Below we’ve got a discussion of the best matchups and potential stacks of the day followed by player rankings for Friday’s six-game evening slate of NHL contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

As always, make sure to check Twitter for any injury news, and check LeftWingLock for starting goalies and line combos.

Teams to Target

Carolina Hurricanes v. Arizona Coyotes

This is going to be a short and sweet article because I’m banging it out as fast as I can during the liberal lunch break I’m taking today. Also please forgive any typos as this was typed up in quite the rush.

Let’s start with Carolina since they have the highest implied total in Vegas tonight. Arizona is playing for the second night in a row, and they got torched for six goals in Buffalo last night. And they’ll be going with backup goalie Louis Domingue, so it’s obvious why Carolina is such a good play tonight.

Arizona presents no tough individual matchups, so just focus on what is their most potent line combination right now: Sebastian Aho/Victor Rask/Elias Lindholm. The best play from the line if yo’re not stacking is Aho who leads the team in ixG60 and has three points and 17 SOG in his last four games. Rask and Aho will be on the top PP unit where they’re joined by Justin Faulk who is priced very well on FD. Rask is also priced much better on FD, so that’s a better site to stack Canes.

On other lines, Jeff Skinner is coming back from a one-game absence with a neck injury, so he’s a bit risky tonight. If you’re looking for value plays, you could get some salary relief with top line wingers Phil di Giuseppe and Teuvo Teravainen.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa doesn’t have any specific lines or D pairs you have to target or have to avoid, so lean towards their best possession line, which is the second centered by Evgeni Malkin. Patric Hornqvist joins him on that line and on the top PP unit. Malkin is priced better on DK and Hornqvist better on FD. Joining them on the top PP unit is Justin Schultz with Kris Letang still out of the lineup.

Chicago Blackhawks vs. New York Islanders

The Isles are playing for the second night in a row and have allowed the seventh most goals this season. If backup goaltender Jean-Francois Berube gets the start, the matchup gets even better for the Hawks.

New York’s top line is a good possession trio that you’d prefer to avoid, and Jonathan Toews’ line tends to draw opposing top lines in home games. That means it’s the second line you want. Patrick Kane is the obvious choice if you can afford him. Artemi Panarin is also an option, but he’s been dealing with an upper body injury, so he’s a bit riskier. Centering that line will be Tanner Kero with Artem Anisimov out of the lineup tonight. It’s unknown if Kero will also take Anisimov’s spot on the power play, and if he does, he’ll really be a good value play. But even if he doesn’t see PP work, he’s still a good salary relief option centering Kane’s line.

Player Rankings

Centers

1. Evgeni Malkin
2. Sean Monahan
3. Victor Raks
4. Tanner Kero

Defensemen

1. Justin Faulk
2. Duncan Keith
3. Dougie Hamilton
4. Justin Schultz

Wingers

1. Patrick Kane
2. Sebatian Aho
3. Patric Hornqvist
4. Teuvo Teravainen
5. Elias Lindholm
6. Mathieu Perreault
7. Michael Ferland

Goalies

1. Cam Ward
2. Matthew Murray (DK only)
3. Corey Crawford
4. Jonathan Bernier (GPP only)

Goalies with an asterisk next to their name are not expected to start tonight but haven’t been ruled out, so don’t count on them playing. Any players in bold have been confirmed as the starter for the day. Make sure you always check LeftWingLock for starting goalie updates in case I am unable to update the list throughout the day.