This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Sunday is usually not a busy day for the NHL, but in the throes of football season, it's fairly wise to steer clear (save for the Canadian teams). Only two NHL games take place Sunday night. They both start at 8 p.m. ET. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No back-to-back situations in any sense here. However, we have two home teams in the rebuilding phase in San Jose and Anaheim. These remain, in theory and so far in practice, favorable matchups.
GOALIE
Alexandar Georgiev, COL at SAN ($8,000): Georgiev has struggled. He's been bad, there is no other assessment to come away with. However, this matchup still appears to be as good as it gets in the NHL. Since the start of last season, the Sharks have averaged 2.20 goals and 25.3 shots on net per game. San Jose is winless in five games this season. If Colorado doesn't win here, panic buttons will be hit in the Mile High City.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Tyler Toffoli, SAN vs. COL ($6,100): Instead of going after the Stanley Cup, journeyman forward Toffoli went to San Jose to get paid and have a major role. He has four goals and two assists through five games. While his 33.3 shooting percentage will regress, he's coming off back-to-back 30-goal seasons. I did say Georgiev has been playing poorly – he has allowed at least three goals on five occasions. The Avalanche should win and Georgiev should be able to hold the Sharks to three goals or fewer, but Toffoli has a good chance of getting on the score sheet.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kings at Ducks
Phillip Danault (C - $4,300), Kevin Fiala (W - $6,800), Trevor Moore (W - $5,600)
The Kings have opened the season on a lengthy road stretch, but at least Anaheim is pretty close to home. Also, Anaheim is the home of a Ducks team with questionable defense. Lukas Dostal did have a shutout in his first start, but it was against the Sharks. In his last two outings, he's allowed four goals each time. Just as concerning, Dostal has faced at least 30 shots in all three of his starts. In the one game he didn't play, James Reimer faced 32 shots. The Ducks are looking porous defensively, and this trio for Los Angeles can take advantage.
Danault is off to a slow start, with only one point in five games, but he'll pick it up. In each of his last five full NHL seasons, he's had between 47 and 54 points, so we kind of know where we can expect Danault to land when all is said and done. Plus, he's on the top power-play unit right now, which helps. Fiala is good at throwing shots on net with 19 of them already. The Swiss forward already has three goals, but because he shoots so much, his 15.8 shooting percentage is entirely sustainable. He's been productive, but not overly lucky. Last season, Moore broke through with 31 goals on 227 shots on net. He only has one goal this year, but he's put 16 shots on target, and his 6.3 shooting percentage is likely to improve.
DEFENSEMAN
Samuel Girard, COL at SAN ($3,900): Girard picked up two assists against Vegas in Colorado's opener, but he has been held pointless since. That may change Sunday. Devon Toews missed the last game for the Avalanche, and Girard skated 24:28 of that game playing next to Cale Makar on the top pairing. Since the start of last season, the Sharks have a 3.99 GAA and have given up 35.1 shots on net per contest – the highest in the NHL.
