This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
We are back. The NHL season begins overseas Friday as New Jersey and Buffalo play a two-game series with the second game Saturday. Both games are in Prague, Czechia with the Sabres the home team Friday. It's a single-game contest requiring six players for $50,000. The Captain receives 1.5 times the salary and gets 1.5 times the points. Here's the lineup for the lone game.
CAPTAIN
Jack Hughes, NJ at BUF ($16,200): I was tempted to play Jason Zucker as the captain and pick up a better player than Bowen Byram, but I thought Hughes would have a more productive night in Prague. Hughes has superstar capabilities, as was shown in his last two seasons. He suffered a shoulder injury last season, limiting him to 62 games, but he was still good enough to pick up 74 points. The 23-year-old was drafted first overall in 2019 and continues to show why he deserved that honor. Look for 110 points from the center this season.
FLEX
Jacob Markstrom, NJ at BUF ($10,600): Markstrom comes over from Calgary to straighten out the Devils' goaltending woes. New Jersey was awful defensively in 2023-24 as Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, Nico Daws, Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen were unable to get the job done. Markstrom cost the Devils Kevin Bahl and New Jersey's first-round pick in 2025, but he will be well worth it if he can play anywhere close to like he did in his 2021-2022 breakout season when he went 37-15-9 with nine shutouts, a 2.22 GAA and a .922 save percentage. Markstrom is expected to bounce back and help New Jersey return to the playoffs this season.
Dawson Mercer, NJ at BUF ($6,200): Mercer had his worst season in the NHL last year, managing only 33 points in 82 appearances during the regular season. That was down from 42 and 56 points, respectively, in his first two seasons in the league. Mercer inked a three-year contract extension at the start of training camp and is expected to start the season on the second line, alongside Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar. Look for Mercer to rally to 50-60 points in 2024-25, starting with a big game against the Sabres on Opening Night.
Bowen Byram, BUF vs. NJ ($5,800): Byram got a nice boost in his fantasy value when he was traded from Colorado to the Sabres at the deadline. Byram is a talented 23-year-old defenseman who was selected fourth overall in 2019. He had career-highs in goals with 11 and assists with 18 last season. He will see plenty of power-play time on the second unit for the Sabres this season.
Jason Zucker, BUF vs. NJ ($2,000): Zucker has tremendous value due to his low salary. He is slated to start the year on the third line with Jordan Greenway and Ryan McLeod. Zucker registered 14 goals and 32 points in 79 regular-season games split between Nashville and Arizona last season. He had 27 goals and 48 points the previous season with the Penguins. While 48 points may be out of the question if he remains on the third line, he could get 35-40 points.
Timo Meier, NJ at BUF ($9,000): Meier will start the season on the top line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. Both Bratt and Hughes are more than capable of setting up the goal-scoring Meier and that bodes well for the 27-year-old Swiss star. Meier had 40 goals two seasons ago with the Sharks and Devils. He is more than capable of setting a career-high in goals in 2024-25.
