Sunday has some NFL and a big MLB game, but there's still a bit of NHL action with two evening games starting at 7 p.m. ET. Onto the FanDuel DFS lineup recommendations!
SLATE PREVIEW
We have a battle of rebuilding franchises in the Ducks and the Blackhawks, with the latter at home. And the Bruins - who played in Colorado on Saturday - now have to travel to Utah. (Good luck handling the elevation!)
GOALIE
Karel Vejmelka, UTA vs. BOS ($7,800): Vejmelka was a proper workload-carrying goalie last year as he made 58 appearances while posting a 2.58 GAA. This season, he's started four of five games where he's registered a 2.00 GAA and .912 save percentage. In addition to being on the road for the second straight day, Boston ranks bottom-10 in goals and shots since the beginning of 2024-25.
VALUE PLAY
Cutter Gauthier, ANA at CHI ($5,800): Spencer Knight has been unexpectedly excellent for Chicago, yet the defense remains porous. That isn't surprising as the Blackhawks have allowed 31.0 shots per game going back to the start of last year while their current defense is even younger and less experienced. Knight's play aside, Gauthier has been aggressively getting pucks on net with three goals and 22 shots that makes his 13.6 percentage entirely sustainable.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Blackhawks vs. Ducks
Connor Bedard (C - $6,800), Tyler Bertuzzi (W - $4,600), Andre Burakovsky (W - $4,300)
Since the beginning of 2024-25, the Ducks are bottom-five in shots allowed and penalty-kill percentage. Maybe Joel Quenneville will shore things up even with his young roster, but what about Lukas Dostal? The hope was that he could step up for the Ducks, though that has been far from the case with a 3.39 GAA and .885 save percentage across three starts. The Chicago staff has taken the route of placing veterans on Bedard's wing, and it seems to be going well so far.
Bedard is only 20 and scored 20-plus goals and 60-plus points in each of his first two seasons. He's not Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini may end up being better, but he's easily progressing toward becoming a 30-goal, 80-point producer at a minimum. He's notched six points through six games and notably carries a plus-2 after only posting huge minuses. Bertuzzi was around Chicago last year and tallied 23 goals. He's recorded three points and 10 shots in his last two appearances. Burakovsky is new to the club and is hoping to have a rebound campaign after a couple ones affected by injuries and poor puck luck. He's previously reached the 20-goal mark twice and so far has two to go with two assists.
DEFENSEMAN
John Marino, UTA vs. BOS ($4,200): As noted, the Bruins are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back with Joonas Korpisalo projected to start. The 31-year-old netminder has been in the league for a decade while producing a career .900 save percentage. Mikhail Sergachev is the Mammoth's lead blueliner, yet he's been held without a point. Marino operates in a secondary role while picking up two assists and four shots from his last three games.
