We're halfway through December, it's a light day for college football, and there's a bunch of hockey on the slate. To be exact, there are nine games on Saturday for NHL DFS purposes with the first pucks dropping at 7 p.m. EST. Here are some lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
One team, the Blackhawks, is on the second day of a back-to-back. And they're at home against the Red Wings. A few will be playing the first of consecutive nights where goaltending situations for clubs such as the Canadiens or Flyers would make a difference in DFS.
GOALIES
Scott Wedgewood, COL vs. NAS ($8,200): Wedgewood was healthy enough after a back issue to be Colorado's backup last time out, so I imagine he'll be in line to start against Nashville on Saturday to give Mackenzie Blackwood a rest. And he's no slouch with a .919 save percentage and 2.11 GAA in 20 outings. Nashville's offense has picked it up to where it doesn't seem likely it'll finish bottom-five in goals per game, though still only averaging 2.77 overall.
Logan Thompson, WAS at WPG ($7,600): Thompson may be looking across the ice at Connor Hellebuyck (who may be able to be in net or at least on the bench for Winnipeg) and claim that the Vezina is his this year as he's posted a 1.96 GAA and .926 save percentage. The Jets have hit the threshold of 3.00 goals per game, which effectively gets you to the league average. And that's been accomplished with an average of 26.6 shots, putting them 24th overall.
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at DAL ($7,300): Bobrovsky has been all over the place, which is a very Bobrovsky thing to do. Great starts and subpar days have been fairly even, though I think he'll have a light day of work on Saturday. The Panthers have given up 26.9 shots per game, which puts them in the top-10. Dallas has only managed 25.4 shots a night, which is bottom-six. Even if Bob has an off night, he might only face around 20 pucks.
VALUE PLAYS
Dylan Larkin, DET at CHI ($7,200): It's been business as usual for Larkin with perhaps a slight uptick for him in his age-29 season as he's at 17 goals on 102 shots to go with 16 assists who's also potted at least 30 goals in each of the last four campaigns. The Blackhawks are one of six teams that's allowed at least 30.0 shots on average and as noted are on the second leg of a back-to-back. That should mean Larkin gets plenty of chances to put pucks on target.
Adrian Kempe, LOS vs. CGY ($6,800): Kempe has been on fire with seven points from his last six games. He's also directed at least three shots on net in nine of his last 15. I like Kempe at home against the Flames for two reasons. One, I don't believe in Devin Cooley at all. And two, Dustin Wolf has posted a .926 save percentage at home this season with an .863 on the road.
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. MON ($6,300): It took Zibanejad a bit to get in gear, yet he's gone off for 16 points over his last 16 outings alongside 45 shots and four power-play goals. The Canadiens maintain a bottom-10 penalty kill, and I like this matchup because of who I don't expect to be in net. That would be Jacob Fowler, the 21-year-old "goalie of the future" who recently made his NHL debut. Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes are both still on the roster and I don't think Montreal is suddenly going to regularly throw Fowler out there. And Montembeault and Dobes are the primary reasons behind the team's 3.50 GAA.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Golden Knights at Blue Jackets
Brett Howden (C - $3,700), Mark Stone (W - $8,000), Mitch Marner (W - $6,100)
Vegas has opted to put a solid center between two stellar wings, which does makes things a little easier to manage on the salary front. As to the matchup, the Blue Jackets have allowed a league-high 31.5 shots per game. And with Jet Greaves regressing after a hot start, the team's GAA is up to 3.48. It would appear they'll once again finish bottom-five in both categories.
Howden only has nine points so far, but to be fair he wasn't skating next Marner and Stone for most of the season. And he did surprisingly score 23 goals last year. Stone has been as hot as any NHLer since returning from his latest injury with a point from all eight games and two points in each of the last three. Marner has piled up the assists with 23 of them so far. He's only at six goals, though his 11.3 shooting percentage is a bit below his career 13.2.
Avalanche vs. Predators
Brock Nelson (C - $5,600), Valeri Nichushkin (W - $5,500), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $4,900)
The Predators enter with a 3.50 GAA, which puts them in the bottom-five. Juuse Saros has posted a 2.98, but that isn't exactly good. His .897 save percentage also isn't great and it's extra concerning he struggled to an .895 last season with a current .875 on the road. Colorado's top trio is great, but the combined salary is a bit high, so I'll instead recommend their second trio.
Nelson has been great of late riding a three-game goal streak with 16 points in his last 15 games. Nichushkin is back on the ice (for now) and has supplied three points and 13 shots from the last six. And he's been close to a point-per-game player the previous four seasons. Landeskog missed multiple seasons of action, though is fully healthy again. He may only be at 15 points, but his 9.7 shooting percentage is likely a mix of rust and bad luck, both of which should recover. To that end, he's tallied 11 points - including all six of his goals - during his last 15 outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Moritz Seider, DET at CHI ($6,400): I didn't recommend a Red Wings stack, yet have opted to go with their top forward and defenseman. Seider has the juice this season at 22 points, 78 shots, and 66 blocked shots. He's also primed to average over 25 minutes for the second straight season. All that time on the ice against a Blackhawks team with a subpar defense that's also on the second day of a back-to-back bodes well. Even Chicago's top-10 penalty kill should be a step slower.
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. EDM ($5,700): Rielly probably can't lose. His production will either help the Leafs right the ship and secure a playoff spot or it will set him up to be moved to a contender at the deadline. Rielly has accumulated nine points and 28 shots in his last 12 matchups. The Oilers are on the first night of a back-to-back and you may have heard they recently brought in Tristan Jarry to replace Stuart Skinner. Odds are Calvin Pickard started Saturday to allow Jarry to acclimate. Edmonton may have (slightly, in my opinion) upgraded its No. 1 netminder, yet still has perhaps the NHL's worst second banana in Pickard as he's posted an .894 save percentage the last nine seasons, including an .851 this year.
Brent Burns, COL vs. NAS ($5,100): Burns is 40 and doesn't even get man-advantage minutes in Colorado, yet is still producing having registered 10 points through his last 17 games with 21 shots from his last eight. Given that Juuse Saros has struggled to an .896 save percentage over his last 82 appearances, Burns has a decent chance of getting on the scoresheet Saturday.
