This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
For you, "Palm Sunday" could be about having money in the palm of your hand for your NHL DFS success. Well, not literally. It's all digital these days. Still, DFS victory is the goal, and Sunday there are seven NHL games starting at 6 p.m. ET or later. Here are my recommendations for your lineups.
SLATE PREVIEW
Sundays are often populated with teams on the second leg of a back-to-back. Florida versus Philly and Edmonton against Ottawa both feature two teams in such a situation. The Panthers have the worst of that, being on the road for both games while the Flyers are at home for both. Plus, Philly plays a Saturday matinee, so it has extra rest time. Meanwhile, Calgary hosts a rested Buffalo, while the Maple Leafs and Lightning visit teams that didn't play Saturday.
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, SEA vs. MON ($8,100): Grubauer has been quite good as of late. Since returning from a lengthy absence, he has a 2.25 GAA and .924 save percentage in 11 outings. Both of these teams are in the bottom five in goals per game, but the Canadiens are on the road, and they have questions in goal Seattle, for now, does not.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF at CGY ($7,600): It's not the most-obvious time to recommend Luukkonen, given that he just allowed eight goals in a start. That was against the Oilers, though. The Flames are middling in terms of goals per game, and they also are on the second leg of a back-to-back after playing in Vancouver on Saturday. Besides, even with that disastrous outing, Lukkonen has a 2.15 GAA and .923 save percentage in 27 appearances since the start of 2024.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM at OTT ($5,600): Playing on the Oilers' top power-play unit is not a gift to Nugent-Hopkins, per se, as he is a talented player in his own right. That being said, his 104 points last year and 59 points through 67 games this year definitely were in part byproducts of all the time he spent on the power play with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Senators rank 31st on the penalty kill, so RNH and company will be looking forward to having the man advantage with added gusto.
Alex Killorn, ANA vs. TAM ($4,200): Killorn faces his old team in strong form. He has nine points, including seven goals, over his last 12 games. Notably, only one of those points has come on the power play. I note that because the Lightning are in the bottom 10 in GAA, but top 10 in penalty-kill percentage. Of course, being on the second day of a back-to-back, even the Lightning's penalty killing may lag.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kraken vs. Canadiens
Matty Beniers (C - $4,100), Jordan Eberle (W - $5,000), Eeli Tolvanen (W - $4,600)
The Canadiens have a 3.43 GAA and have allowed 33.0 shots on net per game, both bottom six in the NHL. Sam Montembeault has a .903 save percentage, which is poor and also would represent his highest save percentage over the course of a season. Montreal is also in the bottom six in penalty-kill percentage. The Kraken's top line is also the forward grouping for the first power-play unit, an added benefit for a stack.
Beniers has suffered from a sophomore slump, or at least a sophomore hit to his puck luck. An 8.9 shooting percentage has certainly hindered last season's Calder winner. He does have eight points in his last 16 games, though, over which time he has averaged 2:22 per contest with the extra man. Getting pucks on net is not hard against the Habs, and Eberle has tallied 50 shots on goal over his last 18 games. He's also tallied five goals and five assists on the power play over 65 contests. Tolvanen was on the third line for much of the season, but has earned a move up to the top line, and also an uptick in power-play time. He's averaged 2:39 per game on the power play over his last 11 outings, and he has three power-play points in that time.
DEFENSEMEN
Miro Heiskanen, DAL at ARI ($5,900): Getting to be the point man on the top power-play grouping for the Stars has taken Heiskanen to the next level. He had 34 power-play points has season, and has 18 this year. Now, five of his last six points with the extra man have come against the Sharks and Ducks, two of the NHL's worst defensive teams. That being said, the Coyotes are a fringey bottom-10 team in GAA and shots on net allowed per game, with a penalty kill that is that is a step above the woeful bottom five, but still decidedly in the bottom 10.
Brent Burns, CAR vs. TOR ($5,200): Burns doesn't shoot as much as he used to – he has 159 shots on net in 71 games – but he has five assists in his last five contests. Clearly, he can still contribute even if he isn't throwing 300 shots on target over the course of a campaign. The Maple Leafs are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and projected starter Joseph Woll has a 2.90 GAA and .909 save percentage.
