Thursday was packed and Saturday is stuffed, so as you can deduce from that, Friday is a light night for the NHL. Only four teams are in action. However, the first game starts at 8 p.m. ET, so there’s an extra hour for you to get your lineups in. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Laurent Brossoit, WPG vs. ANA ($23): The Jets can afford to give Connor Hellebuyck some days off with a playoff spot effectively locked up, and with Brossoit being as good as any backup this year. Brossoit has a 2.11 GAA and .924 save percentage in 17 appearances. The Ducks are 30th in goals per game, and they are also on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
GOALIE TO AVOID
John Gibson, ANA at WPG ($30): This is process of elimination. Obviously you shouldn’t avoid Cam Talbot (or David Rittich) against Chicago, the NHL’s worst offensive team. The Blackhawks are starting Arvid Soderblom, possibly the worst goalie in the NHL. Basically, I’m saying don’t get cute. Don’t try and squeeze something out of Gibson against the Jets’ below-average offense. It likely won’t pan out.
CENTER
Adam Lowry, WPG vs. ANA ($15): Lowry has six points in his last seven games, giving him 31 points in 65 contests. That’s solid complementary offense, and this is an excellent matchup. The Ducks are in the bottom five in shots on net allowed per game, and John Gibson has an .893 save percentage. Oh, and he’ll be behind a team on the second leg of a back-to-back.
CENTER TO AVOID
Connor Bedard, CHI vs. LOS ($22): Bedard has 10 points in his last four games! That’s amazing! Those points have come against the Coyotes (across two matchups) and the Ducks. Also, seven of them came on the power play. The Kings have a 2.60 GAA and the league’s top penalty kill. It’s time for a bit of a reality check for the likely Calder winner.
WING
Trevor Moore, LOS at CHI ($19): Moore has already set personal highs with 25 goals and 208 shots on net, doing so in 65 games. Chicago has given up 32.6 shots on goal per contest, and I mentioned how poor Soderblom has been in net. To that end, across 43 games of NHL action he’s posted an .883 save percentage.
Alex Iafallo, WPG vs. ANA ($14): It’s been a tough year for the former King Iafallo, but he has goals in back-to-back games. Friday could make it three in a row. I mentioned Gibson has an .893 save percentage, and that the Ducks are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. That gives me confidence that Iafallo, even with struggles with his new team, could be productive once more.
WINGS TO AVOID
Troy Terry, ANA at WPG ($20): Terry is on the road for the second day of a back-to-back, of course. Additionally, he doesn’t have a power-play point in any of his last 16 games. The Jets surprisingly have a below-average penalty kill, but also rank second in GAA. Thus, if you aren’t doing work with the extra man, you basically aren’t scoring in Winnipeg.
Alex Killorn, ANA at WPG ($16): The Kings and Jets have great matchups, and the Blackhawks don’t have any wings of note. Thus, I am double dipping on Ducks in this section. Killorn has been hot since returning from injury, but his six goals in 13 games have come on only 23 shots on net, and he only has one point on the power play in that time. Brossoit has a .924 save percentage, so anybody who isn’t racking up power-play points with gusto for the Ducks is somebody to avoid.
DEFENSE
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. ANA ($21): Morrissey has looked like the guy who had 76 points in 78 games last season recently. He has 18 points over his last 13 contests. Gibson has been bad this season, but five times in his last seven games he’s given up at least four goals.
Matt Roy, LOS at CHI ($18): With the quality of this matchup, I figured I’d check in on Kings defensemen who aren’t Drew Doughty. Roy stuck out to me. He has 20 points in 64 games, but also has put 113 shots on net. That’s actually one more than Doughty in one fewer outing. The Blackhawks have given up 32.6 shots on goal per game, and with Soderblom in net, pucks often go in.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CHI vs. LOS ($23): Jones has really kicked it up a notch in terms of activity, tallying 53 shots on net over his last 14 outings. However, the Kings have only allowed 28.4 shots on goal per game. Talbot, assuming he’s in goal, has been in form as well, notching a 2.01 GAA and .936 save percentage over his last nine contests.
Pavel Mintyukov, ANA at WPG ($10): The rookie Mintyukov has 25 points in 54 games, including seven on the power play. His power-play time has fluctuated, though, and right now Cam Fowler is on the top unit. That will mean less power-play time against the Jets, who rank second in GAA and have Brossoit and his 2.11 GAA in goal.
