If you're a hockey fan, this was quite the weekend for you. Saturday was packed with action while Sunday is also rather busy with six NHL games on the DFS docket starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Minnesota and Calgary are not, though they play one another. Winnipeg is also rested, but has to travel to face an Anaheim side that won on Saturday.
GOALIES
Mackenzie Blackwood, COL at VAN ($7,700): Blackwood has fresher legs than most having only recently made his season debut. He had a resurgence after joining the Avs last season by posting a 2.33 GAA and .913 save percentage. The Canucks are bottom-10 in GAA and below-average in shots allowed. And Thatcher Demko didn't dress Saturday, so there's a good chance third-string goalie Jiri Patera receives a spot start.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at ANA ($7,500): The Ducks are at home and lead the league in goals per game. That's why I thought one might have issues selecting Hellebuyck. I would not. In addition to the strong chances of earning a win, he's been his Vezina-and-Hart self after a slight struggle with a 2.02 GAA and .929 save percentage over his last 10 starts.
VALUE PLAYS
Dylan Guenther, UTA at OTT ($6,700): Guenther's role has increased every season, and he's responded by producing at a higher level each time and is currently at six goals and seven assists. He's also maintained a sizable power-play and notched 29 points with the extra man last year. That's notable as the Sens have the league's worst penalty kill.
Victor Olofsson, COL at VAN ($5,600): Olofsson did decently with Vegas last season as he produced 15 goals and 14 assists in only 56 games. And he's already at 13 points in his debut with Colorado, including five while up a man. I noted Thatcher Demko is injured and probably won't play on Sunday and will also mention the Canucks maintain a bottom-five penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Jets at Ducks
Mark Scheifele (C - $7,700), Kyle Connor (W - $7,800), Gabriel Vilardi (W - $6,400)
Even though the Ducks saved Lukas Dostal for Sunday, I'm still happy to stack Winnipeg's top line. Anaheim will be on the second leg of a back-to-back with Dostal playing behind a tired defense while carrying a .904 save percentage that isn't imposing. All three of these recommendations also appear on the first power play while the Ducks are below-average on the penalty kill.
Scoring has been coming in bunches for Scheifele as he's already claimed seven multi-point efforts. Even though Connor hasn't yet potted a power-play goal, he's been his usual productive self with eight goals on 52 shots. Vilardi had a five-game point streak snapped and has gone scoreless during the last two, but still put seven shots on target.
Hurricanes at Maple Leafs
Logan Stankoven (C - $5,400), Jackson Blake (W - $5,600), Nikolaj Ehlers (W - $5,400)
The Leafs will be at home for this matchup. So why stack Carolina's second trio? Joseph Woll has missed the entire season, Cayden Primeau has been waived, and Anthony Stolarz started Saturday. That leaves Dennis Hildeby on Sunday, and he's posted an .890 through five AHL outings and an .872 across six NHL appearances last year. He also had to play half of Saturday's game after Stolarz got pulled. Taking the Canes' second line as I wanted to provide an option that would eat less into your cap.
Stankoven has four goals and three assists in his first full season with the club and multiple shots in 11 of 14 games. Blake recorded 17 goals as a rookie and seems to be taking a step forward by producing four goals and six assists with a substantive power-play role. Ehlers has found the scoresheet in three straight, but has still been unlucky overall with only two goals from 39 shots.
DEFENSEMEN
Miro Heiskanen, DAL vs. SEA ($6,000): Heiskanen has notched 12 points and 36 shots. He also logs lots of ice time while leading the point on the power play. With Joey Daccord out, the Kraken are set to start third-string goalie Matt Murray on Sunday. If that name rings a bell, it's because he was really good for the Penguins…from 2015 to 2019. Since then, he's posted an .899 save percentage while barely playing in the NHL the last three years.
Thomas Chabot, OTT vs. UTA ($5,60): Chabot has fallen behind Jake Sanderson in terms of role and attention, yet he's tallied nine points so far this season. Ottawa gets to be at home in this battle of teams on a back-to-back and started on Saturday significantly earlier than Utah. The Sens will also catch Vitek Vanecek on Sunday with his .887 save percentage the last three years.
