We've been recently getting some solid Sundays of NHL action. And with some of that happening during the day, we'll be getting four DFS games with the first one starting at 5 p.m. EST. That means you'll have to submit your lineups a little earlier, but you know the drill if you usually play on Sundays. Onto my recommendations!
SLATE PREVIEW
Saturday is normally the NHL's busiest day, leaving us with five teams on the second day of a back-to-back on Sunday. The Hurricanes and Flyers are finishing out a home-and-home, so little advantage can be found there. Edmonton and Montreal also played Saturday. Seattle and Buffalo were both idle on Saturday and they'll facing each other Sunday. That leaves the Wild - who will be at home against the Bruins - as the only club that skated Saturday facing a rested opponent.
GOALIES
Brandon Bussi, CAR vs. PHI ($7,900): The reverse matchup happened in Philadelphia on Saturday, thereby limiting any advantage. The Hurricanes do get to be at home, which helps with matchups. That is relevant given that Carolina is once again primed to finish first in shots allowed. The Flyers are comfortably within the bottom-10 in generating shots. So it's more likely that Bussi will face closer to 20 shots than 30 on Sunday.
Alex Lyon, BUF at SEA ($7,300): Lyon has made the last two starts for the Sabres, but this isn't really about Buffalo's netminding options. It's about the opponent. The Kraken have only averaged 2.52 goals and 25.4 shots, making theirs arguably the league's worst offense. If Lyon gets the call again on Sunday, hopefully he can at least handle his business in this favorable matchup.
VALUE PLAY
Cole Caufield, MON vs. EDM ($7,200): With 17 goals through 31 games, Caufield is well on his way to back-to-back campaigns going over 30. He's also put 46 shots on net during his last 14. I was a little surprised the Oilers started the newly-arrived Tristan Jarry on Saturday, though that leaves Calvin Pickard for this road start on Sunday. Since leaving Colorado at the end of 2016-17, the veteran journeyman has posted an .887 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Bruins at Wild
Elias Lindholm (C - $6,000), Morgan Geekie (W - $7,100), Alex Steeves (W - $4,800)
The Bruins could soon change up their lines once David Pastrnak is ready to return to his usual role after recently returning from injury, but the current alignments show this trio is still together so I will stack them Sunday. The Wild do have one of the best goaltending duos, though Filip Gustavsson is the less-formidable one of that pair. Boston is also the only rested team facing a team that played on Saturday. And Minnesota is bottom-10 in shots allowed.
Lindholm has been on fire since coming back by racking up 11 points during his last seven games. Geekie has registered multiple points in eight of his last 16 with at least three shots 10 times. Steeves is a career AHLer who's already logged more NHL appearances this season (16) than the previous four with Toronto. And he's taken advantage of the opportunity with seven points from his last 10 outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF at SEA ($6,200): You aren't exactly pinching pennies by rostering Dahlin, but you can still get value adding him to your lineup. He's produced 25 points and 75 shots through 28 games while averaging 3:29 on the power play where he's notched 10 points. That's the best part of Dahlin's game and his best chance to justify his salary, which he's primed to capitalize on Sunday facing a Kraken squad listing the league's worst penalty kill.
Hampus Lindholm, BOS at MIN ($5,200): Based on the last recommendation, I wanted to make sure my second defenseman carried a more manageable salary. Lindholm scored a goal in Charlie McAvoy's return, perhaps a statement saying he's going to continue producing having recorded 11 points, 35 shots and 42 blocked shots in only 24 games. He'll face the Wild on the Sunday after they skated Saturday evening and are below-average in preventing shots alongside a mediocre penalty kill.
