Sure, some of the NHL's lesser lights are in action Monday, but there are five games on the slate and plenty of DFS opportunity. The first puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST, giving you a little extra time to get your lineups in. Here are Monday's NHL DFS lineup recommendations for you. Good luck. After all, you might still need to get some holiday shopping done (especially if you're buying Hanukkah gifts, clock's really ticking there).
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SLATE PREVIEW
No team is on the second leg of a back-to-back. Two teams are on the first leg, but the Sabres' goaltending situation isn't a concern on that front. The Lightning's goalie situation is a concern, but usually Andrei Vasilevskiy gets the first leg, so he will probably start against Toronto and leave Jonas Johansson for Montreal on Tuesday. [EDITOR NOTE: Vasilevskiy landed on IR on Monday, which likely gives Johansson the front end of the back-to-back.]
GOALIES
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. BUF ($8,200): The Sabres have a below-average, but not bad, offense, compared to the Flames who sit last in goals per contest. However, Calgary is at home, and Wolf seems to have rounded into form. Over his last eight outings he has a 2.16 GAA and .914 save percentage. Plus, on the season all his struggles have come on the road. In Calgary, the netminder has an 1.91 GAA and .932 save percentage.
Filip Gustavsson, MIN at SEA ($8,100): The Wild have been rotating starts, and it's Gustavsson turn. He started the season slowly, but perhaps helped in part by not having to start as often, the Swede has a 2.25 GAA and .919 save percentage over his last 10 outings. The Kraken's drafting decisions in the early years of the franchise have helped create a situation wherein the team may have the NHL's worst offense. They sit in the bottom three in both goals and shots on net per game, the only team that came make that disappointing claim.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Nazem Kadri, CGY vs. BUF ($6,100): I did not envision a world wherein I would be double-dipping on Flames for DFS recommendations, but here we are. Buffalo sits in the bottom eight in both GAA and shots on net allowed per game, so this trip to Calgary could benefit Kadri. He could use the help, because while he's been doing his best to bolster the Flames' offense, he's been remarkably unlucky. Kadri has 23 points and 99 shots on net through 30 games. The thing is, he has just five goals. Kadri's shooting sits at 5.1 percent. Now, by no means is he one of the NHL's elite shot converters, occasionally finishing seasons with single-digit shooting percentages. He still has a 10.4 percent shooting rate over the last five campaigns, including this one, so that puck luck will almost assuredly improve.
Mats Zuccarello, MIN at SEA ($5,200): When there are only five games I don't always have multiple one-offs for you, but this time I do. Zuccarello missed the start of the season with an injury, but in 14 games since returning he has 12 points. He's also averaged 3:44 per contest with the extra man. Zuccarello's traditional heavy role on the Minnesota power play is what I like here, as the Kraken have the league's worst penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Red Wings at Canucks
Andrew Copp (C - $2,900), Alex DeBrincat (W - $7,600), Patrick Kane (W - $5,600)
The Canucks are in the running for worst defensive team in the NHL. They have the highest GAA, a bottom-five penalty kill, and are in the bottom eight in shots on net allowed per game. While this is Detroit's second line, two of them are on the top power-play unit.
Copp has gotten on the scoresheet in each of his last two games, and he's put three shots on net in each of those games as well. Also, while he only has two goals, his 5.7 percent shooting has a lot of room for improvement. DeBrincat is proof of how puck luck doesn't stay bad forever. He couldn't score at all to start the season, but now he has 14 goals on 105 shots on net, and he's added 16 assists for good measure. Since returning from injury, Kane has 14 points in 15 games. That includes six power-play assists, but no goals. His shooting over that stretch is 6.1 percent, so he too should get some positive movement toward the mean.
DEFENSEMEN
Brock Faber, MIN at SEA ($4,600): Zeev Buium's whole job was to run the point on the power play, so he should probably be concerned that as of late Faber has been on the top power-play unit. He was already, of course, the top defenseman the Wild have. Faber, who is still only 23, has 15 points in 29 games. Additionally, in four of his last seven games he's put at least three shots on net. That kind of activity, plus an opportunity against the Kraken's league-worst penalty kill, bodes well.
Simon Edvinsson, DET at VAN ($3,500): Now that Edvinsson is back healthy, there is a Red Wings defenseman you can roster in a good matchup that saves you some salary compared to Moritz Seider. Since returning, the big Swede has averaged 23:41 per game in ice time and has three points and seven shots on net in five contests. He doesn't play on the power play at all, but the Canucks don't have a 3.59 GAA just because of their poor penalty kill.
