This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday was busy for the NHL, and Thursday will be as well. Wednesday is a little lighter, with four games on the docket. That's where my focus is. The first pucks don't drop until 7:30 p.m. ET. Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
One team is on the first leg of a back-to-back, the Avalanche, and that does matter. With Scott Wedgewood out, Trent Miner is currently the backup to Mackenzie Blackwood. If Miner starts Wednesday, that changes the landscape.
GOALIES
Mackenzie Blackwood, COL at CHI ($8,400): If Blackwood is in net Wednesday, he's the goalie I want to roster the most. One, he has a 1.93 GAA and .938 save percentage over his last 13 games. Two, the Blackhawks have averaged a mere 2.53 goals and 25.6 shots on net per contest. Of course, the fact this matchup is so favorable may lead Colorado to play Miner. Keep an eye out.
Darcy Kuemper, LAK vs. CGY ($8,200): Kuemper has a 2.22 GAA and .918 save percentage in 19 games for the Kings. He's played well, but Kuemper has also been helped by his teammates holding opponents to a mere 25.1 shots on net per contest. The Flames have been surprisingly poor offensively, sitting in the bottom eight in goals per game. They are, of course, also on the second leg of a back-to-back.
UPDATE: Wednesday's game between Los Angeles and Calgary has been postponed.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Casey Mittelstadt, COL at CHI ($3,900): Mittelstadt has a point in three of his last four games. He has a role on the top power-play unit, tallying 10 points with the extra man in 41 contests. With Arvid Soderblom struggling recently, which is to say regressing to his previous level of performance, the Blackhawks are now up to a 3.43 GAA.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kings vs. Flames
Anze Kopitar (C - $5,500), Adrian Kempe (W - $7,000), Alex Turcotte (W - $2,900)
This Los Angeles line features three members of the top power-play unit. That was the selling point to me. The Flames have a bottom-five penalty kill. They are also on the second day of a back-to-back. Give me three guys in line to play a few minutes with the man advantage in such a circumstance.
Kopitar has been held without a point in five of his last six games, but before that, he had 28 points over 21 games, so I think he will end up being just fine. The Slovenian also has 11 points with the extra man in 38 contests. Kempe has been hot, even if his center hasn't. He is on a five-game point streak. While he only has seven points with the extra man this year, he's hit 20 in each of the prior two campaigns. Turcotte is playing on the first line and getting power play minutes are two new-ish developments. The 23-year-old was the fifth-overall pick in 2019, though, and he has seven points in his last 11 games.
UPDATE: Wednesday's game between Los Angeles and Calgary has been postponed.
DEFENSEMEN
Jakob Chychrun, WAS vs. VAN ($5,600): Chychrun has been on fire. He has seven points and a whopping 20 shots on net over his last six games. Thatcher Demko has been hurt and Kevin Lankinen has been scuffling, and so now the Canucks find themselves with a 3.21 GAA, which is in the bottom 10 in the NHL.
Brandt Clarke, LAK vs. CGY ($5,000): Give me more of that Kings power play. Clarke has averaged 2:21 per contest with the extra man and has seven power-play points. He has five assists over his last nine games, and notably only one of them has come with the extra man. Clarke doesn't need the help of the man advantage to produce. He's also put three shots on net in each of his last two games. Although, my hope is for power-play success, what with the Flames' bottom-five penalty kill.
UPDATE: Wednesday's game between Los Angeles and Calgary has been postponed.
