This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Black Friday will be by far the busiest Friday of the NHL season thus far, with 22 teams in action. The games are perfectly spread out to maximize your viewing pleasure, too, with start times ranging from 1 PM to 9 PM Eastern time. There are plenty of great fantasy hockey deals to be found given the large available selection, and this column is here to highlight them for you.
Featured Matchups
Rangers (PP: 7, PK: 6) at Flyers (PP: 2, PK: 23), 1:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (9-6-1, 2.46, .911), Steve Mason (5-7-3, 3.04, .893)
Key Injuries:Pavel Buchnevich (back), Mika Zibanejad (leg), Sean Couturier (knee), Michal Neuvirth (lower body)
The day's opening game is the first meeting of the season between these two Metropolitan Division rivals. Despite Zibanejad's long-term absence, New York is unlikely to be starved for offense against the NHL's third-worst defensive team after putting up a league-leading 3.9 goals per game to this point. A pair of unexpected names are tied for the team lead with 18 points. While Kevin Hayes will have an excellent opportunity to add to that total as the first-line center, J.T. Miller's opportunities could be harder to come by given his third-line winger role. Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn have scored 33 of their combined 65 points on the power play, but Philadelphia's four leading scorers are a combined minus-31 this season. This matinee against the division leaders likely won't help their rating any.
Canucks (PP: 28, PK: 10) at Stars (PP: 14, PK: 27), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ryan Miller (3-7-0, 2.73, .908), Kari Lehtonen (4-6-3, 3.38, .884)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Jiri Hudler (illness), Mattias Janmark (knee), Johnny Oduya (lower body), Jannik Hansen (ribs), Chris Tanev (lower body)
This game shouldn't lack for production at both ends. The Canucks have struggled to score, but a matchup with a Stars team that has allowed the most goals per game in the league could help them break out offensively. Bo Horvat surprisingly leads the team with seven goals, and his 13 points are tied with Daniel Sedin for the team led with Henrik Sedin just one back. For the Stars, Cody Eakin makes for a no-brainer short-term play skating between Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the top line. The Patrick Sharp-Jason Spezza-Patrick Eaves line should help bring some secondary scoring for a dangerous team that's starting to get healthy.
Oilers (PP: 13, PK: 4) at Coyotes (PP: 24, PK: 28), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (11-7-1, 2.50, .919), Mike Smith (2-1-1, 3.24, .904)
Key Injuries:Dave Bolland (back), Brad Richardson (leg), Andrew Ference (hip), Iiro Pakarinen (leg)
Edmonton's top players should continue their high-scoring ways against a Coyotes team that has allowed the second-most goals per game. League points leader Connor McDavid should be worth his high price in daily, while linemates Milan Lucic and Jesse Puljujarvi make for enticing secondary options. Smith recently returned from injury for the Coyotes, but his presence alone isn't enough to overlook the poor defensive play in front of him. Arizona, like Edmonton, rolls three offensive-minded lines, but only Max Domi, Radim Vrbata and Jordan Martinook have reached double-digit points.
Other Matchups
Blackhawks (PP: 15, PK: 30) at Ducks (PP: 8, PK: 12), 4:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Corey Crawford (9-6-2, 2.33, .923), John Gibson (6-6-3, 2.59, .908)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Toews (undisclosed), Trevor van Riemsdyk (arm)
Anaheim's eighth-ranked power play will have an excellent opportunity to continue its success against Chicago's 30th-ranked penalty kill.
Islanders (PP: 27, PK: 25) at Sharks (PP: 16, PK: 2), 4:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jaroslav Halak (3-6-4, 3.08, .904), Martin Jones (10-7-1, 2.10, .919)
Key Injuries:Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Dennis Seidenberg (jaw), Tomas Hertl (knee), Melker Karlsson (ankle)
The struggling Islanders powerplay is unlikely to get going against an elite Sharks unit. Meanwhile, San Jose blueliner Brent Burns will look to start living up to his eight-year, $64 million extension. The bearded defenseman is tied with Joe Pavelski for the team lead with 18 points apiece, and both should add to those lofty marks in this plus matchup.
Penguins (PP: 6, PK: 19) at Wild (PP: 19, PK: 8), 4:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Marc-Andre Fleury (6-4-3, 3.19, .907), Devan Dubnyk (8-6-1, 1.55, .948)
Key Injuries:Patric Hornqvist (concussion), Chris Kunitz (undisclosed)
Pittsburgh is missing a lot of net-front presence with Hornqvist and Kunitz out, but still boasts one of the league's most dangerous offenses led by Sidney Crosby. Dubnyk and the Wild defense won't make life easy for them in what is shaping up to be one of the day's highest-quality games.
Sabres (PP: 9, PK: 22) at Capitals (PP: 18, PK: 17), 5:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (5-7-3, 2.38, .922), Braden Holtby (10-4-1, 2.05, .923)
Key Injuries:Zach Bogosian (knee), Jack Eichel (ankle), Tyler Ennis (groin), Dmitry Kulikov (back), T.J. Oshie (upper body)
Few would've guessed at the start of the season that the injury-riddled Sabres powerplay would be in the top 10 while Washington's star-studded unit was barely top-20. Still, the Capitals will be heavily favored here after winning eight of their past 12 games.
Jets (PP: 20, PK: 20) at Predators (PP: 5, PK: 11), 6:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (7-7-0, 2.58, .912), Pekka Rinne (8-5-3, 2.04, .934)
Key Injuries:Bryan Little (lower body), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Mathieu Perreault (undisclosed)
Nashville's special teams superiority could play a role here against a top-heavy Jets team. Don't underestimate Hellebuyck, though, as the 23-year-old netminder has posted a save percentage of at least .920 in six of his past seven games following a slow start.
Flames (PP: 30, PK: 29) at Bruins (PP: 22, PK: 7), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Brian Elliott (3-9-0, 3.43, .882), Zane McIntyre (0-2-0, 4.03, .859)
Key Injuries:Zdeno Chara (lower body), Frank Vatrano (foot), Johnny Gaudreau (finger), Ladislav Smid (neck)
Boston is returning home for the second game of a back-to-back after losing in Ottawa last night. Elliott seems to have lost the starting job to Chad Johnson, but a good effort here could get him back in the mix for a timeshare. McIntyre is still looking for his first NHL win, so some goaltending gaffes could be very possible in this one.
Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 13) at Lightning (PP: 3, PK: 9), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Sergei Bobrovsky (10-5-1, 2.18, .929), Ben Bishop (7-6-0, 2.80, .908)
Key Injuries:Steven Stamkos (knee), Anton Stralman (upper body)
Something's bound to give in this battle of special teams stalwarts.
Red Wings (PP: 21, PK: 24) at Devils (PP: 25, PK: 21), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jimmy Howard (5-5-0, 1.76, .943), Cory Schneider (8-5-2, 2.37, .920)
Key Injuries:Johan Franzen (concussion), Darren Helm (upper body), Tomas Jurco (back), Taylor Hall (knee), Kyle Palmieri (upper body)
Howard has a sparkling 1.76 GAA despite his pedestrian 5-5-0 record, and should put in another strong performance against a Devils team missing two of its top scorers.
Recommended Pickup
Cody Eakin, C, DAL - Eakin is off to a slow start with a minus-3 rating in his first four games after missing the beginning of the season with a knee injury. He could start piling up points in a hurry moving forward now that he has been promoted to the first-line center role, though. The 25-year-old pivot has topped 15 goals in each of his past three seasons, but consistent playing time alongside stars Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn could allow him to take his game to the next level. At worst, you're getting a young player capable of consistently contributing. At best, he sticks between Seguin and Benn en route to a career year.
