This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Saturday's NHL main slate begins at 7:00 PM Eastern time and features six of the day's 11 games. Below, you'll find an overview of the matchups and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The obvious top stacking opportunity in this slate is Colorado at home against the Kings, with the Maple Leafs in Ottawa also presenting plenty of value. Making the right choice in net will also be crucial, as this slate features four of the league's eight stingiest defensive teams (Stars, Coyotes, Islanders, Avalanche).
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer ($8,400) should be the chalk goaltending play of the night. He'll be backed by Colorado's league-best offense (3.61 goals per game) in a home clash against Los Angeles' 30th-ranked attack (2.45 goals per game).
David Rittich ($7,300) will be looking to bounce back after getting roughed up in Los Angeles in his last start and then watching Cam Talbot pitch a 44-save shutout in Anaheim. Luckily for Rittich, he'll have a favorable home matchup against a Chicago team that's fallen to 20th offensively (2.86 goals per game) by scoring just 10 goals in the past six games.
Those willing to pay up for Dallas' Ben Bishop ($8,700) should enjoy a strong effort out of him against a Canadiens team that's finishing up a back-to-back set. Bishop's 19-12-4 with a 2.37 GAA and .924 save percentage, while the Canadiens rank second in shots (34.3) but 17th in goals (2.95) per game, routinely allowing opposing goalies to pad their save count.
Ilya Samsonov ($7,800) has hit a rough patch lately, but the Russian rookie has a great opportunity to get back on track in Arizona. The Coyotes have won only three times in their last 15 games and average 2.70 goals per game overall, while Samsonov still boasts an impressive 16-4-1 record, 2.38 GAA and .917 save percentage for the Capitals.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Denis Gurianov ($4,000) just keeps lighting the lamp for Dallas, having done so 11 times in his last 21 games, including four of the last five. The Russian rookie has a nice opportunity to keep rolling against a Canadiens team that's playing its second game in as many nights, which could mean a rare appearance for underwhelming backup goalie Charlie Lindgren (1-3-0, 3.48 GAA, .880 save percentage).
This is a nice buy-low opportunity on Vegas' William Karlsson ($5,100). He was put back into a top-six role in his second game back from a broken finger and responded with two assists. Karlsson's price should start climbing now that he's back in his regular deployment, and a matchup with the Islanders isn't nearly as daunting as it was previously in the season, as New York has yielded three-plus goals in each of its past seven games.
The Maple Leafs-Senators game should feature plenty of offense from both sides, as Toronto scores 3.52 goals per game but also allows 3.24. Brady Tkachuk ($6,100) is the best source of offense for the home side, even with some bad shooting luck this season. The young power forward's 212 shots are 56 more than second-place Anthony Duclair has, but Tkachuk's 17 goals are four shy of the team lead shared by Duclair and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Look for Tkachuk's 8.0 shooting percentage to climb down the stretch, starting with this matchup against backup goalie Jack Campbell, who sports a .903 save percentage between the Kings and Maple Leafs this season.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Kings
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,800), Mikko Rantanen (W - $7,700), Andre Burakovsky (W - $5,300)
This one could get ugly for the visiting Kings, who are 8-21-4 on the road this season and 3-12-1 overall since the calendar flipped to 2020. Don't expect lowly Los Angeles to have any answers for one of the most dangerous lines in hockey. MacKinnon's 32-48-80 line through 56 games has him on a 117-point pace following seasons of 97 and 99 points. Rantanen has a 19-20-39 line in 40 appearances, as injuries will likely keep him short of the 80-point mark for the first time in three years. Burakovsky has a 5-13-18 line in his last 13 games, showing he can keep pace with his pair of elite linemates.
Maple Leafs at Senators
John Tavares (C - $7,700), Zach Hyman (W - $5,200), Alex Kerfoot (W - $3,800)
This second line offers a $6,100 savings relative to Toronto's top line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, which is key if you're also looking to lock in the expensive Avalanche top line above. Tavares has a 5-4-9 line over an active six-game point streak, and he's primed to extend that streak against a Senators team that's giving up 3.30 goals per game. Hyman has a 5-5-10 line in his last nine games, while the affordable Kerfoot is due to pick up the pace. The career 15.4 percent shooter is converting at only 10.5 percent, which helps explain why Kerfoot's on pace to come up a bit short of the 40-point mark for the first time in his three-year career.
Flames vs. Blackhawks
Mikael Backlund (C - $5,100), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $5,900), Andrew Mangiapane (W - $3,500)
This line should provide strong bang for the buck at home against a Blackhawks team that's winless in its last five games. While Chicago's been trending down, Backlund has been on the rise, delivering a 4-4-8 line over an active five-game point streak. Tkachuk has a five-game point streak rolling as well, and it has propelled the power forward into a tie for the team lead in points. Both Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau have 47 points this season, though Tkachuk has reached his total in one fewer game and has 19 goals to Gaudreau's 14. Mangiapane's more of a cheap filler, though his 10-11-21 season line does include six points in his last eight games.
DEFENSEMEN
No Avalanche stack is truly complete without Cale Makar ($5,600). The rookie defenseman has a 12-30-42 line over his first 48 regular-season contests, and he'll have a nice opportunity to add to his impressive total of 17 power-play points against Los Angeles' bottom-five, 75.3 percent penalty kill.
Tyson Barrie ($5,600) is Toronto's clear-cut top source of offense from the blue line with Morgan Rielly sidelined by a foot injury. Barrie was on a roll even before Rielly went down Jan. 12 and has 18 points in his last 21 games.
Shea Theodore ($5,500) has five multi-point performances in his last 11 games and a 2-11-13 line over that stretch. The red-hot Vegas blueliner is worth locking in against an Islanders team that's starting to crack defensively, having allowed three-plus goals in seven consecutive games.
Noah Hanifin ($4,200) is skating on the top line and No. 1 power-play unit for Calgary with Mark Giordano sidelined by a hamstring injury. He has turned that prominent role into three points over the past four games and carries decent upside at a reasonable price against the slumping Blackhawks.
