This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Sunday is all about selection. I speak, of course, of your selections for your NHL DFS lineups. There are five games included on the slate, with the first puck dropping at 6 p.m. EDT. Here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Four of the five games feature a team on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Blues have it the easiest as they are at home against the Ducks. Vancouver is also at home facing Utah. The Panthers fall somewhere in between as they are on the road, but facing the Islanders. And though the Rangers are at home, they're in the trickiest situation against the Oilers.
GOALIES
Karel Vejmelka, UTA at VAN ($7,300): Vejmelka has shouldered a hefty load, and he's been able to get through it with a 2.49 GAA and .908 save percentage. The Canucks are 31st in shots and just played Saturday. Vejmelka only faced 21 shots in each of his last two starts, and that should be about where things end up on Sunday.
Lukas Dostal, ANA at STL ($6,900): Over his last 12 outings, Dostal has a .920 save percentage and 2.59 GAA. He faces a lot of pucks and gets little offensive support, though his personal performance is worth a shot at this salary. That's especially true given that the Blues are playing their second game in as many days. St. Louis may be outside the bottom-10 in goals, but just barely.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Zach Hyman, EDM at NYR ($6,900): Hyman's only gotten on the scoresheet once from his last seven outings, yet he notched two goals and assist in that one. He's at 22 goals on the year and still gets to skate next to Connor McDavid during all attacking situations. Igor Shesterkin started Saturday, leaving Jonathan Quick for Sunday. The 39-year-old netminder may have decided not to retire at the end of last season, but he's still posted a 3.14 GAA and .896 save percentage.
Anders Lee, NYI vs. FLA ($4,900): Lee remains steady as it comes as he's already registered his eighth straight 20-goal season (not counting the COVID-19 one). He's also put 40 shots on net across 14 games. The Panthers started Sergei Bobrovsky Saturday. And with Spencer Knight now in Chicago, Vitek Vanecek is Florida's backup and carries a career .901 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Jets at Kraken
Mark Scheifele (C - $6,600), Kyle Connor (W - $7,900), Gabriel Vilardi (W - $6,700)
I saw the Kraken sitting there with a bottom-10 3.21 GAA and was surprised for a moment. My assumption was that it was Philipp Grubauer's fault. Not quite! Joey Daccord started the season well, but has a 3.45 GAA and .885 save percentage over his last 11 starts. The Jets' first line is not cheap from a salary perspective. However, I thought there might be a chance this matchup and stack would get overlooked. These three players are hot and all happen to play together on the top power-play unit. The Kraken maintain a below-average penalty kill, and Daccord certainly hasn't been helping out on that front as of late.
This could end up being the best season of Scheifele's career with 35 goals and 40 assists so far, including 23 points with the extra man. Connor has racked up 24 points through his last 17 alongside 59 shots. He's also hit the 30-goal mark in every full season of his career and should get to 40 for the second time before the season is done. Vilardi was only held back during his first season as a Jet by being limited to 47 games. He's accumulated 61 points, with 25 of those on the man-advantage.
DEFENSEMEN
Jake Walman, EDM at NYR ($5,300): Walman hasn't wasted any time making an impact for his new club with two assists, 11 shots, and eight blocked shots across four games. The Rangers, on the second leg of a back-to-back, are bottom-five in shots allowed. That's not a good thing with Jonathan Quick in net. Unless, of course, you're an Oiler.
Jackson LaCombe, ANA at STL ($4,000): LaCombe needs to start shooting again with only two on net over his last seven outings. The good news is he's produced five assists during that time. The young defenseman emerged once Cam Fowler was dealt to the Blues and is currently at 35 points. LaCombe also participates on the lead power play while St. Louis is bottom-five in penalty-kill percentage.
