This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are five games on the NHL slate Friday. Pittsburgh visits Florida, Montreal travels to Chicago, Ottawa plays in St. Louis, Edmonton hosts Anaheim and Nashville faces the Canucks in Vancouver. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. ANA ($8,400): Skinner is 3-0-1 in his last four starts, allowing eight goals on 103 shots. He got off to a rocky start this season – just like the 2023-24 campaign – giving up 17 goals on 127 shots, but he has rebounded nicely as he is 14-8-3 with a 2.81 GAA and a .897 save percentage overall in 2024-25. He faces an Anaheim squad that is last in goals in the NHL with only 92 in 37 contests.
Juuse Saros, NAS at VAN ($7,400): Saros has not been great in his last two starts, giving up eight goals on 44 shots in a pair of road losses. But the 29-year-old netminder is still considered one of the best in the NHL and comes into Friday's action against a struggling Vancouver team missing Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, both out with undisclosed injuries. Saros is 8-16-6 with three shutouts, a 2.82 GAA and a .903 save percentage. His price is great and worth considering.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Steven Stamkos, NAS at VAN ($5,700): Stamkos had a horrific start in his first season with the Predators, as he had seven goals and 13 points in 28 games. The 34-year-old veteran has turned it on lately with four goals and 10 points in his last 10 games. That's the Stamkos of old and his 12 points on the power play helps his cause. Stamkos is on the top line with Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault, as well as the top power-play unit.
Shane Pinto, OTT at STL ($3,300): Pinto has moved up to the top line, alongside Brady Tkachuk and Ridly Greig. Pinto had a goal and two assists in his first five games of the season and then went ice-cold, going 15 straight games with nary a point. He has bounced back with five goals and two assists in his last nine games and is carrying plenty of value, considering his inexpensive price.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Oilers vs. Ducks
Zach Hyman (W - $6,900), Connor McDavid (C - $9,800), Connor Brown (W - $2,700)
McDavid is quickly moving up the ladder in the NHL scoring race as his 12-game point streak has certainly helped. McDavid has three goals and 20 assists during the streak, giving him 15 goals and 54 points in 34 games. He is tied for fourth in scoring. Hyman got off to an awful start with only three goals and eight points in his first 20 games. He missed five games with an undisclosed injury and came back with a vengeance, tallying 10 goals and adding three assists in 12 games. Hyman scored 54 goals last season, so the recent outbreak is no surprise. Brown was recently added to the top line and has a four-game point streak with five assists. He also has three goals and seven assists in his last nine games. His price is so good that should you decide not to use the line, you can still definitely put Brown in your DFS lineup.
Senators at Blues
Adam Gaudette (W - $3,000), Tim Stutzle (C - $6,500), Drake Batherson (W - $5,800)
The Senators' second line is likely better than their top unit, at least offensively. Stutzle could approach his career-high 90 points, set two seasons ago, as he has 12 goals and 40 points in 37 games. The 22-year-old budding superstar has 15 points on the power play. Batherson has had back-to-back 60+ point seasons and is poised to smash those marks. He has 13 goals and 36 points in 37 contests, including seven goals and 18 points on the power play. Gaudette has been a journeyman forward throughout his career, playing a career-high 59 games with Vancouver during the 2019-20 season. Gaudette has a career-best 13 goals and four assists in 36 appearances this season. This is an inexpensive line to play, especially if you go big on a few players throughout your lineup.
DEFENSEMEN
Roman Josi, NAS at VAN ($7,700): Josi had 85 points in 82 games last season as he came on strong after Thanksgiving, scoring 73 points in 63 games. Josi has not had a great start to the season, at least as far as his standards are concerned, scoring seven goals and adding 17 assists in 34 games, and has only one assist in his last eight games. I look for Josi to break out and move Nashville from the bottom of the league in scoring.
Jackson LaCombe, ANA at EDM ($4,000): LaCombe has one assist in each of his last three games heading into action Thursday, giving the sophomore defenseman six goals and 14 points in 29 games. He is quarterbacking the top power-play unit and has a pair of helpers with the man advantage. He is averaging 4:03 of power-play ice time in his last nine games since Cam Fowler was dealt to St. Louis. LaCombe is a good play.
Lane Hutson, MON at CHI ($4,500): Hutson is without a point in his last three games, but was quite hot before that with points in 12 of his previous 13 games. He has two goals and 26 points in 37 games, including 11 assists with the man advantage. It looks like the Canadiens have a No. 1 defenseman they can count upon for years to come.
