This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The Trade Deadline has come and gone while proving largely unremarkable. Now we can truly enter the home stretch of the NHL regular season. Saturday has seven games on the DFS docket, with the first starting at 7 p.m. EST. And now, some post-deadline lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a relatively busy night for teams on the second day of a back-to-back. San Jose is at home against the Islanders while Montreal, Carolina, and Vancouver are on the road taking on LA, Calgary, and Winnipeg, respectively.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. VAN ($8,100): Hellebuyck is the reigning Vezina and Hart winner who's produced a .916 save percentage in four starts since winning a Gold Medal. The overall .901 indicates this hasn't been his best season, yet he's an easy goalie to believe in especially when he's facing the NHL's worst team who also happens to be on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Brandon Bussi, CAR at CGY ($7,800): The Hurricanes - and not the Flames - are the ones playing for a second straight day, though I still believe Bussi is a solid selection as the club ranks first in shots allowed. Even on a back-to-back, they shouldn't be much worse than that. Calgary's also last in the league at 2.43 goals per game while trading their two best defenseman along with Nazem Kadri.
VALUE PLAYS
Alex Laferriere, LOS vs. MON ($4,900): Laferriere has recorded a goal in two of his last three appearances where he also notched five and seven shots. And with the Kings carrying some injuries, he's gotten some time on their top power play. Sam Montembeault started for the Habs on Friday, so Jakub Dobes with his .889 save percentage is in line to go Saturday.
Cole Perfetti, WPG vs. VAN ($4,600): Perfetti has accumulated eight points over his last 12 outings while putting multiple shots on target in all 12. Vancouver is last in GAA by a considerable margin and playing its second game in as many days.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Islanders at Sharks
Bo Horvat (C - $7,000), Mathew Barzal (W - $6,400), Ondrej Palat (W - $4,300)
The Sharks find themselves bottom-four in both GAA and shots allowed. Even if they're at home for both legs of their back-to-back, that's still a subpar defense. The Isles' two best forwards are on this trio, making it an easy choice for a stack.
Horvat leads the Islanders with 161 shots during only 49 outings. Barzal has been in fine form for quite some time having gone off for 27 points through his last 24 matchups with at least one from eight of his last nine. Palat has only contributed four points in 11 games since joining the club, but is on the lead line with at least two shots during five of his last six.
Senators at Kraken
Dylan Cozens (C - $6,300), Brady Tkachuk (W - $7,200), Ridly Greig (W - $4,600)
The Senators and Kraken rank 30th and 31st in penalty-kill percentage. Ottawa's also only allowed an average of 24.5 shots while Seattle's given up 29.4. The Sens' first two lines both feature two members of the lead power play, so I've opted for this trio.
In his first full season with Ottawa, Cozens has excelled with the extra man having already tallied 26 points. Tkachuk is riding a five-game scoring streak, with three of those points coming on the power play. He's also registered 157 shots through only 41 appearances. Greig isn't on the same level as his linemates, yet he's no slouch at 26 points and 13 goals in each of the last two seasons.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. VAN ($6,300): Morrissey is just off of injured reserve, but is still in a favorable position against the Canucks. He's also produced 42 points and 104 shots through 56 games. The Canucks, on the second night of a back-to-back, sit last in GAA and penalty-kill percentage. As Morrissey works his way back into the lineup, he should still be in line for a hefty portion of man-advantage minutes.
Brandt Clarke, LOS vs. MON ($5,800): Clarke has delivered five points from five games since the break, including three PPPs on the top unit. Montreal will be on their second game in as many days while maintaining a bottom-eight penalty kill.
