This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Sunday's NHL main slate is a tiny one, with just the Hurricanes-Red Wings and Oilers-Coyotes games on tap after 7:00 PM Eastern time. Below, you'll find an overview of the matchups and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
All four teams are playing their second game in as many days. The Hurricanes will be heavy favorites against a Red Wings team that's allowing more goals than anyone in the league. The second game has the potential to be a defensive struggle with two of the league's top 10 defensive teams in action, but Edmonton's top-end skaters have the skills to overcome even the most difficult matchups.
GOALIES
James Reimer ($7,200) should get the start for Carolina after Petr Mrazek got the nod Saturday. In addition to letting up more goals than any other team, the Red Wings are also one of three teams scoring fewer than 2.50 per game, making this an ideal time to turn to Carolina's pedestrian backup on the cheap.
Mikko Koskinen ($8,400) watched Mike Smith start Saturday, but the Finnish netminder has established himself as the superior half of Edmonton's goaltending timeshare, with an 8-1-2 record, 2.42 GAA and .921 save percentage. His strong play should continue against Arizona's bottom-10 offense.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Conor Garland ($4,300) leads the Coyotes with 10 goals, and his 14 points are tied for second on the team behind Nick Schmaltz's 18. Given the 23-year-old winger's affordability, he's a low-risk, high-reward play against the Oilers.
Andreas Athanasiou ($4,900) was kept off the scoresheet Saturday, but he still has a 2-3-5 line over his past four games. At just $4,900, the talented Red Wings winger could pay major dividends for owners willing to take a flier on him.
Martin Necas ($3,800) has the potential to provide tremendous bang for the buck. His goal Friday was his second in the past three games, giving Carolina's 2017 first-rounder a 6-10-16 line through 23 games this season, yet he remains remains remarkably affordable ahead of an ideal matchup against the Red Wings.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Hurricanes at Red Wings
Sebastian Aho (C - $7,200), Andrei Svechnikov (W - $6,500), Teuvo Teravainen (W - $6,600)
These are the three highest-scoring forwards on the team, as Svechnikov leads the Hurricanes with 26 points in 23 games, Teravainen has 24 and Aho has 18. Aho and Svechnikov also share the team lead in goals with 11 apiece. Against a Red Wings team that's giving up more goals per game than any other in the league, this group of highly skilled forwards should shine.
Oilers at Coyotes
Connor McDavid (C - $9,300), Leon Draisaitl (W - $8,800) Zack Kassian (W - $4,400)
While the matchup against the league's stingiest defensive team is far from ideal, this line has the league's top two scorers on it, so leaving them out of your lineup can create a deficit that's impossible to make up elsewhere in such a small slate. Draisaitl leads the league with 49 points, while McDavid is hot on his heels with 48. Kassian brings an element of affordability to this line and can hold his own offensively with eight goals and 10 assists this season.
Red Wings vs. Hurricanes
Dylan Larkin (C - $6,900), Anthony Mantha (W - $7,100), Tyler Bertuzzi (W - $5,300)
If Detroit's going to pull the upset, expect the team's top line to play a key role, as the majority of the Red Wings' offense this season has been generated by this trio. They'll also benefit from facing Reimer, whose 3.07 GAA and .903 save percentage leave a lot to be desired. Mantha leads the team with 12 goals, 23 points and 92 shots in 25 games. Bertuzzi ranks second in both goals (12) and points (22), while Larkin is third on the team in both categories with a 6-10-16 line.
DEFENSEMEN
If you have the funds to spend big on defense, Dougie Hamilton ($6,700) is worth paying up for against the lowly Red Wings. He's second on the Hurricanes in points (23) and third in goals (nine), while remarkably leading the team in shots (73).
Filip Hronek ($4,500) ranks fifth on the Red Wings in points after the four forwards mentioned above. His 5-8-13 line is appealing for a $4,500 defenseman, making Hronek a nice stand-alone value play or an enticing part of a contrarian Red Wings stack.
Alex Goligoski ($4,700) leads all Coyotes defensemen in both points (11) and power-play points (four). Goligoski has outplayed fellow Coyotes blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson to this point, yet he remains the cheaper option of the two.
