This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are five games on the NHL slate Friday. Columbus hosts Pittsburgh, Nashville is in Calgary, Vegas travels to Utah, Colorado entertains Utah and Detroit visits Anaheim. The Preds are only team that also played Thursday. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. NSH ($8,000): Wolf gets the benefit of facing a tired Nashville squad who just faced Edmonton on the road Thursday. Wolf was solid in his last start by only allowing one goal on 28 shots to beat LA. The 23-year-old is 5-2-1 with a 2.84 GAA and a .913 save percentage in eight starts overall. The Preds are currently last in the Central Division with only 41 goals across 17 games.
Adin Hill, VGK at UTA ($7,400): Hill rebounded from a couple of mediocre outings to win against Anaheim on Wednesday. That victory raised his record to 7-3-1 with a 3.27/.879 line. Hill will go up against a Utah team that's gone 3-5-2 in their last 10 having been shut out in two of their last four.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Alexander Holtz, VGK at UTA ($4,400): Holtz is seeing first line action in the absence of Mark Stone (lower body). If Stone sits again, Holtz will return to the top trio alongside Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. He's produced a goal and six assists, with all his points coming in the last 10 games.
Steven Stamkos, NSH at CLS ($5,400): Stamkos has generally been one of the highest-salaried forwards throughout his NHL career, but he's barely middle-of-the-pack. He got off to a slow start with only one assist during his first eight appearances, yet has come back with four goals and three assists from his last nine.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Capitals
Mikko Rantanen (W - $8,200), Nathan MacKinnon (C - $9,000), Artturi Lehkonen (W - $6,900)
The Avs are starting to get healthy on the wings, and the return of Lehkonen was the first step. He's fit in brilliantly on the top unit with six points in five games. Rantanen picked up the hat-trick Wednesday to give him six goals in his last three and 25 points overall. MacKinnon is the star with seven goals and 26 assists after 140 points in 2023-24. Lehkonen may be sent to the second line when Jonathan Drouin returns, though he'll still join MacKinnon and Rantanen on Colorado's lead man-advantage.
Penguins at Blue Jackets
Michael Bunting (W - $4,200), Evgeni Malkin (C - $6,600), Bryan Rust (W - $5,800)
The Penguins' second line is a nice value complement to the previous entry. Bunting endured a terrible start to the season with only one assist – and a healthy scratch – over 12 appearances. He's notched three points in his last five games. Malkin is playing much better than last season at 18 points from 18 matchups. Rust has been bit by the injury bug, though six points across 11 outings is a decent haul.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL vs. WAS ($7,700): Makar is the NHL's best defenseman and has picked up right where he left off last season with 25 points over 17 games, including 12 PPPs. He quarterbacks the first power play and has tallied at least 30 points while up a man in each of his last three years.
Shea Theodore, VGK at UTA ($6,200): Theodore has posted a goal and 12 assists, including six of the latter on the man-advantage. He represents Vegas's top offensive blueliner, even with Alex Pietrangelo getting more attention.
