FanDuel NHL: Sunday Value Plays

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Updated on January 15, 2017 11:47AM EST

GOALIE

Devan Dubnyk, MIN at CHI ($9,600) – There are no sure wins on Sunday's slate, so it makes sense to just take the best goalie available, and indubitably that's Dubnyk. The Blackhawks are a tough matchup, even though they're just coming out of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of the Caps, and have two of the league's elite scorers in Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin. Dubnyk has allowed just two goals in his past two games but even if he implodes, the Wild have a balanced attack that could take advantage of a top-heavy Blackhawks defense.

WINGERS

Patrick Kane, CHI vs. MIN ($8,600) – The Blackhawks are at home so they should be able to make use of the last change to keep Kane away from Ryan Suter, even though there's really nobody in the league that can contain Kane. Prior to a shutout loss to Washington, Kane was on a four-game point streak with a goal and seven assists.

Artemi Panarin, CHI vs. MIN ($7,700) – Even if Artem Anisimov (illness) can't play Sunday, Panarin and Kane are still the best pair of wingers available. No disrespect to Anisimov, but Kane and Panarin don't need a bona fide center to rack up the points, as their ability to create their own shot is what separates them from the other scorers in the league. Nick Schmaltz has been called up from AHL Rockford and is the most likely candidate to fill in on that line, with Tanner Kero as the possible second option. Schmaltz, 20, has scored just four points in 26 games with Chicago this season but has plenty of offensive upside.

Vladimir Tarasenko, STL at ANH ($8,500) – John Gibson is totally outmatched by Tarasenko. The Ducks' defense is solid with Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm, but none can contain Tarasenko one-on-one. The Ducks' penalty kil ranks 13th in the league, which may provide a further boon to Tarasenko's scoring opportunities.

Jaden Schwartz, STL at ANH ($5,600) – There was a time when Schwartz and Tarasenko played on the same line, but now that they play together rather infrequently, it has allowed both to flourish. Schwartz doesn't have the same offensive upside, but does get easier matchups because Tarasenko often faces the opposition's top pair. Injuries have robbed him of some of his prime years, but he has 24 points in 39 games this season and will be looking to extend his point streak to four games against a shaky John Gibson.

CENTER

Ryan Kesler ANH vs. STL ($7,200) – With three goals in his past four games and 18 in 45 this season, Kesler is poised to have his best statistical campaign since 2011, when he scored 41 goals and won the Selke. No other center is dominating the same way as Kesler at both ends of the ice, and the Blues lack the depth at center to occupy his time with defense or keep him in check on offense.

Bo Horvat, VAN vs. NJ ($5,300) – The Canucks' future captain leads the team with 30 points and has been unstoppable of late with three goals and two assists in his past five games. His straight-ahead style gets the job done and it's getting hard for the stubborn Willie Desjardins to keep sheltering him from tougher competition. Horvat's played over 20 minutes in each of his past two games and is easily their best center right now with Henrik Sedin quickly declining and Brandon Sutter showing little on offense.

DEFENSE

Colton Parayko, STL at ANH ($5,400) – After failing to score a single goal in the 2016 portion of the season, Parayko scored on his 101st shot of the season, then followed up four nights later with his second goal and an assist. He has a favorable matchup against a team that sometimes has discipline issues and suffers from shaky goaltending.

Troy Stecher, VAN vs. NJ ($4,600) – He continues to share top power-play duties even though Alex Edler has returned, and has scored three assists in his past three games. There's a notion that Stecher, who is just one year removed from the NCAA, may start to wear down with the amount of minutes he's playing and the pressure he has to handle, but so far he's yet to cave. With Ben Hutton (upper body) out of the lineup, there's been even more pressure, but also more opportunities for Stecher to shine and show what he can do.

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