This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
This will be the busiest Friday of NHL action yet, with six games on tap. Scoring is up early on with teams still working on tightening things up defensively, and that should continue here with with two little-used backup goaltenders making their season debuts and six others with GAAs over 3.00 scheduled to be in net. Still, it's important to know which skaters are best poised to take advantage of those matchups and the below column attempts to shine some light on that information. Here's a breakdown of the six-game Friday slate:
Featured Matchups
Jets (PP:[24], PK:[24]) at Avalanche (PP:[4], PK:[28]), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Michael Hutchinson (1-2-0, 3.71, .887), Semyon Varlamov (2-2-0, 3.25, .902)
Key Injuries:Rene Bourque (groin), Fedor Tyutin (groin), Bryan Little (lower body), Drew Stafford (upper body)
It's tough to peg just how good either of these two inconsistent teams really is, but identifying their best scorers is much less challenging. Winnipeg is a top-heavy team, and the majority of its offensive contributions should continue to come from the top line of Mark Scheifele - Patrick Laine - Blake Wheeler, as well as offensive-minded defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Patrick Wiercioch, Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson have all contributed offensively from the Avalanche blue line, and their propensity to take chances should lead to a high-scoring game all around. Varlamov has been inconsistent while Hutchinson has just been plain bad, which gives Avalanche skaters slightly higher upside on the whole.
Senators (PP:[30], PK:[23]) at Flames (PP:[25], PK:[21]), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Andrew Hammond (0-1-0, 5.00, .800), Brian Elliott (2-3-0, 3.37, .882)
Key Injuries:Ladislav Smid (neck), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
Scoring should be plentiful in this one, as both teams are averaging over three goals per game while also ranking in the bottom 10 in goals against. Hammond gave up five goals on 25 Red Wings shots in his first appearance of the season, while Elliott has actually been trending upward with just three total goals allowed in consecutive wins over his last two starts after a rocky beginning to his Flames tenure. Both team have been poor on the power play, but each has an opportunity to reverse its fortunes against a bottom-10 penalty kill. Third-line left wing Ryan Dzingel surprisingly leads Senators forwards with six points and the team with four goals, while blueliner Erik Karlsson should be worth his high daily price given how much open ice he's likely to find against this vulnerable opposition. Calgary has gotten contributions across the board with 10 players registering at least four points, but Johnny Gaudreau stands out as a player due to pick it up once his unlucky 7.7 percent shooting percentage starts to climb closer to his career mark of 13.9 percent.
Blue Jackets (PP:[1], PK:[2]) at Ducks (PP:[12], PK:[12]), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Curtis McElhinney, John Gibson (3-2-2, 2.27, .913)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Bernier (upper body), Ryan Getzlaf (upper body), Rickard Rakell (abdomen), David Clarkson (back), Ryan Murray (upper body)
The Ducks might be getting Getzlaf back for this one, but they shouldn't lack for scoring opportunities regardless of their captain's status. Columbus has allowed at least 30 shots in every game thus far, and McElhinney is less poised to bail his team out than starter Sergei Bobrovsky after going 2-7-3 with a 3.31 GAA and .890 save percentage last season. While Corey Perry will be missing his long-time first-line center if Getzlaf can't play, Anaheim's Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg second line is clicking coming into this one after combining for four goals in Wednesday's win over the Predators. The Blue Jackets will be looking to continue their special teams dominance, though it's tough to place where their offensive contributions will come from given that nobody on the team has topped two goals or five points yet.
Other Matchups
Blackhawks (PP:[15], PK:[30]) at Devils (PP:[11], PK:[6]), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Corey Crawford (1-3-1, 3.02, .897), Keith Kinkaid
Key Injuries:Andrew Desjardins (lower body), Trevor van Riemsdyk (upper body), Jon Merrill (finger)
New Jersey has been starved for 5-on-5 offense, but its power play is just short of achieving top-10 status for the fourth consecutive season. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Devils capitalize against Chicago's last-ranked penalty kill, with Taylor Hall being the most likely candidate to score given that he already has three power-play tallies on the young season. First-unit point man Damon Severson makes for a sneaky blue line play, as he has already accumulated four helpers with the man advantage. All the usual suspects have been effective for Chicago thus far, with Richard Panik joining their ranks with an early scoring binge that has him sitting at six goals and eight points through seven contests.
Rangers (PP:[9], PK:[10]) at Hurricanes (PP:[8], PK:[5]), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (4-2-0, 2.35, .907), Eddie Lack (1-1-1, 4.00, .857)
Key Injuries:Ryan Murphy (lower body), Jeff Skinner (undisclosed), Pavel Buchnevich (back), Chris Kreider (neck)
Lundqvist is 23-10-1 lifetime against the Hurricanes, so he makes for a strong DFS play given his success in this matchup and the injury to Skinner. First-line left wing Rick Nash excels at scoring against weaker competition, while rookie Jimmy Vesey has quickly figured out the NHL with four goals in his past five games on the opposite wing. For Carolina, Victor Rask's seven points lead a balanced offense that has gotten at least five points from six different players.
Oilers (PP:[17], PK:[8]) at Canucks (PP:[23], PK:[13]), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (6-1-0, 2.49, .927), Ryan Miller (1-2-0, 1.97, .933)
Key Injuries:Mark Fayne (undisclosed), Andrew Ference (hip), Iiro Pakarinen (leg), Alex Burrows (neck), Chris Tanev (undisclosed)
Both teams are among the eight stingy defensive units surrendering less than 2.5 goals per game. While offense is expected to be scarce, Oilers star Connor McDavid should continue to shine after accumulating 11 points in his first seven games.
Recommended Pickup
Brandon Pirri, RW, NYR - Pirri has been a big reason for New York's early success on the power play, with two of his four goals this season coming with the extra man. The 25-year-old winger's shoot-first mentality has earned him a prominent power-play spot in the slot with the Rangers' array of gifted passers all treating him as the go-to guy. His 44.4 percent shooting percentage obviously won't hold up, but Pirri should be a solid source of power-play points while also chipping in a strong plus/minus at even strength for what looks to be one of the better teams in the league.
