This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Sunday we have five games on the docket, though the DFS slate starts slightly earlier than usual. Instead of your typical 7 p.m. ET start, we have a 6 p.m. ET start for the DFS contest slate. Here are some recommendations for your lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are two teams on the second leg of a back-to-back Sunday. The Kings are on the road in Columbus. Florida is at home facing the Kraken, but it has a goaltending question. Spencer Knight missed Saturday with an illness. If he can't go Sunday, Alex Lyon may be in net. We shall see.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. WAS ($8,100): Hellebuyck is having the best season of his career, posting a 2.24 GAA and .932 save percentage through 20 appearances. While the Capitals have arguably the greatest goal scorer of all time in the lineup, they haven't been producing offensively this year. Washington has averaged 2.83 goals per game, 27th in the NHL.
Karel Vejmelka, ARI vs. PHI ($7,600): My second goalie was going to be whoever had a lower salary between Vejmelka and Carter Hart in this one, and the answer is Vejmelka. He's at home, and while he has a 3.03 GAA, his .913 save percentage isn't terrible. Obviously, his defense has let him down, but that may not matter much in this matchup. The Flyers are last in the league at 2.36 goals per contest.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Andre Burakovsky, SEA at FLA ($5,500): With the Panthers on a back-to-back and possibly down to their third-string goalie, I wanted a Kraken forward. Burakovsky has been as good as anybody, leading the team in points with 26 and shots on goal with 69 through 26 games. He's also been hot, with 13 points in his last 11 outings.
Trevor Moore, LOS at CLM ($5,000): Though the Kings are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, I still like this matchup. It's not hard to articulate. The Blue Jackets have a 4.04 GAA and have allowed 35.8 shots on net per contest, both 31st in the NHL. Moore has 18 points in 30 games, but what I really like is how active he's been. The 27-year-old has 96 shots on goal.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Blue Jackets vs. Kings
Jack Roslovic (C - $3,200), Patrik Laine (W - $6,600), Yegor Chinakhov (W - $2,500)
All that being said, this matchup is even better for the Jackets than the Kings. Los Angeles is on the second leg of a back-to-back, with a dire goaltending situation to boot. Jonathan Quick has a 3.42 GAA and .887 save percentage. He's not likely to turn it around, given that he has an .899 save percentage over the last five seasons. The Blue Jackets have tweaked the lineup a bit, and this has been the second line recently.
Roslovic has four points in his last five games. Also, more luck should be coming his way. He only has a 2.8 shooting percentage one season after he scored 22 goals with a 16.8 shooting percentage. Why has Roslovic picked it up recently? Well, having Laine by his side helps. Since returning from injury, the Finn has five goals and an assist in five games, plus 23 shots on net. Chinakhov has 13 points in 25 games, which means he's almost matched his point total from his rookie campaign. He also has an assist in back-to-back outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Aaron Ekblad, FLA vs. SEA ($6,400): Since returning from injury, Ekblad has 11 points and a whopping 44 shots on goal through 14 games. He's also averaged over four minutes a night on the power play and has seven power-play points this season. While the Panthers are on a back-to-back, the Kraken have a bottom-five penalty kill. Also, Marcus Jones has slipped to the point where he has an .888 save percentage this season.
Marcus Bjork, CLM vs. LOS ($3,600): Bjork was called up when Zach Werenski went down, and he's stepped into a larger-than-expected role. He has six points in 13 games this season. Additionally, over his last 10 games he's averaged 3:32 per contest with the extra man. On top of everything else, the Kings have a bottom-eight penalty kill.
