This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Saturday may be Hockey Night in Canada, but it's not exactly a night off for American teams either. It's a busy day which features most of the NHL in action. That means there are a lot of players for you to choose from. Here's a little advice that will hopefully help make your decisions a bit easier.
GOALIE
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR at STL ($8,000): Win potential is always big for a goalie in daily fantasy, and the fact that the Blues are expected to start backup goalie Carter Hutton on Saturday helps to boost Lundqvist's chances. The Blues are still a tough team to play against, but Lundqvist is coming off a season in which he had a .920 save percentage. He's been great throughout his career, and at $8,000 he's a mid-priced goalie with a good chance to pick up a win.
CENTER
Logan Couture, SJ at CLM ($6,200): While Columbus isn't likely to get off to a disastrous start on par with last season, they did surrender five goals to the Bruins in their season opener. There are questions about Sergei Bobrovsky and their defense, and that plays right into Couture's hands. He had a goal and an assist in San Jose's opener, and he averaged more than five minutes per game on the power play last season. Don't be surprised if he finds the back of the net again.
David Backes, BOS at TOR ($5,700): A lot of people were expecting Backes to take a step back this season, but if that's going to happen it hasn't yet. He scored two goals and an assist in the Bruins' opener, and he has scored more than 20 goals in each of his last three seasons. Toronto may have gotten a lot of attention for Auston Matthews' four goals, but they also gave up five to Ottawa in that same game. It's an excellent matchup for the Bruins.
WING
Wayne Simmonds, PHI at ARI ($6,500): The Coyotes will be playing their first game Saturday, so we don't have any data on them this season. What we do know is that they gave up 245 goals last season, and goalie Mike Smith has been mediocre since his surprise 2011-12 season performance. Simmonds netted 32 goals last season, including 13 on the power play, so he's certainly worth the price tag.
Patrick Sharp, DAL at COL ($5,900): Sharp scored 20 goals, and put 226 shots on net, as a 33-year-old last season. While he's a cagey veteran now, he had three shots on net and played 3:23 on the power play in Dallas' opener. This has the makings of a back-and-forth, high-scoring game with these two offenses, and these two goalies. That makes Sharp a nice option at $5,900.
Patrik Laine, WPG at MIN ($5,000): Perhaps overshadowed by Matthews, the first overall pick in 2016, racking up four goals in his debut, second overall pick Laine had two points of his own in his first NHL action. He's already garnered (hyperbolic) comparisons to Alex Ovechkin. More importantly, he played more than 2:30 on the power play in Winnipeg's opener. He seems like a rookie ready for the NHL, and $5,000 is a pretty low price to pay.
DEFENSEMEN
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI vs. PHI ($6,000): The 25-year-old found another level last year out from under Keith Yandle's shadow, and there's no reason to think he'll take a step back this season. Ekman-Larsson's quietly become one of the NHL's best defensemen, and he's played roughly 25 minutes a night for four seasons. A power play dynamo, he is a really good play in almost any matchup, and the Flyers are far from the most formidable opponent.
Keith Yandle, FLA vs. DET ($4,900): Speaking of Yandle, he's now a Panther. In his first game with the team he played more than 25 minutes, and almost three minutes on the power play. The Red Wings ceded six goals in their opener, although admittedly one was into an empty net, but there are questions about that team. There are not questions about Yandle's skill on a power play, and $4,900 is a relatively cheap price for his potential.
