This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
With eight games on the NHL main slate for Friday, there are a lot of skaters to consider. Here are some of my top value options to look at when building your lineups.
Goalie
Jonathan Quick, LA at ARI ($8,400): Quick has been going through a rough stretch of late but finds himself in a good spot with a great salary on Friday. With losses in each of his last six starts, Quick is due for a bounce-back effort against the Coyotes. The Kings are 6-3 on the road while the Coyotes sit at 4-9-1 at home. Quick should get the offensive support he needs to pick up a victory against a putrid Coyotes team.
Center
Jordan Staal, CAR vs. TOR ($5,500): The Leafs have struggled defensively all season long, especially against the center position. Staal comes in with six goals and nine assists on the season, even though he's gone scoreless in his last three. He's a nice value who sees a lot of ice time for a Hurricanes team that's looking to avenge a dreadful performance the other night against the Rangers.
Ryan O'Reilly, BUF vs. EDM ($5,600): O'Reilly comes in with points in three of his last four games with 20 minutes or more of ice time in three of those contests as well. He skates on Buffalo's second line and top power-play unit and has been a force on the man advantage, as four of his seven goals have come in those situations. O'Reilly is a good pivot off of the much more expensive Jack Eichel at the center position.
Wing
Drake Caggiula, EDM at BUF ($3,600): Caggiula had a goal in his last game, giving three points in as many games since moving up to the first line. The Sabres have had some issues defensively, and with Caggiula being so inexpensive, he allows you to pay up for some other skaters while having a good chance to hit and exceed value in a good matchup.
Tyler Toffoli, LA at ARI ($5,400): With two goals in his last three games, Toffoli draws a good matchup against the Coyotes, who are allowing 3.67 goals per game, the most in the league. He's a true goal scorer with 10 goals in 22 games this season and is a nice value play skating on the second line and second power-play unit.
Chris Kreider, NYR vs. DET ($5,200): With two goals in his last game, Kreider has seven now on the season in what has been somewhat of an underwhelming campaign for him. He has the the tendency to disappear from time to time, so he's a risky play. However, for where his skill level is, he's very underpriced but still very streaky. The two-goal game he had against Carolina on Wednesday could have ignited a hot streak.
Defense
Justin Faulk, CAR vs. TOR ($4,700): Faulk has three assists in his last two games and faces a Maple Leafs team that has given up production to defensemen all season long. He's underpriced because he hasn't consistently started to get going yet offensively, but he's still getting the ice time averaging 22 minutes per game and is getting shots on goal averaging 3.10 of those per game, fifth-most among defensemen. With time on the power play, Faulk has a nice value with some upside in this matchup.
Alexander Edler, VAN at NJD ($4,500): Edler has assists in back to back games and has been a force blocking shots with three blocks per game over his last five. He missed some time with injury earlier in the season but looks to be getting a full workload as he's skated 27, 21 and 24 minutes in his last three contests. As a bonus, Edler also sees time on the top power-play unit for a Vancouver team that has been scoring of late.
