This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
If you are feeling a sense of déjà vu this Groundhog Day, hopefully, the feeling is one of winning at NHL DFS yet again. This Sunday is busier than usual for the NHL – there's only one game on Monday – with six games on the slate starting at 6 p.m. ET or later. And now, onto the DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are five teams on the second night of a back-to-back. The Panthers and Islanders are playing one another in Florida. While the Rangers are at home, they are facing the Golden Knights. Lastly, the Red Wings are on the road against the revamping Canucks and the Flames will be in Seattle to face the Kraken.
GOALIES
Connor Ingram, UTA vs. STL ($8,200): For the last several games, the Hockey Club (hopefully, soon to be the Outlaws) has been rotating goalies. If that continues, Ingram is up next. I'd prefer Karel Vejmelka, but since returning from injury (and thus sparking the goalie rotation) Ingram has a 2.59 GAA and .906 save percentage in five starts. St. Louis has only averaged 2.69 goals and 26.8 shots on net per game, so Ingram will likely be hoping this is his turn in the crease.
Joey Daccord, SEA vs. CGY ($8,000): Since returning from injury, Daccord has a 2.25 GAA and .924 save percentage in 11 games, helping to pave the way for the Kraken to finally pull the ripcord on jettisoning Philipp Grubauer. The Flames are in the bottom eight in goals per game, which is enticing enough as is, but then you throw in the fact they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA vs. NYI ($5,400): Sure, the Panthers are on the second leg of a back-to-back, but so are the Islanders, and the Panthers are the ones who are at home. Also, the Islanders are the ones battling the Red Wings not to rank last in penalty-kill percentage. Verhaeghe's had some bad puck luck this year, but he's on the top power-play unit and has 15 points with the extra man in 53 games.
Matt Duchene, DAL vs. CBJ ($5,400): Duchene has been on a good run, notching 19 points over his last 17 outings. Seven times during that run he's had multiple points, and he could certainly do that again Sunday. The Blue Jackets have a 3.27 GAA, seventh highest in the NHL.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Golden Knights at Rangers
Tomas Hertl (C - $5,500), Pavel Dorofeyev (W - $5,800), Victor Olofsson (W - $3,700)
Beyond the fact that the Rangers are on the second leg of a back-to-back and the Golden Knights are rested, Igor Shesterkin started Saturday. That leaves Jonathan Quick, himself once briefly a Golden Knight, to tend goal. He has a 3.11 GAA and .897 save percentage in 16 appearances. Vegas has an impressive second line, though only two are hot at the moment. However, one is scorching hot.
That would be Hertl, who is on an 11-game point streak. That includes nine goals, but he's shot so much that his shooting percentage in that time is 25 percent. Now, that number is immensely difficult to keep up long term, but it's not so far from plausible as to indicate a harsh regression toward the mean coming. Dorofeyev's point "streak" is only two games, but over his last 10 games, he's tallied 13 points. The Russian has also been shooting quite a bit, notching 48 shots on target over his last 15 outings. Olofsson has not been as productive as his two line-mates, but he has three goals and three assists over his last 13 games, which isn't too shabby. Plus, on the season he has 19 points in only 31 games.
Kraken vs. Flames
Matty Beniers (C - $5,200), Jaden Schwartz (W - $4,800), Kaapo Kakko (W - $3,900)
Interestingly, the Kraken's top line features two one-time second-overall picks still looking to establish their footing in the NHL (even if Beniers won the Calder). More to the point, these three play together on the top power-play unit as well. The Flames have a bottom-five penalty kill and are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Dustin Wolf started Saturday, leaving Dan Vladar for this game. Vladar has a career .891 save percentage.
Beniers has rebounded a bit from his sophomore slump, though he still doesn't shoot as much as I would like. He has seven points in his last 10 games, though, giving him 29 points in 53 games. Beniers is also a +6 while playing the most minutes of his career, which is encouraging in terms of being able to trust him (not just me, but also the coaching staff). Schwartz has goals in back-to-back games, giving him 18 on the season. He's also put 47 shots on net over his last 17 contests. The Rangers effectively gave up on Kakko, but the Kraken gave him a better role, and he's rewarding them. His ice time is up almost four minutes per game with Seattle compared to New York, and he has 15 points in 20 outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Brandon Montour, SEA vs. CGY ($5,600): Hey, did you remember that Montour signed with the Kraken this offseason? I'll admit I haven't thought about him as much this year from a DFS perspective, but he has two points in each of his last two games, with a power-play point in each one as well. He still shoots quite a bit for a defenseman, putting 147 shots on goal through 52 games. The Flames are below average in terms of letting shots on net, and with Vladar in goal, that's precarious for them (and good for Montour).
Filip Hronek, VAN vs. DET ($3,800): Hronek will get a chance to face his old team Sunday. More than that, the aforementioned former squad is on the road for the second day of a back-to-back as well. Injuries (and perhaps the discord that has colored Vancouver's season) have tamped Hronek's numbers down after he had 48 points last season. Since returning from injury, he has five points in nine games.
