Friday's six-gamer could launch with a battle of the backups in Washington - Kevin Lankinen and Charlie Lindgren - as both the visiting Predators and Capitals are coming off victories Thursday. We're still likely a game or two away from seeing Tom Wilson and/or Nicklas Backstrom in the Caps' lineup for the first time this season, but coach Peter Laviolette insists both forwards remain "very close" to making their season debuts. Elsewhere, the Panthers visit Detroit, the Coyotes hope to end their lousy three-game road losing skid in Chicago, and Steven Stamkos and the Lightning visit Winnipeg for the only time this campaign. Make sure to check on the health status of Andrei Vasilevskiy before finalizing your fantasy lineup, after Tampa's No. 1 was too ill to play Wednesday.

A little later, it's the New York Islanders vs. Calgary Flames in Alberta. Fun fact: Each of Calgary's last six games have been decided by a single goal, split evenly between three wins and three losses. They're hanging in there every night, those Flames! Even if you don't care for such trends, Darryl Sutter's crew appears in the driver's seat against backup Semyon Varlamov (projected) and a travelling New York squad coming off Thursday's 4-2 loss in Edmonton. I'll take a fresh Jacob Markstrom as a strong fantasy asset in this rare inter-conference meeting.

An all-California match-up concludes Friday's competitive proceedings, as the San Jose Sharks - idle since Sunday - visit the Anaheim Ducks. Goalie John Gibson's recent 35-save shutout of the Stars, his first blanking of 2022-23, was certainly impressive. Anaheim's No. 1 also hasn't managed to win two-straight all season (not even close). In fact, he was chased from the crease after 40 minutes by this very same San Jose club back on Dec. 9. Just laying out all the truths here.

Resources: Goalie depth chart | Injuries | Schedule | How to watch on ESPN+ | Sign up for ESPN Fantasy Hockey | Download the ESPN Fantasy App | Daily lines

All times Eastern.

7 p.m., Little Caesars Arena, Watch live on ESPN+

Are the Red Wings a little distracted by this week's drama involving forward Jakub Vrana? Wednesday's flat performance against the Devils - particularly in the latter stages of the 5-1 loss - suggests perhaps a little. They also might be a titch preoccupied with already looking ahead to Saturday's tilt in Toronto (Hockey Night in Canada!), at least subconsciously. The well-rested Panthers, coming off Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the Coyotes, need to start stringing together some wins, if they're to make anything at all of 2022-23. Both of these clubs are proven capable of giving up piles of goals on any given evening. Fantasy managers with stronger stomachs might want to side with the visitors in what could be a scoring fest altogether in Detroit. For record, Florida beat the Wings 5-1 back on Dec. 8, supported by a strong performance from Sergei Bobrovsky.

It's not too late to play ESPN Fantasy Hockey! Sign up for free and create your league before January 13 to start drafting players like Connor McDavid, Jason Robertson, and more! We've got you ready with helpful guides to short-season fantasy hockey:

Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets (68.1%): Unless coach Rick Bowness is throwing us some weird curveball with how he ran practice Thursday, we can expect the Jets to be back at full throttle up front against the visiting Lightning. After enduring absences of varying lengths, Blake Wheeler, Cole Perfetti and Ehlers all skated in Winnipeg's top six for the first time since October. Competing on a top line and power play with Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois, Ehlers likely feels extra hungry to get back at it after undergoing sports hernia surgery in November. Sidelined since mid-October, the 26-year-old winger should quickly add to his running total of three assists in only two contests.

Nick Schmaltz, Arizona Coyotes (40.7%): Against his old club in Chicago? A Blackhawks squad that surrenders goals with comforting regularity? Yes, I'm all over enlisting Clayton Keller's linemate in all forms of fantasy competition on this particular evening.

See also:

Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders (67.9%): If your fantasy league rewards blocked-shots, Pulock is doing a fair bit of that these days. Anchoring the No. 1 power play at present, the top-pair defender is also shooting on net and pitching in on offense. If standing to benefit from checking all those fantasy boxes, ensure he's in whatever lineup you've hustled together Friday, if possible.

Connor Ingram (projected), Arizona Coyotes (0.3%): Hear me out. There's no question the Coyotes are having a very bad, awful week on the road, but Ingram's (probable) start offers a fresh slate of sorts against a Chicago team that doesn't score and doesn't win. The Blackhawks have averaged 1.36 goals/game since Dec. 4. Even if Patrick Kane (lower-body) is healthy enough to go, he won't be his best self. There's no riper opportunity for Arizona - the better of the two teams - to turn matters round, while earning their No. 2 his second victory in as many games.

See also: