You've got to get your DFS lineups a little early on Sunday, but it's not too bad for the weekend with the first puck dropping on the main slate at 4 p.m. EST. And this way, you get five games for your rosters. Here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
We have a few teams on the second leg of a back-to-back, but notably only the Islanders and Kraken play each other. The Sharks are at home for both and host the Bruins. Colorado visits Chicago, though the Avs boast two above-average goalies. And the Flames, who are visiting the Canucks, saved Dustin Wolf for Sunday.
GOALIES
Kevin Lankinen, VAN vs. CGY ($8,000): The Flames are last in goals per game and will also be on the road for the second straight night. Lankinen is having a subpar season, yet lists 175 NHL career appearances that at least means he's generally been trusted. And that should be enough for this matchup.
Spencer Knight, CHI vs. COL ($7,000): How much do you believe in Knight's start or if the Avs will be affected having already been in action on Saturday? Given no netminder comes in with a lower salary than Knight, I'm willing to find out. He's also produced a .922 save percentage and a 2.47 GAA. I believe Colorado is the best team, though NHL clubs don't just steamroll through the regular season like in other sports.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Matt Boldy, MIN at WPG ($7,700): It's sad that Connor Hellebuyck has suffered a long-term injury, something the Jets have never really had to endure. I mentioned Lankinen's track record speaking to being at least a semi-competent goalie. Well, Eric Comrie is 30 with 83 NHL starts over 10 seasons and a career .898 save percentage. I'm not so sure he rises to that level. Meanwhile, Boldy has notched four multi-point efforts from his last eight outings.
Elias Pettersson, VAN vs. CGY ($6,600): Maybe Pettersson is ready to find his old form as he's currently on a five-game scoring streak with four of those netting two points. I know he'll be catching Dustin Wolf in net rather than Devin Cooley, but he's still facing a team on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back and it isn't like Wolf is playing Vezina-level hockey.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Bruins at Sharks
Pavel Zacha (C - $4,300), David Pastrnak (W - $9,000), Matej Blumel (W - $3,000)
The Bruins are struggling with health, depth, and talent, yet at least this line can claim a couple productive players. Yaroslav Askarov has saved the Sharks' bacon as of late, but this is a team that's below-average in penalty-kill percentage and bottom-5 for shots allowed. San Jose is also in action for the second straight day, which will make things harder for Askarov.
Zacha gets to skate with Pastrnak on the first line and power play while recording 17 points, 10 of those coming with the extra man. Pastrnak has watched his talented teammates either retire or move to other teams, though remains an elite scorer having potted 11 goals on 79 shots while adding 17 assists. Blumel has only made three appearances since getting called up from the AHL, and his future seems to be someone who'll bounce between the two leagues. That being said, he's getting to operate on the lead trio with some time on the main man-advantage.
DEFENSEMEN
Hampus Lindholm, BOS at SAN ($4,000): With Charlie McAvoy likely out for a while, Lindholm needs to step up his production and stay healthy. He's managed to be around for the last 12 games, where he's registered seven points and 19 shots. The Sharks, of course, are below-average across the board defensively and on the second day of a back-to-back.
Zeev Buium, MIN at WPG ($3,200): The Wild are easing Buium in. Call it sheltered minutes if you like, but the rookie is a third-pairing defenseman whose primary role is to quarterback the top power play where he averages 3:21 while delivering eight PPPs. The Jets maintain a top-10 penalty kill, though it may look very different without Connor Hellebuyck.
