This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's the last Saturday of January, and there also happens to be no football on. This makes for the ideal Saturday for some NHL action. After three afternoon games, there are 10 contests on the slate for the evening. That's where the DFS contests are to be found. Pucks drop at 7:00 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Three teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back. One is the Islanders, who get to be at home for both games, but face the Hurricanes on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Stars are visiting the Blues and the Lightning are taking a trip to face the Red Wings.
GOALIES
Juuse Saros, NSH at ANA ($8,400): Saros is coming off a brutal start. He has a .901 save percentage, but his 2.81 GAA isn't terrible. This matchup is also quite favorable. The Ducks have managed 28 shots on net per game, but also a paltry 2.42 goals per game. That's now comfortably the lowest in the NHL.
Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR at NYI ($8,100): Thanks to the Hurricanes' elite defense, which has allowed a mere 25 shots on goal per contest, Kochetkov has a 2.47 GAA. Sure, the Islanders get to be at home for both games of their back-to-back, but that still means this will be their second game in as many days. On top of that, they are in the bottom five in goals per game.
Logan Thompson, WSH at VAN ($7,900): While Charlie Lindgren was out, Thompson solidified himself as a proper No. 1 goalie, not to mention a Vezina Trophy candidate. He has a .925 save percentage and a 2.09 GAA. He has picked just up one loss over his last 11 starts. The Canucks have averaged 2.81 goals per game, but they have been lucky to score even that much, as they've managed only 25.3 shots on net per contest. That kind of collective puck luck is hard to sustain.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Lucas Raymond, DET vs. TBL ($6,100): The Wings have picked it up offensively with Todd McLellan, and Raymond's offensive uptick stands out as much as anybody's. He has 19 points over his last 14 games. The Lightning, as noted, are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Even with Andrei Vasilevskiy in line to start, I'd roster Raymond, but Vasilevskiy did keep me from wanting to stack a Wings line.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA at SJS ($5,900): It would appear Verhaeghe won't hit 30 goals for a third consecutive season, given that he only has 11 through 49 games. However, he also has a 7.5 shooting percentage on the season, so if that rises toward his career level more pucks will go in. The 29-year-old still has 34 points on the season, and he's put 147 shots on target. At first, it appeared Yaroslav Askarov might stabilize the situation in goal for the Sharks, but playing behind the most porous defense in the NHL is tough. After a few tough starts, the rookie is now up to a 2.93 GAA and down to a .903 save percentage.
Dylan Holloway, STL vs. DAL ($4,900): Philip Broberg has been solid for the Blues, but it's Holloway's play that might get teams thinking more about the idea of signing other teams' restricted free agents to offer sheets. He's scored 37 points and tallied 113 shots on net through 49 contests. The Stars are visiting the Blues and it's Casey DeSmith's turn in goal. While he has a 2.61 GAA thanks to a strong defense in front of him, he also has a .905 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Hurricanes at Islanders
Sebastian Aho (C - $6,300), Andrei Svechnikov (W - $5,200), Jackson Blake (W - $2,800)
The Islanders have the league's worst penalty kill. They are also on the second day of a back-to-back. That's a pretty straightforward road map to this stack. This is Carolina's top line, but also features two members of the top power-play unit. Of course, the Hurricanes' lineup is about to change in a major way, but we can't know how that will shake out just yet.
Even with an 11.2 shooting percentage (he's been over 16 percent in each of the last five seasons), Aho has 49 points in 49 games. The Finn has also tallied 17 of those points with the extra man. Multi-point games have been tough to come by for Svechnikov, but he has a point in eight of his last 12 games. He's averaged 3:37 per contest with the extra man, and nine of his 15 goals have come on the power play. Blake was recently moved to the top line. He has three points and eight shots on net in four games since the move. While he's on the second power-play unit, he's averaged 1:47 per game with the extra man, and that's not too shabby against a poor penalty kill.
Predators at Ducks
Steven Stamkos (C - $5,600), Filip Forsberg (W - $7,400), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $6,200)
While it's probably too late for the Predators to make the playoffs, the team has climbed out of the bottom five in goals per game thanks largely to this line (and Roman Josi). The Ducks have allowed 32.1 shots on net per game, second-most in the league, and they have a bottom-six penalty kill. Lukas Dostal's turn in the goaltending rotation arrives Saturday. While he started the season hot, he has a .881 save percentage over his last 10 games.
Stamkos is on a five-game point streak and has five goals in that time. He's also tallied 14 power-play points in 47 games in his first season away from Tampa Bay. Forsberg was the one Pred who never really had issues offensively this year, but he's been scorching lately. He's on a nine-game point streak and has 10 multi-point games in his last 19 contests. Oh, and his 10.8 shooting percentage is low for him. Like point streaks? Sure, we all do. Marchessault has at least one point in 18 of his last 19 games. Plus, like Forsberg, his 10.4 shooting percentage is low for the one-time Golden Knight.
DEFENSEMEN
Shayne Gostisbehere, CAR at NYI ($4,600): Gostisbehere doesn't have a power-play point since returning from injury, but he's averaged 3:11 per game with the extra man in that time. He has 18 power-play points in 41 games on the season, so clearly we know what he can do for this team when it has the man advantage. We also know the Islanders have the league's worst penalty kill, so Gostisbehere has a great chance to get back to business on Saturday.
Gustav Forsling, FLA at SJS ($4,200): Forsling plays a ton of minutes, and not easy minutes either. And yet, even with that defensive onus, he's chipped in five points in his last 12 games. On top of that, over his last 15 games, he's notched 47 shots on net. The Sharks have given up 32.5 shots on goal per game, the highest in the NHL, so Forsling should have plenty of opportunity.
Jordan Spence, LOS at CBJ ($3,000): Spence may only have 16 points on the season, but he's on a three-game point streak. He's also seen a notable uptick in minutes, having averaged 19:20 per contest in ice time over his last eight outings. Getting all those minutes against a team with a 3.37 GAA could help Spence extend that point streak.
