This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
It's an early start on Sunday, but also a larger selection than usual to close out the weekend with seven games and the first pucks dropping at 5 p.m. EST. That means you have some rosters to sift through to land on your NHL DFS lineups. To help with that, here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Due to the league taking off three days for Christmas, it's been busy of late and back-to-backs have been plentiful. Nine of Sunday's 14 teams are playing for the second straight day with six going head-to-head and the Penguins-Islanders finishing up a home-and-home. The three clubs taking on a rested team are all on the road. In increasing order of intrigue, we have Washington in Detroit, Ottawa in Minnesota, and Calgary in Vegas.
GOALIES
Ilya Samsonov, VGK vs. CGY ($7,900): The Golden Knights tabbed Samsonov for a rare start Sunday fairly early, and it makes sense. Why not get him in the crease in a favorable situation? The Flames are bottom-10 in goals and also played on Saturday. Though Samsonov has only appeared three times during December, he's won them all while making 60 saves on 65 shots.
Filip Gustavsson, MIN vs. OTT ($7,600): Gustavsson has looked strong in two starts since returning, which is encouraging and makes me think that maybe his two poor outing prior to that were due to his injury. On the season, he's posted a 2.26 GAA and .922 save percentage. The Senators may be average in terms of goals, but they're also on the road for the second day of a back-to-back.
VALUE PLAYS
Alex DeBrincat, DET vs. WAS ($6,300): The Wings have been bad offensively this year. I don't want to stack a Detroit, even if they're at home, rested, and facing a team on a second consecutive day. That being said, a chance to play at home against a tired squad is often a recipe for success, and this game starts at 5 p.m. EST with the Caps getting even less time to recuperate. DeBrincat's goal scoring has tapered off, yet he's at 25 points overall with 60 shots across his last 20 games.
Mats Zuccarello, MIN vs. OTT ($6,200): The day-to-day nature of Kirill Kaprizov's availability makes a Wild player combo slightly risky, but I do want a piece of this matchup. I've already mentioned Ottawa's back-to-back situation multiple times, and they're also down their top two goalies. Leevi Merilainen, with an .864 save percentage from four NHL starts, is in line to start. And since returning from his own injury, Zuccarello has notched six points in seven games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Golden Knights vs. Flames
Jack Eichel (C - $8,400), Mark Stone (W - $7,900), Victor Olofsson (W - $6,300)
I considered Vegas's second or third trio as Eichel and Stone carry hefty salaries. Ultimately, I concluded that sometimes it's worth it to shell out and then figure it out from there. Like, say, if you're facing a club on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back with a bottom-five penalty kill and a goalie with an .886 save percentage set to start. All three players also participate on the top power play, which should make you feel even better about this stack.
Eichel has racked up 47 points and 100 shots and will record his first 100-point campaign if he can stay in the lineup. He's also averaged 3:00 on the man-advantage with 13 PPPs. Stone's already out of the running for a healthy season, though that's business as usual. And since coming back from his latest absence, he's tallied nine points through eight matchups. Olofsson has actually missed more time than Stone, but he's adjusted to life with Vegas well with four goals and five assists over his last nine outings.
Kings vs. Flyers
Phillip Danault (C - $5,100), Kevin Fiala (W - $5,900), Alex Laferriere (W - $5,800)
Both teams are finishing up a back-to-back, but both played matinee games Saturday and this one isn't until 9 p.m. EST. The Kings get to be at home for both, so this is relatively manageable for them. And so is their opponent with the Flyers listing a 3.58 GAA and Aleksei Kolosov holding an .878 save percentage. Though this is the Kings' third line, I still like them for this stack.
After missing one game, Danault returned Saturday and picked up an assist to give him five points in his last six outings. Fiala has potted 13 goals overall to go with 92 shots while frequently directing at least three pucks on net and the only one from this trio who skates on LA's lead power play. Laferriere is taking a step forward during his second season as he's already at 13 goals and 12 assists that's exceeded his rookie totals. The 23-year-old is also shooting a lot more with at least four during four of his last five games.
DEFENSEMEN
Lane Hutson, MON at TAM ($5,700): The Canadiens beat the Panthers early on Saturday, so Hutson's 20-year-old legs will hopefully be good to go Sunday. He didn't post a point in the win, but it was only the second time in 14 days the rookie has failed to find the scoresheet. And Montreal will get Jonas Johansson and his career .889 save percentage in the opposing net.
Noah Hanifin, VGK vs. CGY ($5,400): Shea Theodore has been the star of the show for the Vegas blueline, but don't forget about Hanifin. He's certainly been trying to stick in our minds of late with five points over his last six matchups. Even if the former Flame likely won't log much power-play time, he'll get to face Dan Vladar and his career .892 save percentage.
