DraftKings NHL: Saturday Picks

Written by

Updated on October 20, 2018 1:16PM EST

As the weather gets chillier, some good news for hockey fans: you can just stay inside Saturday and watch the NHL all day. There are 13 games on the schedule, with nine of those at night. It's those nine contests that get covered here, and that still means plenty of options. Here are my recommendations.

GOALIE

Tuukka Rask, BOS at VAN ($7,600): Don't worry about Rask's numbers this year, as it's only been four games. Last season he had a 2.36 GAA and .917 save percentage, and the Bruins only allowed 29.3 shots on net per contest. The Canucks scored a mere 2.66 goals per game last season, and they no longer have the Sedins. They also don't have Elias Pettersson at the moment, given his injury.

CENTER

Aleksander Barkov, FLA vs. DET ($6,900): Barkov stayed healthy last season and broke out in a major way. He tallied 27 goals and 78 points, and he's still only 23. The Wings had a 3.10 GAA last year, which is bad, but so far this season they have a league-worst 4.57 GAA.

Nazem Kadri, TOR vs. STL ($4,200): Though Kadri is now a third-line center, he still has four points through eight games. Three of the have come with the extra man, and he's averaged 2:08 per game on the power play. That will allow him to remain a fantasy option even with a slightly smaller role. Jake Allen had a 2.75 GAA and .906 save percentage last year, and through five games to start this season he has a 3.91 GAA and .877 save percentage.

WING

Brendan Gallagher, MON at OTT ($6,100): Gallagher came up big last year by scoring 31 goals on 278 shots. He's lighting the lamp with gusto to start this season, as he has four goals on 18 shots through six games. Last year the Senators had a 3.46 GAA and allowed 33.1 shots on net per contest. Craig Anderson has had two great games in a row, but Ottawa has given up 38.3 shots on goal per game, which will make it hard for Anderson to keep that up.

Yanni Gourde, TAM at MIN ($5,100): Gourde's rookie season was a little delayed, but as a 25-year-old in his first full NHL season he notched 25 goals and 39 assists. He has five points in five games to start this year, and he's skating on Tampa's top line at the moment. The Wild are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and backup Alex Stalock had a 2.85 GAA and .910 save percentage last year.

Mark Stone, OTT vs. MON ($4,900): Stone hasn't gotten off to a great start, though he has two goals, but he's been a consistent scorer in this league. He has at least 20 goals in each of his last four seasons, even last year when he was limited to 58 games. On the other hand, last season Montreal had a 3.54 GAA in away games, highest in the NHL.

DEFENSE

Keith Yandle, FLA vs. DET ($5,900): Yandle is a power-play maven, as he's notched at least 18 points with the extra man in each of the last five seasons. The Red Wings ranked 23rd on the penalty kill last year, and as noted they have a 4.57 GAA to start the season. That's with their penalty kill doing well, which isn't likely to continue.

Jake Gardiner, TOR vs. STL ($3,600): Just because Morgan Rielly has started the year red hot doesn't mean you should forget about Gardiner. He had 52 points last year, and he has five to start this season. As previously noted, Allen is off to a rough start to the season after he had a 2.75 GAA and .906 save percentage last year.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Morgan plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: cmorgan3, DraftKings: cmorgan3.