This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Saturday's NHL main slate is another busy one, with 11 games on tap after 7:00 PM Eastern time. Below, you'll find an overview of the matchups and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are some lopsided matchups to capitalize on in this slate, highlighted by the Capitals in Detroit and Jets in Los Angeles. Additionally, the Maple Leafs will be favored at home in what should be a high-scoring game against the Sabres while the Predators-Panthers game should feature plenty of offense from both sides.
GOALIES
Ilya Samsonov ($7,500) starts the second leg of Washington's back-to-back set. The Capitals' 22-year-old goalie of the future has handled himself quite well in the present, with a 5-2-1 record, 2.65 GAA and .912 save percentage. Samsonov should continue his strong play against a Detroit team that scores the fewest goals in the league (2.14 per game) and gives up the most (3.89 per game).
Laurent Brossoit ($7,300) is a less reliable backup goalie than Samsonov, but he's picked things up recently with a 2-0-1 record in his past three starts. The affordable Jets backup will take on a Kings squad that ranks among the five most inept offensively with 2.62 goals per game.
Aaron Dell ($7,400) should be carried by a Sharks team that's 10-2-0 in its past 12 games. Expect a low-scoring affair against a Coyotes team that features a top-10 offense and bottom-10 defense.
If the Islanders keep their goalie rotation intact, it will be Thomas Greiss' ($7,900) turn when the Blue Jackets come to town. Greiss should help snap New York's three-game losing streak, as he has a sparkling 9-2-0 record, 2.15 GAA and .930 save percentage while Columbus averages only 2.64 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Lars Eller ($4,800) has been centering Washington's second line with Nicklas Backstrom (upper body) out recently. Eller has a goal and an assist in the past three games and remains an affordable option ahead of this enticing matchup against Detroit.
Patrik Laine ($7,600) has thrived as a distributor with 18 assists in 24 games, and the career 15.3 percent shooter is due to improve on his current 9.2 percent mark. That improvement could begin against a Kings team that's giving up 3.38 goals per game.
Mike Hoffman ($5,700) and Evgenii Dadonov ($6,100) share the Panthers' team lead with five power-play goals apiece. Both wingers have a nice opportunity to add to their totals against a 73.8 percent Nashville penalty kill that ranks third-worst in the league.
Toronto had no answer for Jack Eichel ($8,100) on Friday, as he scored two goals and an assist to go with eight shots. He leads the Sabres with 10 power-play points and has a good chance to add to that total against Toronto's 74.4 percent penalty kill, which only ranks one spot better than Nashville's.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Capitals at Red Wings
Evgeny Kuznetsov (C - $7,500), Alex Ovechkin (W - $8,700), Tom Wilson (W - $5,000)
Washington's top line should be worth paying up for in this extremely favorable matchup against the league's worst defensive team. Ovechkin has a team-high 17 goals and ranks second on the club with 27 points, plus he's put 19 pucks on net in the last three games. Kuznetsov is closing in on Ovechkin's point total with an 11-14-25 line, while the more affordable Wilson has a 9-9-18 line, putting him on pace for 27 goals after last year's 22-goal campaign.
Predators at Panthers
Ryan Johansen (C - $5,500), Filip Forsberg (W - $7,300), Calle Jarnkrok (W - $3,800)
Florida will be giving Chris Driedger his first NHL start in net, further raising Nashville's upside against a team that gives up the second-most goals in the league (3.60 per game). Forsberg's 10 goals are tied for the team lead even though he's missed six of 25 games. Johansen's 17 points have him on a 56-point pace, and he's scored at least 54 points in each of the past six seasons. Jarnkrok's a nice value play given his first-line role, and he's enjoying a breakout season with a 9-8-17 line.
Maple Leafs vs. Sabres
John Tavares (C - $7,200), Ilya Mikheyev (W - $4,600), Zach Hyman (W - $3,900)
The Leafs lost the first game of the home-and-home set between these two Friday, but you can point to goaltending as the culprit, with much-maligned backup Michael Hutchinson getting outplayed by Buffalo's Linus Ullmark. Toronto should avenge the team's first loss under coach Sheldon Keefe with starter Frederik Andersen manning the home crease against the struggling Carter Hutton, who is 0-5-2 in his past seven starts. Tavares is the crown jewel of this second line, as he's scored three goals in the past two games to raise his line to 9-9-18 in 20 appearances after scoring 47 goals last season. Mikheyev has mustered 17 points through his first 27 NHL games, while Hyman has two goals in eight games played after potting 21 last season.
DEFENSEMEN
No Capitals stack is complete without John Carlson ($7,200). The defenseman leads the team with 36 points and should continue building his Norris Trophy case against the Red Wings.
Keith Yandle ($5,500) has 82 points in 107 games since the start of last season, and 50 of those points have come with the extra man. A matchup against Nashville's vulnerable penalty kill is exactly the type of situation in which it makes sense to target Yandle.
Cale Makar ($5,400) continues to be drastically underpriced. Colorado's standout rookie is on pace for the most productive season ever for a rookie defenseman, with an 8-18-26 line through 25 games heading into this game against Chicago.
While Mark Giordano ($5,600) has fallen off after last year's 74-point campaign, he still has a decent 14 points in 28 games and stuffs the stat sheet with shots and blocks. Calgary's captain is a high-floor option at home against the Senators.
