DraftKings NHL: Sunday Breakdown

DraftKings NHL: Sunday Breakdown

This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.

SLATE PREVIEW

To prevent a repeat of Saturday's matchup between Outdoor Ice and Mother Nature, the Devils-Capitals game was moved to early afternoon and the Bruins-Flyers game was shifted to the evening. We'll be focusing on the three evening games. 

Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but the outdoor ice gives me the creeps. Lake Tahoe is a remarkable venue. Nevertheless, the ice was bad and clearly slowed down two fast teams. It's tough for me to trust it for DFS purposes. Sportsbooks agree with me, as it's the only game with a 5.5 O/U -- a minimum in the NHL.

On the other hand, the Jets and the Canucks are offenses to target. In the month of February, the two teams have recorded the highest xGA/60 of any team, coming in at 2.91 and 2.65, respectively. 

All advanced stats are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

GOALIES

Jake Allen, MON at OTT ($8,000): For the second straight season, Allen is one of the top backups in the league. The 30-year-old hasn't let up more than three goals in a game, and he's accrued a .933 save percentage and a 4-2-0 record through six starts. The Senators have serious offensive lethargy, as they've scored two or fewer goals in six of the past eight games.

Tuukka Rask, BOS vs. PHI ($7,900): While I'm willfully avoiding many players from the Flyers-Bruins game, I'm interested in the goalies because of the lower O/U. Rask has been solid and nothing more this year with a .906 save percentage. However, the matchup is superb, as the Flyers rank 29th in the league with 1.85 xGF/60 at even strength in February.  

VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS

Nick Ritchie, BOS vs. PHI ($4,300): This is a solid price range to target Ritchie. He's been quite impressive this season, specifically on the power play. Eight of his 11 points have come with the man advantage, and Philly's PK (71.4 percent) makes this an appealing matchup.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, MON at OTT ($3,600): Kotkaniemi finally broke a long scoring drought Saturday against the Maple Leafs. The 20-year-old continues to handle a ton of power-play minutes, so try leveraging that against Ottawa's abysmal PK (73 percent).

Evgenii Dadonov, OTT vs. MON ($3,400): This matchup against the Canadiens is certainly discouraging, but Dadonov is still a superb value at this salary. He drives the offense on his line, and he's scoring on 15 percent of his shots. Montreal's PK (75.6 percent) is an exploitable weak spot for Dadonov, who rang up 11 power-play goals last year but has yet to notch one this year.

LINE STACKS

Canucks vs. Jets  

Elias Pettersson (C - $5,500), Brock Boeser (W - $6,000), J.T. Miller (W - $5,200)

The Lotto Line continues to generate chances with ease, and they're converting at a high rate with 4.72 GF/60 at even strength. Boeser is back to his elite goal-scoring ways, and while Pettersson is struggling a bit, he's still shooting a ton and he'll see upward trajectory soon enough. They're provided a great opportunity Sunday, as Connor Hellebucyk is receiving little defensive help at this point since the Jets rank last in the league with 2.91 xGA/60 in February.

Jets at Canucks

Pierre-Luc Dubois (W - $2,500), Nikolaj Ehlers (W - $6,700), Andrew Copp (W - $5,400)

It appears Dubois will return to the lineup Sunday. Head coach Paul Maurice hasn't confirmed that move, so check back not only to ensure he's activated but also to make sure this is his proper line. Nevertheless, his salary in this outing is too low to pass up. Dubious can drive the offense. He rang up 30 assists last year, and he would've hit 20 goals for a third straight season if the NHL didn't pause last year. This line has a chance to torch the Canucks, whose defense is barely better than the Jets.

Canadiens at Senators

Nick Suzuki (C - $5,000), Jonathan Drouin (W - $3,600), Josh Anderson (W - $5,500)

This line has accumulated 13 even-strength goals through the first 16 games, and they're in a bit of a cold spell going goalless over the last three contests. Buy the dip. Suzuki has elite upside. And the Canadiens are winning the Anderson-Domi trade. While Matt Murray has shown shutdown ability lately, he came back to earth in his last start. After all, The Senators rank 28th in the league with 2.51 xGA/60 in February.

DEFENSEMEN

Charlie McAvoy, BOS vs. PHI ($6,000): McAvoy is breaking out, and it seemingly flies under the radar. He's produced 12 points this year -- four on the power play -- and added 31 blocked shots over 15 games. His power-play usage is the most intriguing, as the Flyers' PK (71.4 percent) ranks 29th in the league.

Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. WPG ($5,500): We don't need to sell Hughes' talents anymore. He's spectacular, and he's comfortably in the top-3 of the Norris Trophy race. The 21-year-old has piled up 20 points -- 11 on the power play -- through 21 games, while piling on shots. Hughes is a worthy stack with other Canucks. 

Alexander Romanov, MON at OTT ($3,000): Romanov has flashed some remarkable upside this season, but his production has been limited to three points through 14 games. He plays a strong two-way game and should remain a lineup fixture. It's worth saving some salary cap to chase the upside against Ottawa's brutal defense.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Jordan Mazzara plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Mazz30 Yahoo: Mazz30 DraftKings: Mazz30.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jordan Mazzara
Jordan has produced NFL and NHL content for RotoWire since 2017. He's the beat writer for the St. Louis Blues and Seattle Seahawks.
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