this has been somewhat of a down year with an .890 OPS during his last seven starts paired with a 2.71 GAA. At least the Blues are a nice matchup as they rank bottom-6 in goals and shots while Utah are best in shots allowed.
VALUE PLAYS
Filip Forsberg, NAS vs. WPG ($6,300): Part of me wants Forsberg to be a career-long Predator and become the first franchise forward icon who earns a number retirement. Another part of me sees the disaster in Nashville around him and wants to see someone who could end up a 500-goal scorer be in a better situation. Forsberg has almost been a one-man offense with nine goals on 77 shots plus eight assists. He and the Predators will be hosting the Jets, who are without Connor Hellebuyck and list a goalie tandem with a journeyman carrying a career .899 save percentage (Eric Comrie) and a rookie who just made his first NHL start (Thomas Milic).
Ivan Barbashev, VGK vs. SAN ($5,500): The comings and goings of Mark Stone don't really impact Barbashev as he barely participates on the power play and still gets to skate next to Jack Eichel on the first line. That helped him tally 23 goals and 28 assists last season while currently at eight and 12. It's true Yaroslav Askarov has produced some heroic performances for the Sharks in November, yet he started on Friday and Alex Nedeljkovic posted an .899 save percentage the last five years.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Kings vs. Canucks
Quinton Byfield (C - $5,900), Adrian Kempe (W - $7,000), Kevin Fiala (W - $6,400)
This is the obvious line to stack. All three are proven producers who skate on the Kings' lead power play. The Canucks are fighting to avoid being last in GAA and penalty-kill percentage while also comfortably bottom-10 for shots allowed.
Byfield has 18 points even with poor puck luck, but I appreciate he hasn't shied away from getting the puck on net with 26 shots across nine outings. Kempe's seven goals on 78 shots also represent some misfortune, though he's a proven commodity as he's accumulated at least 35 goals and 16 PPPs during three of the last four seasons. Fiala has seven points with the extra man, but that's usual considering his double-digit PP goal count from each of the previous two campaigns.
Mammoth at Blues
Barrett Hayton (C - $4,400), Clayton Keller (W - $6,500), Nick Schmaltz (W - $7,000)
The Mammoth spread the wealth around the lineup. In this case, the hope is that two productive wingers help Hayton - a former fifth-overall pick - to get back on track. This trio has even recently played together on the top power play. Both Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer have struggled this season, which has the Blues bottom-8 in GAA and penalty-kill percentage.
It's not like the 25-year-old Hayton has floundered in the NHL. He may have only managed five points so far, but lists two 40-point efforts and found the back of the net last time out. Keller has raised expectations by being a 30-goal scorer and a point-a-game performer the last three years so that his eight goals and 21 points seems a bit lackluster. The first Utah captain has also tallied nine points across his last 13 appearances with at least 30 PPPs in each of the last two campaigns. Schmaltz has cooled down, though still has 10 goals and 12 assists. He's also someone who deserves praise for consistency having finished between 20 and 23 goals and 58 and 63 points the last four years. I'll note Hayton was sick on Friday and Kevin Rooney ($3,000) was called up and filled in, but only logged 9:44. If Hayton can't go, you can take a shot on Rooney or consider Logan Cooley ($6,100) if you have the cap space. Maybe he'll get to center the first line as he's previously done. And if not, the three technically appear on the Mammoth's first man-advantage.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG at NAS ($6,700): At this point, anybody who's tapped into the league knows Morrissey is a cornerstone defenseman who logs lots of minutes and produces plenty of points. He's elevated his game with 23 points, 38 shots, and 47 blocked shots. Nashville is close to a lock to finish bottom-5 in goals, though there's also a chance they end up bottom-5 in GAA. Justus Annunen is in line to start Saturday and comes in with a career .890 save percentage.
Brock Faber, MIN vs. BUF ($5,600): Faber's got plenty in his legs as a 23-year-old during his third season, so he should be more capable on the second leg of a back-to-back with the Wild having also played at home at 3:30 p.m. EST on Friday. He's also produced a point in four of his last five games. Meanwhile, the Sabres sit bottom-8 in GAA and shots allowed.
