While Sunday is often all about the NFL with this weekend's slate justifying that enthusiasm, I'm not forgetting about the NHL. And you're reading this, so you obviously care about hockey. There are four games on the DFS schedule with the first one starting at 5 p.m. EST. Here are my Sunday lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Avalanche are hosting the Islanders and then every-other game features at least one team on the second day of a back-to-back with four of them playing each other and also the Lightning hosting the Canucks after visiting the Panthers on Saturday.
GOALIES
Scott Wedgewood, COL vs. NYI ($8,000): The Avs named Wedgewood as their Sunday starter quite early, maybe because he's 5-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .927 save percentage in his last five starts. The Isles have been decent offensively, though Colorado has only allowed 25.9 shots per game and boast a top-5 penalty kill. They're also the best team in the NHL, where starting in net for them often yields wins.
Jonathan Quick, NYR vs. DET ($7,600): The Rangers aren't doing a home-and-home as they played in Columbus on Saturday. That being said, Quick has been excellent in limited action by posting a 1.27 GAA and .950 save percentage through four outings. Neither of those numbers will probably be sustained, though he will be at home Sunday facing another team on the second day of a back-to-back. I figured I'd go with Quick over whatever healthy goalie goes for the Canucks against Tampa (probably Kevin Lankinen).
VALUE PLAY
Brock Boeser, VAN at TAM ($5,400): Boeser is on a four-game scoring streak with two three-point performances across his last 10 appearances. The Lightning, as noted, are the sole team that were in action Saturday going up against a rested team on Sunday. Andrei Vasilevskiy also started Saturday, leaving Jonas Johansson and his .891 save percentage for Sunday.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Wild vs. Golden Knights
Joel Eriksson Ek (C - $6,100), Matt Boldy (W - $7,000), Marcus Johansson (W - $5,300)
Minnesota gets to be at home for both weekend games while Vegas has to travel. The Wild started at 6 p.m. EST Saturday while the Golden Knights began at 8. Carl Lindbom will presumably be in net for Vegas on Sunday with a 3.29 GAA and .869 save percentage over four NHL starts. The Wild are also healthier with a couple viable lines, including this trio.
Kudos to Eriksson Ek for registering 12 points even though he's been quite unlucky with only two goals on 59 shots, including 38 from his last 11 games. Boldy has tallied 20 points, with nine of those coming with the extra man after at least 21 PPPs during each of the last three seasons. I'll also note the Golden Knights maintain a subpar penalty kill while both Boldy and Eriksson Ek appear on Minnesota's top power play. Johansson has usually been the veteran along for the ride in the top-six, yet has notched 12 points in his last 11 matchups.
DEFENSEMEN
Noah Hanifin, VGK at MIN ($4,900): Hanifin missed a large chunk of the campaign, but has returned and posted one goal, two assists, 17 shots, and eight blocked shots over six games. He's also skating on the second man-advantage, which works well for this matchup against a weak Minnesota penalty kill.
Devon Toews, COL vs. NYI ($4,700): I figured selecting a blueliner who didn't have to skate a full game on Saturday would be good. The Avs will be at home on Sunday with a better defensive team than the Islanders, so they have better odds of regularly getting on the scoresheet. Cale Makar is Colorado's star D-man, though former Islander Toews is no slouch while his salary is decidedly lower. He's also averaged 23:11 and doesn't have a goal even with 24 shots on net, yet has seven assists in his last nine outings.
