This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The NHL action from a DFS perspective starts a but earlier than usual Sunday. Fortunately, it's the weekend. Hopefully you can handle getting a roster in for a night with a 6 p.m. ET puck drop. There are four games on the docket, and here are my DFS recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
This is a day heavy in teams on the second leg of a back-to-back, but they are squaring off in one instance. That would be the Canucks and the Canadiens. Otherwise, Dallas is visiting Minnesota (but Dallas played in the afternoon Saturday, but what that's worth) and Columbus (also a matinee contestant Saturday) is in New York to take on the Rangers.
GOALIES
John Gibson, ANA vs. SAN ($8,000): The Ducks had been alternating goalies, but then Gibson got a couple starts in a row. Lukas Dostal was in net for Anaheim's last game, so I am going to assume Gibson is starting Sunday. This is, of course, about the easiest matchup in the NHL. The Sharks have averaged 1.21 goals and 23.9 shots on net per game. If you do that over 14 contests, at any point in the season, you're a bad NHL team.
Jake Oettinger, DAL at MIN ($7,800): This is a bit more of a gamble, as the Stars are on a back-to-back and the Wild are not, and the Wild have been reasonably good offensively. However, because Scott Wedgewood started Saturday, Oettinger is the one in net Sunday. Already a goalie with a deserved reputation of quality, "Otter" has a 2.10 GAA and .933 save percentage through nine starts. With the options out there, at this salary I will take a shot at the elite, healthy goalie primed to start Sunday.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Mason McTavish, ANA vs. SAN ($6,400): It's early, but I could see this being a true step forward of a season for McTavish. As a rookie he had 17 goals and 26 assists. This year he's averaged 17:26 per game in ice time with six goals on 39 shots on net and eight assists through 13 games. His 15.4 shooting percentage is up from last year, but that could conceivably be improvement. Also, I could have probably skipped all that building up McTavish and just said the Sharks have a 4.43 GAA and have allowed 38.0 shots on goal per game.
Andrei Kuzmenko, VAN at MON ($4,600): If a guy can quietly score 39 goals, that's what Kuzmenko did last season. He only has three this year, but he has nine assists, and he still skates next to Elias Pettersson. Both of these teams are on a back-to-back, but the porous Canadiens defense is in the bottom five in shots on net allowed per game. That defense will be in front of Jake Allen, who has a .900 save percentage in four seasons with the Habs.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Rangers vs. Blue Jackets
Vincent Trocheck (C - $5,300), Artemi Panarin (W - $7,800), Alexis Lafreniere (W - $4,000)
This is straightforward. The Blue Jackets are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back against a rested Rangers squad. Elvis Merzlikins started the year with two good starts, which was surprising, but in seven outings since then he has an .879 save percentage. Given that he had an .876 save percentage last year, that feels telling. With Filip Chytil out, Trocheck is now centering the Rangers' second line, but there is no drop in production between those two, just an increase in age.
Trocheck has, in fact, been playing quite well. He's got from one point to two points to three points across his last three outings. Those happen to be the three games that Chytil has been out, and that may not be a coincidence. It helps to skate next to Panarin, who has a goal and an assist in each of his last three games. Remarkably, Panarin has yet to be held without a point this season. Even Lafreniere is getting in on the fun! He has a three-game point streak as well and had three points in his last outing.
DEFENSEMEN
Cam Fowler, ANA vs. SAN ($4,400): Fowler's four-game point streak ended a couple games ago, but in those two games without a point he's put two shots on net each time. The veteran has stuck around as the Ducks have rebuilt, and he shouldered a sizable load, having averaged 24:18 per game in ice time. Getting a lot of ice time against the Sharks, the NHL's worst defense, could pay off.
Erik Gustafsson, NYR vs. CLM ($4,200): Much as how Chytil's injury opened a door for Trocheck, Adam Fox's injury opened a door for Gustafsson. That includes Gustafsson taking over Fox's role on the top power-play unit. The defenseman has, yes, a three-game point streak, and the Blue Jackets will be starting a goalie with a career 3.14 GAA.
