This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The leftovers are gone the holiday weekend is almost over. Want one last thing to enjoy before you get back to business? Some DFS success could be just what you need! Sunday is not a busy day for the NHL. In fact, the three-game slate for DFS purposes starts at 5 p.m. ET. Even an earlier start than usual only grabs us a third game. Hey, let's make the most of it. Here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
It may be a sparse schedule, but at least it's straightforward. No teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back Sunday.
GOALIE
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. ANA ($8,300): No, I'm not overreacting to Skinner posting a shutout in his last outing. It's not a great day for goalies, though, and at least this matchup is good. Skinner is at home, and the Ducks have averaged 2.80 goals and 29.2 shots on net per game, making theirs the worst offense of these six squads.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Cole Perfetti, WPG at NAS ($4,500): Perfetti has taken a real step forward, having tallied 16 points in 19 games with a 15.0 shooting percentage that, while a major increase, is theoretically sustainable. He's also averaged 2:40 per game with the extra man and has a first-unit role on the power play. That's key to me here, as the Predators have a bottom-five penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Hurricanes vs. Blue Jackets
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C - $4,800), Martin Necas (W - $5,200), Andrei Svechnikov (W - $4,800)
The Blue Jackets, surprisingly, have a top-five penalty kill. And yet, they still have a 3.48 GAA, bottom 10 in the NHL. The fact Columbus has allowed 33.1 shots on net per contest and has substandard goaltending has played a role in that. I think it's more likely that the penalty kill declines than the GAA improves. Carolina's second line isn't necessarily reliant on power-play success, and I did still take that into account.
Kotkaniemi has gone cold after starting his season hot, but he still has six goals and seven assists in 19 games, only two of them coming with the extra man. He did have 18 goals and 25 assists last season, and that was in a smaller role. Necas also has six goals and seven assists, though he's been producing more recently. Also, he had 28 goals and 43 assists last season, so he's proven more viable offensively. Since returning from injury, Svechnikov has seven points in 11 games, all assists. He's put 22 shots on net, and a guy who has a 30-goal season to his name is obviously going to start lighting the lamp evently.
DEFENSEMAN
Zach Werenski, CLM at CAR ($5,500): Werenski has 15 points in 19 games, even though he only has one goal on 46 shots on net, and only one power-play point. As per usual, the Hurricanes have been elite at suppressing shot, but there has been a problem. Namely, Antti Raanta has an .854 save percentage, and thus a 3.47 GAA.
