This article is part of our FantasyDraft NHL series.
It might be Nov. 11, but alas there are 12 games Saturday. However, two are in the afternoon and not included in the daily fantasy lineup. Even there, we can't get that sweet 11 symmetry. What you can get, though, are my daily fantasy hockey recommendations.
GOALIE
St. Louis Blues, STL vs. NYI ($15,900): The Islanders have scored well this season, but they were blanked Friday. The fact New York played last night is part of the reason why the Blues' netminder, which likely will be Jake Allen, is the choice. St. Louis is 7-1-0 at home this season and 8-1-1 in its last 10 games. Allen, for his part, has a 2.36 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
CENTER
Nico Hischier, NJD vs. FLA ($11,400): The Devils have tried to make things easy for the 2007 first overall pick. Hischier has started 61.8 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, most of every New Jersey forward. Heading into Friday, the Panthers had the worst team GAA in the league, and had also allowed the most shots on net per contest. Now they are on the second night of a back-to-back. That bodes well for Hischier.
Paul Stastny, STL vs. NYI ($10,300): Let's head back to the Blues' matchup with an Islanders team on the second night of a back-to-back. Jaroslav Halak started Friday, which means Thomas Greiss (3.48 GAA, .898 save percentage) likely will be in net. Stastny has 12 points through 17 games, even though he has a 9.3 shooting percentage that is tied for his season low. That means it will likely improve, and so will Stastny's numbers.
WING
Viktor Arvidsson, NAS vs. PIT ($12,200): The Penguins are another team on the road for the second night of a back-to-back and have a 2.60 GAA with zero days of rest this season. They also likely will be starting the unproven Tristan Jarry in net. After breaking out last year, Arvidsson has six goals on 54 shots through 15 games this season. He also is enjoying a three-game goal-scoring streak.
Clayton Keller, ARI vs. WPG ($12,100):Connor Hellebuyck has stabilized the goaltending for the Jets, but he started Friday. That could mean Steve Mason (4.84 GAA, .872 save percentage) in net, which would be quite beneficial for Keller. He's been stellar as a rookie, as the 19-year-old has notched 11 goals and six assists through 18 games. On top of that, Keller has averaged 3:18 per game with the extra man.
Brendan Gallagher, MON vs. BUF ($9,300): The Sabres are yet another team on the road for the second night of a back-to-back. Chad Johnson likely will be in goal for Buffalo, and he has a .872 save percentage this season. It's admittedly a small sample size, but last year Johnson had a .910 save percentage, which is still decidedly below average. Gallagher got off to a slow start, but he has nine points in his last nine games, including two on the power play.
DEFENSEMEN
Alex Pietrangelo, STL vs. NYI ($11,400): Pietrangelo has averaged 18.11 fantasy points per game, which is the most of any blueliner playing Saturday. He's managed that by notching seven goals and nine assists through 17 contests. On the defensive end of the ice, he also has 29 blocked shots. As noted, the Islanders will be on the second night of a back-to-back, and before giving up five goals Friday they had a team GAA of 3.13.
P.K. Subban, NAS vs. PIT ($10,600): Perhaps owing to an injury to Ryan Ellis, Subban has played a ton of minutes. He's averaged 25:19 per game in ice time, but more notably he's averaged 4:19 minutes per contest with the extra man. On that front, six of his 11 points have come on the power play. The Penguins have struggled defensively all season, and that's especially been true in the second night of back-to-backs.
