Yahoo DFS Hockey: Sunday Picks

Yahoo DFS Hockey: Sunday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.

Sunday's NHL slate contains just three games. Despite the low amount of selection, there are still plenty of value plays to be found if you know where to look. Read on to find out who they are.

GOALIE

Reto Berra, ANH vs. BUF ($22): Berra's likely to start in place of John Gibson (upper body) and makes for a strong play at just $22 (if he plays). He posted a .950 save percentage in his only Anaheim appearance to date, so Berra will be a solid favorite to nab a victory with home-ice advantage against a Sabres team that comes into the weekend without a win.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. BOS ($36): Fleury's overpriced at $36 considering he posted a 3.02 GAA and .909 save percentage last season. Facing a Bruins team that's scored at least three goals in three of its first four games doesn't help his case.

CENTER

David Krejci, BOS at VGK ($13): Conventional wisdom suggests Krejci won't stay as cheap as $13 for long. He's topped 50 points in every season since 2008-09 with at least 48 games played and has displayed his usual offensive skills with nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game in a top-six role. Krejci already has one three-point effort under his belt already this year and could easily wind up with another one here given his combination of ability and opportunity.

CENTER TO AVOID

Brock Nelson, NYI at LA ($18): It's tough to justify paying $18 for Nelson given that he's averaging a mere 13:22 of ice time per game. Scoring will also prove difficult for him in this matchup against a Kings team that allowed the sixth-fewest goals per game last season despite missing starting goaltender Jonathan Quick for most of the year and now has him back.

WINGS

Josh Ho-Sang, NYI at LA ($13): Ho-Sang's tremendous talent has stuck out despite a limited role, as he's got three points in three games played. Los Angeles doesn't make life easy for opposing scorers, but the 2014 first-rounder has enough talent to earn a look at $13 even in this difficult matchup.

Tanner Pearson, LA vs. NYI ($13): Like Krejci in Boston, Pearson's criminally underrated at just $13. The 25-year-old winger has seen his goal and point totals rise in each of his first four seasons and appears to still be growing his game. It wouldn't be surprising to see Pearson improve on last season's 24 goals and 44 points, and a home date with an Islanders team that's off to a rough start defensively after allowing 2.90 goals per game last season looks like the perfect opportunity to grow both totals.

WINGS TO AVOID

David Pastrnak, BOS at VGK ($27): Pastrnak is hard to trust at $27 given his poor start at even strength. While Pasta does have a power-play goal, he's yet to put up a point at even strength and has a minus-5 rating. He's a talented player, but simply isn't in the elite tier implied by his price yet.

Jason Pominville, BUF at ANH ($16): Don't let Pominville's pair of two-goal performances entice you into overpaying for him. After scoring 24 goals in 153 games over the past two seasons, the 34-year-old winger is unlikely to make many more offensive contributions.

DEFENSEMEN

Derek Forbort, LA vs. NYI ($16): Forbort has earned his role on the top defensive pairing alongside Drew Doughty, racking up two assists and a plus-6 rating in over 21 minutes per game through three contests. The blueliner's lack of offensive contributions in his first full NHL season last year are keeping his price down for now, but it should start to rise in a hurry as Forbort's prominent spot in the lineup and extensive playing time have him in position to succeed on both ends. Grab Forbort for $16 while you can, especially in a game that his team's expected to win handily.

Brandon Montour, ANH vs. BUF ($16): Montour's taken advantage of an expanded role with Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm both sidelined due to shoulder injuries. He's skated at least 19 minutes in four of five games this year while launching at least three shots three times and adding a seven-block performance in addition to a goal and an assist. Montour's ability to contribute in a variety of categories gives him a high floor in addition to solid upside at just $16.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Griffin Reinhart, VGK vs. BOS ($16): Reinhart continues to be Vegas' most expensive defenseman despite failing to suit up this season. Until he emerges out of the Golden Knights' nine-man logjam on the blue line into a starting role, Reinhart doesn't deserve lineup consideration regardless of price.

Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF at ANH ($20): Ristolainen scored 25 of his 45 points last season on the power play, so a Ducks team that ranked fourth-stingiest on the penalty kill at 84.7 percent in 2016-17 represents a terrible matchup for him. The hulking defenseman still has a low floor due to his struggles in his own zone, and his minus-4 rating has a large risk of dropping even further here.

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. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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