The NHL Trade Deadline has passed, so Saturday brings us the first day of the rest of the season with seven games on the DFS slate and the first ones beginning at 7 p.m. EST. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
A handful of teams are on the second night of a back-to-back. The Sharks get to be at home for both games and will be facing the Islanders. Carolina is in Calgary, which isn't too tough a matchup and got less difficult after the deadline. Meanwhile, the Canadiens visit the Kings while the Canucks go on the road against the Jets.
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark, OTT at SEA ($8,100): Since returning from a lengthy leave of absence, Ullmark has posted a 2.15 GAA and .909 save percentage in six starts. Seattle tried to bolster its offense, but it still sits bottom-10 for both average goals and shots.
Ilya Sorokin, NYI at SAN ($8,000): Sorokin's last outing was a struggle, yet he's registered a .913 save percentage and 2.54 GAA overall and remains one of the best netminders. The Sharks, as noted, are on their second straight night. And while they're just below average when it comes to scoring, they're bottom-eight in shots.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Bo Horvat, NYI at SAN ($7,000): Horvat leads the Islanders in both goals and shots even though he's only appeared in 49 of the team's 63 matchups. San Jose played Saturday and ranks bottom-four for both GAA and shots allowed.
Drake Batherson, OTT at SEA ($5,100): Batherson is two goals away from his fourth consecutive year with at least 25. He's also one power-play point off 20 for the fourth straight campaign. The man-advantage production is what intrigues me about Batherson the most on Saturday as the Kraken sit 31st on the penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Jets vs. Canucks
Mark Scheifele (C - $7,400), Kyle Connor (W - $7,900), Alex Iafallo (W - $2,900)
Winnipeg's second line has cooled down, so I'll just go with the top one and figure I can work around the salary allotment. The matchup is, of course, well worth it as the Canucks are the worst team in the NHL and will be on their second game in as many days. They're also last in penalty-kill percentage and comfortably worst in GAA. Two of these Jets also participate on their lead power play.
Scheifele has tallied multiple points five times over his last 10 games with at least three shots on four occasions during that stretch. For the fifth season in a row, Connor has exceeded 200 shots. He's also potted 28 goals, which means he'll likely get over 30 for the fifth straight year. Iafallo doesn't register scoring at the same pace as his linemates, but he still has 24 points and has directed at least two pucks on net through each of his last three outings.
Kings vs. Canadiens
Anze Kopitar (C - $3,800), Artemi Panarin (W - $7,600), Adrian Kempe (W - $6,700)
Due to injuries, the Kings are essentially a one-line team. The Canadiens are on the road for the second day of a back-to-back and Jakub Dobes is in line to start after giving up six goals last time out. Montreal's also bottom-eight on the penalty kill while all three of these players participate on the top man-advantage.
Kopitar has recorded an assist in each of his last two games with eight PPPs on the campaign from only 46 matchups while averaging 3:02 with the extra man. Since joining the Kings, Panarin has racked up five points through five appearances. He's been a career point-per-game performer, so expect that to continue. Kempe has been on fire with 17 points during his last 16 outings. And if he can notch seven more goals, he'll reach 30 for the fourth time in five seasons (while the other one netted 28).
DEFENSEMEN
Darren Raddysh, TAM at TOR ($6,400): Raddysh isn't slowing down having reeled off 16 points and 53 shots over his last 15 games. The Leafs have struggled to a 3.46 GAA while also allowing a league-high 31.9 shots.
Dylan Samberg, WPG vs. VAN ($3,800): Josh Morrissey is off injured reserve, though Neal Pionk is not and Logan Stanley has moved to Buffalo. Samberg now represents Winnipeg's second-best healthy defenseman. He's managed four points in five appearances with multiple shots and blocked shots during three of the last six. The Canucks have seen their GAA shoot over 3.70 and will be playing on the second day of a back-to-back.
