This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Welcome to December! And welcome to a light NHL DFS schedule Sunday with FanDuel's main slate consisting of three games. The first puck drops at 3 p.m. EST. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
One team is on the second leg of a back-to-back, with the scuffling Canadiens on the road against the Bruins.
GOALIE
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at DAL ($7,200): When I saw Hellebuyck's salary compared to the other netminders, I thought he was worth it. You can have the reigning Vezina winner in your lineup for less than Elvis Merzlikins! Hellebuyck hasn't been a slouch this year with a 2.11 GAA and .928 save percentage. The Stars are top-10 in goals per game, but so are the Jets and Hellebuyck should be able to take care of business and earn the win.
VALUE PLAY
Kirill Marchenko, CLM at CHI ($6,500): The Blue Jackets are also surprisingly top-10 in offense. Marchenko has taken his game to a new level with nine goals on 58 shots alongside 14 assists. Though Petr Mrazek has posted a .911 save percentage, only once in the previous five seasons did he finish with a number better than .907 back in 2020-21 when he only made 12 appearances.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Bruins vs. Canadiens
Pavel Zacha (C - $4,800), David Pastrnak (W - $8,100), Morgan Geekie (W - $3,700)
As much as the Bruins' offense has struggled, this opportunity is just too good. The Habs are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and Cayden Primeau is in line to start in net. The 25-year-old has now made 53 appearances over six seasons with a 3.62 GAA and .887 save percentage. Wondering if age and experience have helped? Well, he's struggled to a 4.37/.846 line this season.
Zacha recently produced two goals and an assist against the Islanders. And that was the only time he found the scoresheet over his last eight outings, though his 8.8 shooting percentage should improve and he's averaged 3:34 on the power play. Even Pastrnak hasn't been immune from the Bruins' offensive issues with an 8.0 shooting percentage. He's directed 100 shots on net through 25 games and still has eight goals with 12 assists. Geekie has registered at least two shots in each of his last six games. He's actually had the worst luck of this trio with a shooting percentage of 5.7.
DEFENSEMAN
Alex Vlasic, CHI vs. CLM ($5,300): Vlasic and Seth Jones don't play from the same side of the defensive formation, yet Jones' injury did open the door for Vlasic to step up and get more power-play time. The 23-year-old has logged over two man-advantage minutes from each of his last two games while five of his nine points - all assists - have come during that situation. While the Blue Jackets have allowed fewer shots than last year, they're still bottom-10 in GAA and penalty-kill percentage.
