This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Sunday is the kind of day for the "evening" slate of games to start just a bit earlier. Why not drop the puck at 6:00 p.m. ET? That's what Winnipeg and Columbus are doing, giving us four games on the DFS docket. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Utah and Philadelphia are squaring off in a battle between two teams on the second leg of a back-to-back. Also, two teams that don't have their expected No. 1 goalie healthy. Then, the Jets are on a back-to-back against a rested team, but at home, while the Avalanche have to visit the Devils.
GOALIES
Jacob Markstrom, NJD vs. COL ($8,000): Markstrom started the season slow, but over his last 13 outings he has a .916 save percentage and 2.16 GAA. Colorado is above-average offensively, but not as high in goals per game as most expected. The fact the Avalanche are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, combined with an offense not scoring goals at the rate of the top quartile of the league, is enough for me.
Jake Oettinger, DAL vs. CGY ($8,200): It's been an up-and-down season for Oettinger, but all in all, he has a .911 save percentage and 2.45 GAA. The fact his teammates have limited opponents to 27.2 shots on net per game has helped. Calgary's offense has struggled to get things going, as it has managed only 2.56 goals per contest.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Kent Johnson, CBJ at WPG ($4,800): Since returning from injury, Johnson has seven points in eight games. He's also put 19 shots on net. Facing the Jets usually means facing Connor Hellebuyck, but that likely won't be the case Sunday. Unless the Jets ask Hellebuyck to start two days in a row, Eric Comrie will make a rare appearance. He has a career .894 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Hockey Club at Flyers
Barrett Hayton (C - $3,800), Clayton Keller (W - $6,800), Nick Schmaltz (W - $4,500)
It's not like Samuel Ersson is synonymous with Vezina-level play, but his injury has left the Flyers in a tough position. Ivan Fedotov is in line to start on Sunday. Through 10 NHL appearances, he has a .866 save percentage. Since both these teams are on the second line of a back-to-back and the Flyers are in the bottom eight in GAA, I'll stack Utah's top line in this matchup.
Having Hayton play between Keller and Schmaltz was a move made to get his offense on track. To that end, he does have four assists over his last five games. Keller has not lived up to his standards, but he still has 23 points in 26 contests. Only seven of his 62 shots on net have gone in. Once his shooting percentage is up around where it normally is things will feel more sorted out for the two-time 30-goal scorer. Schmaltz has had one of the wildest shifts in puck luck I can recall. He didn't score a goal over the first 23 games of the season. Now, he's scored four goals over his last three games. The thing is, he still only has four goals on 60 shots on net, so there's still room for improvement from the luck perspective.
DEFENSEMEN
Dougie Hamilton, NJD vs. COL ($6,500): Twice in his last four games Hamilton has had a goal and an assist. On both occasions, both points came on the power play. Hamilton is back to being the go-to guy with the extra man for the Devils, with 12 points total on that front. Colorado finds itself in the bottom eight in both GAA and penalty-kill percentage, and don't forget they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
Miro Heiskanen, DAL vs. CGY ($6,000): Heiskanen has eight points in his last eight games. That is despite the fact he only has three power-play points on the year. The Finn has averaged 3:17 per game with the extra man, right in line with what he has averaged the last two seasons. Last year he had 21 power-play points, and the season prior he had 34. Thus, if he keeps playing this much with the extra man I expect things to turn around. Maybe that will happen in this matchup, given that the Flames have a bottom-five penalty kill.
