This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
The NHL schedule is loaded Saturday with 28 teams in action, and the 11 evening games are included in the featured contests at DraftKings. Here's a quick-hit primer to set the stage for the recommendations that follow and to assist with your lineup assembly.
Notable Favorites from DraftKings Sportsbook:
Maple Leafs
Lightning
Projected high-scoring games:
Senators-Maple Leafs
Rangers-Red Wings
Lightning-Sharks
Teams playing for the second consecutive night:
Blues
Jets
Senators
Rangers
Red Wings
Flyers
Golden Knights
Bruins
Oilers
Ducks
Lightning
GOALIES
Good luck with the goalie pool Saturday. As highlighted, there aren't many teams receiving notable chalk, while backups Michael Hutchinson ($8,300) and Curtis McElhinney ($8,200) are incredibly expensive. Obviously there's a strong case for both, but don't overlook Hutchinson's consecutive losses and .885 save percentage for the campaign. Similarly, McElhinney has also lost two straight and owns an underwhelming .902 save percentage and 3.10 GAA.
Still, Robin Lehner ($7,700) lands in a favorable home matchup. Arizona has won just one of its past eight games and scored just 12 five-on-five goals during the slump. Lehner has been solid when called upon this season with a 15-8-4 record and .922 save percentage. Chicago has also found a groove and enters with an active 11-5 record.
While slightly more expensive, Ben Bishop ($8,100) is also positioned to deliver Saturday. It's worth noting his road numbers don't jump off the page (5-4-1 record, .907 save percentage and 2.96 GAA), but the Devils represent an inferior opponent having scored 19 goals at five-on-five through 11 January games.
Value seekers could take a low-priced flier on Devan Dubnyk ($7,200). The Bruins are on the second leg of a back-to-back set after winning 2-1 in Winnipeg on Friday and their offense has slowed down considerably over the past two months with just 2.19 goals per hour at five-on-five over 26 games since Dec. 1. Additionally, during the same timeframe, Minnesota has allowed just 1.98 five-on-five goals per 60 minutes at home.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Ranking third in goals per hour (2.27) in the league since Sheldon Keefe took over behind the bench for the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews ($8,300) lands in a cushy matchup Saturday. The Senators are playing their second game in consecutive nights and enter in a dreadful 2-6-5 stretch with 3.66 goals against per 60 minutes.
It seems odd Artemi Panarin ($7,400) could rack up 27 DraftKings points in Friday's win and have his salary decline. The Russian plays the same soft opponent Saturday, but it's just a change in venue with the Red Wings host the Rangers. Panarin boasts a league-high 4.33 points per 60 minutes this season, including seven tallies, 18 helpers and seven multi-point showings through his past 12 games.
Jonathan Marchessault ($5,400) has been a force over the past two months with 2.18 goals, 3.27 points and 13.61 shots per hour while collecting two tallies and two helpers over the past three games. The Predators have allowed 14 goals through three games since the All-Star break, so the matchup also checks out.
Sticking with the Nashville-Vegas bout, the Preds shifted Matt Duchene ($5,000) to the wing last time out and the veteran responded with a two-point showing (19.5 DraftKings points). This will also be the final test of a nine-game road trip for the Golden Knights, so it should prove to be a favorable schedule spot for Nashville - especially since Vegas also played Friday night.
Kailer Yamamoto ($3,500) has fit right in alongside Leon Draisaitl ($7,200) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($5,500). The trio have clicked for 6.04 goals per hour, and the young winger has collected four tallies and four assists through 10 games.
Another young winger finding his scoring groove of late is Denis Gurianov ($3,300). He's up to nine points - including seven goals - through his past 15 games and lands in the noted soft matchup against New Jersey and their second-most goals allowed per game in the league.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Another night, another weak opponent for the Lightning. With a combined goal and three assists Friday, Brayden Point ($6,200), Steven Stamkos ($7,700) and Nikita Kucherov ($8,200) are up to 8.33 goals per hour for the season and remain a go-to stack. San Jose has allowed the fifth-most goals per 60 minutes since Dec. 1, and the Sharks are now without both Logan Couture ($5,000) and Tomas Hertl ($5,000) - their two best centers.
Dallas's No. 1 line of Tyler Seguin ($7,000), Jamie Benn ($6,100) and Alexander Radulov ($6,200) has been as dominant this season with just 3.21 goals per 60 minutes compared to their 5.55 mark over the previous two years, so look for statistical correction with Saturday's noted favorable matchup. In particular, Seguin has gone 11 games and 35 shots without a goal, and his 6.2 shooting percentage for the year is significantly below his 11.3 mark through his first six seasons as a Star.
Mika Zibanejad ($6,800), Chris Kreider ($6,000) and Pavel Buchnevich ($4,300) combined for 62.4 DraftKings point against the Red Wings on Friday, and the trio has clicked for 21 goals and 18 assists through the past 15 games. Detroit is also sitting in the league basement and allowing the most goals per hour in the league.
DEFENSEMEN
Everything appears to be coming together for Tyson Barrie ($5,500). He's recorded 15 points and 37 shots through his past 14 games and continues to quarterback the No. 1 power play. Additionally, he's spent 185:37 of ice time with Auston Matthews ($8,300) compared to just 119:46 without during the noted 14-game stretch. Barrie's price is reasonable considering his soft matchup and current form.
John Klingberg ($4,900) looked dangerous against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday with an assist and eight shot attempts. He's a solid addition to a Dallas stack as the quarterback of the top power-play unit, and his salary is manageable considering he ranks 10th among all regular defensemen in points per 60 minutes over the past three years.
The RotoWire Lineup Optimizer is bullish on both Shea Theodore ($5,200) and Nate Schmidt ($3,800). The matchup against Nashville should prove to be favorable, and both defensemen are in the midst of the best offensive seasons of their careers. Both are also in good current form, with Theodore recording six assists over his past five outings and Schmidt producing a goal and three helpers through the past four games. It's worth adding that Nashville's 73.4 penalty-kill percentage ranks 30th in the league.
Anthony DeAngelo ($5,100) ranks third in points per hour among regular defensemen in the league, so this salary looks out of whack considering his matchup. The Ranger quarterbacks the No. 1 power play and begins 56.5 percent of his five-on-five shifts in the offensive zone. Detroit also owns the NHL's worst penalty-kill percentage.
A pair of young defensemen possess the potential to move the needle on the cheap. Rasmus Sandin ($3,700) has scored a goal and added three assists through five games since his recall to highest level while reaching double-digit DraftKings points in consecutive outings. Adam Boqvist ($3,000) continues to quarterback the No. 1 power-play unit for the Blackhawks. However, he failed to mark the scoresheet in seven consecutive outings leading into the All-Star break.
It was an uncharacteristically poor January for Victor Hedman ($5,600). He recorded just five assists for 0.92 points per hour, which is a significant decline from the elite 2.09 mark he posted through his previous 183 games dating back to the beginning of 2017-18. It's been a tough go of late, but statistical correction almost always wins out in the end - especially when a player is still in their prime.
