This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are five games in the NHL on Friday. Pittsburgh plays in Florida, Chicago hosts Montreal, Ottawa visits St. Louis, Anaheim faces Edmonton and Nashville travels to Vancouver. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Spencer Knight, FLA vs. PIT ($8,100): Knight has been getting more play of late as the Panthers have given Sergei Bobrovsky more time off, and he's gone 6-6-1 with a 2.88 GAA and an .887 save percentage across 14 appearances this season. He's also been solid with a 2.03/.914 line at home, where he'll be facing a Penguins team averaging 3.05 goals per game.
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. ANA ($8,400): Skinner should have an easier time of things Friday as the Ducks rank 31st in offense. He's also posted a 2.18 GAA and .918 save percentage across his last 11 outings after slumping to start the campaign.
VALUE PLAYS
Michael Bunting, PIT at FLA ($4,900): Bunting saw his three-game scoring streak snapped Tuesday while registering 11 goals and 10 assists overall. He skates on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Beauvillier and the lead power play where he's racked up nine points.
Thomas Novak, NAS at VAN ($4,000): Novak was expected to start as a top-six forward, though a slow start and a 14-game pointless run moved him down to the third unit. He notched two goals and three assists during December and makes for a decent salary saver with 43 and 45 points the last two seasons.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Panthers vs. Penguins
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,700), Sam Reinhart (W - $8,000), Evan Rodrigues (W - $4,800)
The Panthers are led by Barkov, who's arguably the best two-way player in the NHL. He's continued to be an offensive stud when healthy and has accumulated 34 points so far this season. Reinhart hasn't found the scoresheet in his last four, but was hot before that with 22 goals and 23 assists. Rodrigues snapped a five-game scoreless streak Thursday as he assisted on the Panthers' lone goal. He may only have 17 points, yet comes in at a reasonable salary compared to his linemates.
Oilers vs. Ducks
Connor McDavid (C - $8,800), Zach Hyman (W - $6,400), Connor Brown (W - $4,700)
McDavid has been on a tear of late with three goals and 20 assists across 12 games. He's also tied for fourth in NHL scoring with 54 points. Hyman has racked up 10 goals from his last 12 matchups. Brown has been hot of late with 10 points through nine outings. He teamed up with McDavid in the OHL 11 years ago, and the two seem to be clicking again.
DEFENSEMEN
Cam Fowler, STL vs. OTT ($4,600): Fowler has been great since moving from Anaheim last month. After starting his St. Louis stint scoreless in his first three games, he's been on a tear with three goals and four assists.
Jake Sanderson, OTT at STL ($5,900): Sanderson has regained his offensive touch by notching a goal and six assists over his last 10 games. Based on this upsurge while facing a mediocre Blues defense should be enough to get him on your DFS lineups.
Erik Brannstrom, VAN vs. NAS ($4,300): Brannstrom is quarterbacking Vancouver's first power play in the absence of Quinn Hughes, who's week-to-week with an undisclosed injury. And he rewarded his fantasy managers Tuesday with a PPA (though he was scratched on Thursday, so check the news before adding him).
