This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT and features six games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Five of these games are rematches from Monday's action, with the exception of Blues-Kings, as the meeting between those teams scheduled for Monday was postponed due to inclement weather. The game in Los Angeles is also just one of two games with an over/under of only 5.5 goals, tied with Canadiens-Jets for the low mark in what's expected to be a higher-scoring skate. The other four games (Canucks-Senators, Flyers-Rangers, Sharks-Golden Knights and Oilers-Flames) all have an over/under of 6.0 goals, with Vegas standing out as this slate's clear top favorite.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. SJ ($8,500): Fleury's the safe play in net against a Sharks team that's getting outscored 3.46 to 2.77 in the average game this season. He's 15-5-0 with a 1.77 GAA and .936 save percentage, and the Sharks have scored only two goals in three previous games against Fleury this season.
Thatcher Demko, VAN at OTT ($8,100): Demko's been nigh unbeatable lately, excluding a March 10 clunker against Montreal. That five-goal blemish represents his only loss in the past seven starts, while his other six opponents in that stretch combined for seven goals on 209 shots (.967 save percentage). Demko should get plenty of offensive support against the league-worst Senators defense, and even if he doesn't, the locked in goalie is capable of stealing a win anyway.
Cal Petersen, LA vs. STL ($7,300): Coming off consecutive tough-luck losses to the Avalanche in which he gave up just four goals on 85 shots for a .953 save percentage, Petersen's a high-upside value play at home against the reeling Blues. St. Louis is winless in its last four games, while the Kings will have no shortage of confidence in this one, having gone 4-0-1 in their last five meetings with St. Louis after dropping their first clash of the season.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Jakub Voracek, PHI at NYR ($4,100): Voracek has 21 points in 23 games overall and is currently playing his best hockey of the season. He capped a three-point night with the overtime winner Monday at Madison Square Garden and scored two points in the previous game, and Voracek's outburst on the scoresheet is a continuation of a strong stretch in which he has put at least three pucks on net in four of his last five games.
Tyler Toffoli, MON at WPG ($6,800): Just when it looked like Toffoli was slowing down with a four-game goal drought, he broke out again with two goals, and assist and six shots Monday in Winnipeg to bring his line to 17-9-26 in 28 games with Montreal. The savvy free agent signing has been particularly impactful in his last three meetings with the Jets, generating a 4-2-6 line in those three games while lighting the lamp in each. He's tied for second in the league in goals and is one of this slate's best bets to pot one.
Colin White, OTT vs. VAN ($3,800): White's 14 points in 27 games include a 6-2-8 line over his last 11, as the 2015 first-round pick has consistently been Ottawa's most dangerous option down the middle. Against a Canucks team that's allowing 3.19 goals per game — and the second-most fantasy points to opposing centers — White's worth a flier at just $3,800, even with Vancouver having improved defensively of late thanks to Demko's heroics.
Kyle Connor, WPG vs. MON ($6,200): Connor's coming off his second two-goal performance against the Canadiens this season, and Montreal has held him to fewer than three shots only once in five meetings. The Jets' leader in power-play goals with eight (and co-leader alongside Nikolaj Ehlers with 14 overall) should continue to exploit a Montreal team that has been solid overall defensively but struggled on the penalty kill at 76.2 percent.
Kailer Yamamoto, EDM at CGY ($4,600): Yamamoto's worth a flier pretty much every night as long as he's skating on a line with the league's two leading scorers in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He has a 2-3-5 line in his last six games, and the diminutive winger's capable of putting together extended hot streaks, as evidenced by Yamamoto's 11-15-26 line in 27 NHL appearances last season.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Canucks at Senators
J.T. Miller (C - $6,300), Brock Boeser (W - $6,700), Nils Hoglander (W - $3,900)
This line has a nice mix of productivity and affordability heading into a matchup with an Ottawa team that's allowing by far the most goals per game in the league (3.97). Miller scores the overtime winner Monday in Ottawa, giving him an 8-19-27 line in 29 games. The only Canuck with more points than Miller is Boeser (29), who also leads the team in goals with 14 in 32 games. Hoglander rounds out this line, and the industrious rookie has shown a bit of scoring touch with a 5-7-12 line.
Golden Knights vs. Sharks
Cody Glass (C - $3,400), Max Pacioretty (W - $8,100), Mark Stone (W - $6,900)
Only Ottawa gives up more goals per game than San Jose's 3.46, and Vegas' top line has more than enough skill to capitalize on this favorable matchup. Stone (10-23-33 in 25 games) leads the Golden Knights in points and ranks third in goals behind Pacioretty and Alex Tuch (13), while Pacioretty (14-13-27 in 26 games) leads the team in goals and ranks second in points. Chandler Stephenson has spent most of the season between these two, but the team is giving Glass a shot at that role now. Drafted sixth overall in 2017 with the first draft selection in franchise history, Glass is considered Vegas' first-line center of the future and has nine points in 21 games this season.
Rangers vs. Flyers
Ryan Strome (C - $5,100), Artemi Panarin (W - $7,100), Colin Blackwell (W - $3,100)
Even in wins, the Flyers have struggled to keep pucks out of their net, allowing three-plus goals in each of their last eight games and 18 goals over the last four. That includes four goals allowed to the Rangers in Monday's overtime Flyers win, during which this trio combined for a 2-3-5 line. Panarin has hit the ground running since returning from a three-week hiatus, with four points in two games back to give him a 6-16-22 line in 16 games overall. Strome's showing last year's 59-point campaign in 70 games was no fluke, as his 10-10-20 line through 27 games includes a 6-8-14 line in 13 games over the past month. Blackwell started in a fourth-line role but has earned more ice time with strong play and has a 6-4-10 line in 18 appearances, including a goal Monday against the Flyers.
DEFENSEMEN
Alec Martinez, VGK vs. SJ ($5,200): Shea Theodore's the flashy scorer on the Vegas blue line, but Martinez's all-around game has been just as effective in the fantasy realm, as he's averaging 10.2 fantasy points to Theodore's 10.3. Martinez is playing top-line minutes with Alex Pietrangelo (undisclosed) sidelined, making him the savvier — albeit lower-upside — play relative to Theodore.
Justin Faulk, STL at LA ($4,500): Faulk's defensive contributions give him a high floor, and he's more than capable of chipping in offensively to boot. He has 16 blocked shots over the past four games, and helpers in each of the last two have pushed the former 49-point scorer's line to 5-8-13 in 28 games.
Evan Bouchard, EDM at CGY ($3,400): You'll have to make sure Bouchard's in there before puck drop, but he's a potential sneaky value play on the blue line if he dresses in place of Tyson Barrie, who suffered a lower-body injury Monday. The 10th overall pick from the 2018 draft has shown plenty of offensive aptitude in limited action with multiple shots in all but two of his 12 appearances this season, including an eight-shot outing. Bouchard, who also has four points, would presumably be tasked with taking on some of the offensive duties vacated by Barrie should the latter sit.
Tarmo Reunanen, NYR vs. PHI ($2,500): Like Bouchard, Reunanen may not even dress, but he has upside if he plays. The 23-year-old Finn dished a helper in his NHL debut Monday, and he had been lighting it up at AHL Hartford prior to being called up with a 2-3-5 line through eight games. Reunanen's offensive capabilities should come in handy if top offensive blueliner Adam Fox doesn't come off the COVID-19 list in time to play Wednesday.
