Welcome to December! Monday features five games on the NHL schedule, with the first starting at 7 p.m. EST. Let's get a new month going! Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
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SLATE PREVIEW
Ostensibly, it should be a straightforward situation in net. Only one team is on the second leg of a back-to-back, and it is the Ducks who visit the Blues. Nobody is on the first leg of a back-to-back, so choices on the goaltending front for the rest of the teams will come down to what the team wants to do. With a team like the Sabres that may be murkier. With a team like the Mammoth you might as well ink Karel Vejmelka in already.
GOALIES
Dan Vladar, PHI vs. PIT ($7,900): I am not fully sold on Vladar, but he's now done it through 15 appearances. By "it," I mean actually play well at the NHL level, as he has a 2.43 GAA and .912 save percentage. The fact that Vladar is on a new team for this season lends credence to the idea this new level of performance may be legit. The Penguins have only managed 27.0 shots on net per contest, so the Czech netminder might not be too busy.
Yaroslav Askarov, SAN vs. UTA ($7,200): If you give Askarov a mulligan for a road game in Colorado, he's been on an absolute tear of late. Even including that loss to the Avs last Wednesday, the Russian netminder has an 1.88 GAA and .944 save percentage over his last 10 outings. Utah is mediocre offensively. It has averaged 2.96 goals and 28.7 shots on net per game. Hosting the Mammoth is not akin to visiting the Avalanche, that I can assure you.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Timo Meier, NJD vs. CLM ($6,600): Meier is on a five-game point streak. He's also notched 80 shots on net through 25 games. Meier's propensity to get pucks on goal is encouraging, as once again the Blue Jackets are porous defensively. Columbus has given up 30.8 shots on net per contest, and in the modern NHL that's in the bottom five.
Gabriel Vilardi, WPG at BUF ($6,100): On the surface, Vilardi's 19.6 percent shooting suggests that regression looms. However, over his prior three seasons Vilardi posted a mark of…19.5 percent. He's come by his 11 goals through 24 games honestly, and he's added 10 assists as well. Even with a penalty kill surprisingly in the top five, the Sabres are in the bottom eight in shots on net allowed per game and GAA. My takeaway from that is that we'll probably see the penalty kill drop off soon enough.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Blues vs. Ducks
Robert Thomas (C - $5,400), Jordan Kyrou (W - $5,100), Jake Neighbours (W - $4,200)
The Blues have struggled offensively, but it is still worth turning to them for a stack. It's not just that the Ducks are the only team on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Ducks have allowed 29.9 shots on goal per game and Lukas Dostal is injured. Former Blue Ville Husso was called up from the AHL as his temporary replacement. Why was a 30-year-old goalie in the AHL? Well, because he has an .894 save percentage over the last four seasons. This is an opportunity for the Blues, and their top line, to get right.
Thomas has been an 80-point player each of the last two seasons, so we know what he can do. He may only have 16 points through 22 games, but he's on a three-game point streak. Kyrou has had over 30 goals and 30 assists in each of his last three seasons, so maybe it's not surprising he has seven of each through 25 games. He's put 63 shots on goal, and his 11.1 shooting percentage is low for him so more pucks may be going in soon. Neighbours missed a long time with injury, but he has two assists in six games since returning. Before he got hurt, though, he managed to score six goals, and he's been a 20-goal scorer each of the last two campaigns.
DEFENSEMEN
Simon Nemec, NJD vs. CLM ($3,800): There is essentially no way Nemec sustains his 15.8 percent shooting, but 2022's second overall pick is having a breakout year nonetheless. He's playing a bigger role, having averaged 19:36 per game in ice time, and he's tallied 15 points. Nemec also has three points in his last five contests, so he isn't slowing down. Speaking of slowing down, Jet Greaves started the season well, but he has an .891 save percentage over his last 10 appearances.
Cam Fowler, STL vs. ANA ($3,200): Maybe Fowler will have a little extra juice playing against his former team. He was, after all, a Duck for 15 years. The veteran has 11 points through 26 games, but on 2.5 percent shooting that is low for him. Fowler also has six points with the extra man. I mentioned the Ducks' goaltending issues with Dostal hurt. They also have the 28th-ranked penalty kill.
