NHL Friday Preview: Penguins at Avalanche and Bruins at Ducks, Goalies, Lines, Injuries, DFS and Props

Two games, both late, and one of them features a goalie question on each side. Colorado has a new power-play coach and Boston has a defenseman coming back.

FantasyDailies | NHL | October 16, 2026

Friday's NHL slate is a compact two-game card, and both games start in the late window for Eastern Time viewers: the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Colorado Avalanche at 9 p.m. ET, and the Boston Bruins visit the Anaheim Ducks at 10 p.m. ET. With only two games, every lineup decision matters more, so confirm goalies, lines and injuries on the NHL player news and the start/sit board before you lock anything.

Everything below is built for preparation, whether you are setting a DFS lineup on the NHL DFS lineups, researching a player on the NHL player props page or building a ticket with the NHL parlay builder. Goalies and line combinations can change at warmups, so treat every projection here as a projection.

THE SLATE AT A GLANCE

Where to watch: Pittsburgh at Colorado has been reported on TNT, truTV and HBO Max, with SN-PIT carrying the Penguins' local feed. Boston at Anaheim is on Prime Video and FOXLA+ in the Ducks' market and NESN in Boston. Broadcast listings vary by market, so check yours. Follow the games on the NHL box scores afterward.

GAME 1: PENGUINS AT AVALANCHE

The setup. Colorado is 4-2-1 and Pittsburgh is 3-3-1. The Avalanche are scoring 4.43 goals per game, second in the NHL, while the Penguins are at 3.43, ninth. Both teams allow 3.0 per game. The team offense page and the team defense page show how those numbers compare across the league.

Form. Colorado beat Dallas 3-2 on Tuesday, then lost the rematch in a shootout. Before that came a loss to Toronto on October 10 and a 3-2 loss at Winnipeg on October 7. Pittsburgh lost 5-3 at Chicago on Tuesday, with Sidney Crosby scoring twice, and has dropped three of its last four. The NHL team streaks tracks both teams' recent runs.

Goalies. Mackenzie Blackwood is confirmed for Colorado. He is 3-2-0 with a .879 save percentage this season and has made six of Colorado's eight starts. For Pittsburgh, Arturs Silovs is the unconfirmed expectation, with Sergei Murashov the alternative. A confirmed starter against an unconfirmed one is worth a look at the goaltending leaderboard before you build around either net.

Lines. Projections differ slightly by outlet, so check the final lines at warmups. Colorado's top group is built around Nathan MacKinnon, with Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas and Nazem Kadri in the forward mix and Cale Makar anchoring the blue line. Pittsburgh's projected top line is Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, with Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov on the second.

Storylines. Brett McLean makes his debut as Colorado's assistant coach, replacing the departed Dave Hakstol and taking over the power play, so the power play leaderboard is worth watching. Gavin Brindley was called up, and Cale Makar is back in the lineup. Samuel Girard is expected to play his first game at Ball Arena since being traded to Pittsburgh.

Injuries. Pittsburgh has Trevor van Riemsdyk (lower body, reported return October 17), Justin Brazeau (lower body, October 22) and Ryan Graves (knee, October 24) on injured reserve. Colorado has Logan O'Connor on injured reserve, and Nicolas Roy and Zachary L'Heureux are day-to-day and expected back Friday. The NHL player news is where changes show up first.

Players to watch. Crosby is the obvious one for Pittsburgh after his two-goal night in Chicago. Makar is the Avalanche defenseman who drives play, and he has three goals already on a lower expected total, which is a reminder that hot starts regress. The shots leaderboard and the goals leaderboard rank the shooters.

GAME 2: BRUINS AT DUCKS

The setup. Boston is 5-2-0 and Anaheim is 4-2-0. The Bruins are on a three-game win streak, most recently beating San Jose 6-3 on Tuesday. The Ducks lost 4-2 to Calgary that same night, ending a two-game win streak, after a 5-1 win at Winnipeg. The teams last met on November 19, 2025, and Anaheim won 4-3. This is the first of two meetings this season, and the finale is February 15, 2027, in Boston.

Goalies. Michael DiPietro is expected to make his second start of the season for Boston, with Jeremy Swayman likely to play Saturday at Los Angeles. Anaheim has not been confirmed, with Lukas Dostal and Ville Husso the options. Because of the back-to-back situation in Boston's schedule, this is the goalie decision most likely to move late. Check the goaltending leaderboard.

Lines. Boston's projected top line is Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak, followed by Khusnutdinov, Minten and JJ Peterka, with Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Lindholm and James Hagens in the third-line group. Charlie McAvoy is listed in the projected defense pairing with Hampus Lindholm after returning from a six-game suspension. Anaheim's projected top line is Alex Killorn, Leo Carlsson and Nikita Klepov, who replaces the scratched Sam Colangelo. Cutter Gauthier returns from an upper-body injury and will play center for the first time in his NHL career.

Injuries. Boston lists no injuries. Anaheim has Ian Moore (lower body), Troy Terry (hip) and Ryan Poehling on injured reserve, and Mikael Granlund is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will travel on the Ducks' four-game road trip that starts Monday at the Rangers. Outlets differ on his status for tonight, so check the NHL player news.

Players to watch. Leo Carlsson leads the Ducks with six points in their first three games and scored on two shots in his last outing, playing 22:18. For Boston, Pastrnak had an assist and four shots in his last game. The points leaderboard ranks scoring across the league.

DFS STRATEGY FOR A TWO-GAME SLATE

A two-game slate shrinks the player pool, so ownership clusters fast. The framework:

• Goalies: a confirmed starter is worth more than a better name who might sit. Colorado's goalie is confirmed; the other three are not.
• Top lines and power play: favor skaters who get both, especially with Colorado's power-play change.
• Shots: volume is the steadiest scoring category, so use the shots leaderboard.
• Stacking: two teammates from a line gives you correlation, but it also means one bad night sinks both.
• Late scratches: both games are late, so check warmups before you lock.

The NHL DFS lineups ranks values by line and salary, the start/sit board sorts your starts and sits, and the lineup shuffler rotates multiple lineups without rebuilding from scratch.

THE FANTASYDAILIES TWO-GAME DFS LINEUP

This is a six-spot lineup built around roles and confirmed information, not around a side. It is a starting point to run through the NHL DFS lineups, because lineups are projected and salaries move.

• Goalie: Mackenzie Blackwood (Avalanche). The only confirmed starter on the slate. His .879 save percentage makes him a volatile choice, so treat him as the swing spot.
• Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche, C). Anchors Colorado's offense, which is second in the NHL in goals per game.
• Cale Makar (Avalanche, D). Back in the lineup and a defenseman who drives shots and power-play time.
• Sidney Crosby (Penguins, C). Two goals in his last game and the first-line center of a team that has been trailing.
• David Pastrnak (Bruins, RW). On Boston's projected top line, with the volume to produce in any game script.
• Leo Carlsson (Ducks, C). Leads Anaheim in scoring and plays top-line minutes.

This lineup spreads exposure across both games and does not pick a winner. If Blackwood struggles, the Penguins' skaters carry the lineup, and if Colorado wins easily, MacKinnon and Makar do. Check salaries and the final lines before you lock, and use the lineup shuffler to build alternates.

PLAYER PROP RESEARCH: THE MARKETS WORTH LOOKING AT

Prices and availability vary, and we do not quote them here. These are the markets worth researching, not assumed lines.

• Shots on goal: the steadiest skater market, tied to role and power-play time.
• Points and assists: best for top-line and power-play skaters, and sensitive to the Colorado power-play change.
• Goalie saves: do not research these until the starter is confirmed.
• Anytime goal scorer: high variance, so use the goals leaderboard to see who has been shooting.
• Game totals: read alongside each team's scoring and allowing rate on the unders page.

Open the NHL player props page and the NHL heatmap to see how skaters have done, and use the odds converter and the parlay calculator to turn any price into an implied percentage. A recent hot game does not make a market a good bet.

PARLAYS AND LINE SHOPPING

A parlay is a chain of conditions, and every extra leg is another way for the ticket to lose. Build one on the NHL parlay builder or the NHL slip builder, run it through the parlay calculator and check the NHL verdicts page for the side we have settled on. Our call on tonight's games lives on the verdicts page and nowhere else.

• Confirm the goalies and lines first.
• Check for late scratches at warmups.
• Do not stack several long shots just to chase a big payout.
• Keep stakes reasonable and only bet what you can afford to lose.

The FantasyDailies illustrative parlay. Here is a three-leg ticket built on players, not on a side or a total:

• Sidney Crosby to record a point. Two goals in his last game and the center on Pittsburgh's top line.
• Nathan MacKinnon to record a point. The center of Colorado's top group on the NHL's second-highest scoring offense.
• David Pastrnak to record a point. On Boston's projected top line.

We do not quote prices here. Open the NHL parlay builder, add the three legs and see what the ticket pays. Each player must be in the lineup, play top minutes and record a point. A scratch, a shutdown night or a goalie standing on his head breaks the ticket. No ticket is guaranteed. For the full playbook, read the Sports Betting Strategy Book, and see the markets side by side on the heatmap.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Colorado has a confirmed goalie, a new power-play coach and the NHL's second-best scoring rate. Boston has the better record and a decision on how to use a returning defenseman. Neither fact decides the night. With two games on the board, the goalie confirmations and warmup lines are worth more than any early opinion.

Follow the finals on the NHL box scores, see what is next on the NHL schedule, and use the NHL hub as the starting point for everything else.

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Goalies, lines, injuries and game times can change before puck drop. Verify current information with official NHL sources. No wager or parlay is guaranteed to win. Please gamble responsibly.