This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a busy Friday as there are 14 games on the NHL slate. Philadelphia is home to the Rangers, Chicago plays in Minnesota, Vancouver visits Buffalo, New Jersey plays in Detroit, Washington is home versus the Islanders, Florida travels to Carolina, Calgary visits Columbus, Tampa Bay travels to Nashville, Los Angeles heads over to Anaheim, Seattle visits San Jose, Boston hosts Pittsburgh, Winnipeg is in Vegas, Dallas is home to Colorado and Edmonton visits Utah. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Logan Thompson, WSH vs. NYI ($8,000): Thompson has been razor-sharp this season, going 9-1-1 with a sparkling 2.44 GAA and a .917 save percentage. The Capitals made a great move – thus far – in trading Darcy Kuemper to the Kings and picking up Thompson from the Golden Knights in the offseason. The Capitals have been alternating between Thomson and Charlie Lindgren this season, so Friday is Thompson's turn between the pipes. Thompson has only allowed more than two goals once in his last seven starts. The Islanders have found the back of the net only 57 times in 23 games this season.
Dustin Wolf, CGY at CBJ ($8,500): Wolf saw his four-game winning streak come to an end Monday, as he gave up four goals on 30 shots in a 4-3 loss in Ottawa. Heading into that contest, Wolf had allowed only four goals on 116 shots in his four wins. Overall, the 23-year-old is 8-3-1 with a 2.47 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Wolf will face the Blue Jackets, who are a surprising 7-3-1 at home this season.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Conor Garland, VAN at BUF ($4,900): Garland is on a six-game point streak, scoring twice and adding five assists. He is seeing first-line power-play time as well as second-unit even-strength action alongside Pius Suter and Dakota Joshua. Garland is on pace to set a career-high in points as he has 18 points in 21 games thus far.
Kent Johnson, CBJ vs. CGY ($3,900): Johnson has played only seven games this season (he missed 14 contests with a shoulder injury) and has points in each game. Johnson, who struggled as a sophomore last season when he had six goals and 16 points in 42 NHL games as well as a trip to the AHL, has shown this season why he was selected fifth overall in 2021. The 22-year-old has four goals and six assists in seven appearances, including a goal and three helpers on the power play. Johnson is a very inexpensive play Friday to fill out your roster.
Seth Jarvis, CAR vs. FLA ($5,300): Jarvis has two goals and four points in his last two games after returning from an upper-body injury that forced him to miss seven games. Jarvis has 15 points in 15 games this season after a breakout campaign in 2023-24 when he managed 33 goals and 34 assists in 81 regular-season contests. He is playing alongside Jack Drury and the NHL's leading point-getter, Martin Necas, who has 37 points in 22 games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Lightning at Predators
Nikita Kucherov (W - $9,600), Brayden Point (C - $7,500), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,500)
The Lightning's top line is outstanding, as all three members are stars. Kucherov is the best of the bunch as he led the NHL in scoring last season with 144 points. He is off to another great start this season with 12 goals and 33 points in 21 appearances. He is without a point in only three games this season. Point has been red-hot of late with nine goals in his last seven games, including a hat trick Wednesday in a 5-4 loss to Washington. Point has 15 goals and 20 points in 17 games as he missed four games in early November with a lower-body injury. Guentzel was the Lightning's big offseason acquisition and has nine goals and 21 points in 21 contests this season. The trio are expensive but worth the cost as they also are on the top power-play unit, where they have combined for 12 goals and 26 points.
Sharks vs. Kraken
Fabian Zetterlund (W - $4,200), Macklin Celebrini (C - $5,800), William Eklund (W - $3,700)
The Sharks' top line will make a nice and inexpensive second unit if you take the Tampa trio above. Celebrini has been outstanding when on the ice – he missed 12 games after Opening Night with a lower-body injury. He has seven goals and four assists in 13 games, including three goals and an assist in his last two games. Zetterlund had 24 goals and 44 points in a full season in 2023-24, and has taken his game to another level playing alongside Celebrini. Zetterlund has nine goals and 17 points in 25 games and has two goals and an assist during his current three-game point streak. Eklund is another high draft pick, taken seventh overall in 2021. He finally broke through on a full-time basis in the NHL last season, picking up 16 goals and 45 points. He has continued his fine play this season with four goals and 20 points in 25 contests. The Sharks' best line is worth taking to fill out your roster if you want to go with a complete line.
DEFENSEMEN
Victor Hedman, TBL at NSH ($6,500): Hedman has been one of the NHL's top offensive defensemen over the last 10+ seasons. He is off to another good start with four goals and 19 points in 21 games, including a goal and nine points with the man advantage. Hedman has gone only two games without a shot on goal this season and is a good anchor for your blue line.
Aaron Ekblad, FLA at CAR ($3,600): Ekblad has four assists in his last six games, giving the defenseman 10 assists in 23 games. He is quarterbacking the top power-play unit and it's just a matter of time until he connects on his first goal of the season. Ekblad has recorded double-digits in goals in eight of his 10 NHL seasons. He has always been an offensive force, at least until last season, when offseason shoulder surgery took its toll on the 2023-24 campaign.
Olen Zellweger, ANA vs. LAK ($4,100): Zellweger gets overlooked as he plays out West and so many people are asleep in the East when he plays at home. But don't overlook the Ducks' top offensive talent on the blue line. Zellweger has four goals and 10 points in 20 games this season. The 21-year-old has a goal and three assists on the power play, as he quarterbacks the top unit. He is not afraid to fire the puck as he has 47 shots on goal this season. Zellweger's stock will continue to rise as he is one of the better young defensemen in the NHL.
