This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL featured slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EST and includes five games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Calgary-Toronto is clearly the game to target for offense, as it has an over/under of 6.5 goals while each of the other games comes in at 5.5 in what's expected to generally be a low-scoring slate. Colorado is the largest favorite at home against Minnesota, while the Blues (vs. Los Angeles), Coyotes (vs. Anaheim) and Maple Leafs are all clear favorites in their respective matchups and the Rangers are modest underdogs in Philadelphia.
GOALIES
Darcy Kuemper, ARI vs. ANH ($8,000): Kuemper wasn't at the top of his game in Monday's 4-3 win over the Ducks but still escaped with a win. Given his 2.33 GAA and .915 save percentage this season, Kuemper's likely to perform better in this rematch with a league-worst Ducks offense that's averaging 1.89 goals per game.
Philipp Grubauer, COL vs. MIN ($8,500): Grubauer has been outstanding between the pipes for Colorado, with a 9-4-0 record, 1.78 GAA and .932 save percentage. He's favored to pick up another win here against a Wild team that has mustered just two goals on 48 shots against him this season in a pair of victories for the German.
Igor Shesterkin, NYR at PHI ($7,600): The Rangers may not provide much goal support for Shesterkin with Artemi Panarin (personal) taking a leave of absence from the team, but he likely won't need much given his recent play. Only one of Shesterkin's last seven opponents has scored more than two goals, and his season GAA and save percentage now sit at 2.23 and .922 despite a lackluster 4-5-1 record. He has a nice opportunity to get back up to .500 on the season against a Flyers team that's winless in two games since being off for 11 days due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Kevin Hayes, PHI vs. NYR ($6,500): Hayes was off to an outstanding start before Philadelphia's season paused, and he has been even better since the team returned to action. The center has posted two assists in each of the Flyers' last two games, bringing him to a point-per-game pace (6-9-15) through 15 games overall. Only James van Riemsdyk (21) has more points than Hayes among Flyers heading into this matchup against the Rangers team with which Hayes spent most of his first five seasons.
Mika Zibanejad, NYR at PHI ($5,900): It was an empty-netter, but Zibanejad nonetheless got the monkey off his back in New York's last game with his second goal of the season and first since Jan. 19. His 41-goal output in 57 games last season suggests Zibanejad has the skills to carry the Rangers while Panarin takes his leave of absence, and the top-line center is due for further positive correction given that he's still shooting a career-low 4.3 percent compared to a career rate of 12.6 percent and a 2019-20 rate of 19.7 percent.
Mats Zuccarello, MIN at COL ($3,700): Continuing the theme of current and former Rangers in this section, Zuccarello's worth a look despite the daunting matchup in Colorado. He started the season on IR due to an arm injury and had a quiet season debut, but the diminutive winger has since put together a three-game point streak, totaling a 2-5-7 line. At just $3,700, Zuccarello's a low-risk, high-reward play here.
Dustin Brown, LA at STL ($4,800): Jonathan Quick's shutout was the main story in the Kings' 3-0 win in St. Louis on Monday, but it was another longtime King who supplied most of Quick's goal support, as Brown lit the lamp twice to bring his season line to 10-6-16 through 17 games. The veteran winger trails Anze Kopitar by five for the team points lead and has at least twice as many goals as any of his teammates. Brown's also showing no signs of slowing down, with four goals in his last four games and an 8-4-12 line over the last 10.
Trevor Zegras, ANH at ARI ($2,700): Zegras is an enticing bargain option in what will be his second NHL game. The ninth overall selection from the 2019 draft failed to mark the scoresheet in his debut Monday while taking two shots in 13:14 of ice time, but his history of being a top scorer at every level, including a 4-5-9 line in eight AHL games this season, makes Zegras an intriguing pick at just $2,700.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs vs. Flames
Auston Matthews (C - $9,000), Mitch Marner (W - $8,500), John Tavares (W - $6,800)
Don't hesitate to turn right back to Toronto's high-powered offense despite the team's shutout loss to Calgary on Monday. That game snapped a 16-game point streak for Matthews, who had scored seven goals over the previous four games to bring his goal total to a league-high 18 through 19 games. Matthews also ranks fourth league-wide in points with 29, and one of the three players ahead of him is Marner, who has a 9-21-30 line in 20 games. After trying various wing options on this line, it appears Toronto's opting to put even more eggs into the Matthews-Marner basket by moving the team's third-best forward, Tavares, from center to wing and up to the top line. Tavares has reached the 60-point mark in nine of 11 previous NHL campaigns and has a 6-11-17 line through 20 games.
Avalanche vs. Wild
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,800), Mikko Rantanen (W - $7,300), Andre Burakovsky (W - $4,200)
Minnesota has been pretty stout defensively in the offensively challenged West Division, but Colorado hasn't had much trouble scoring in their previous meetings, compiling a 10-6 edge in goals through three games against the Wild. Unsurprisingly, the top players have led the way for Colorado in their previous head-to-heads, with MacKinnon notching a pair of multi-point contests and Rantanen and Burakovsky each adding one such effort. MacKinnon and Rantanen occupy their customary top two spots on Colorado's scoring leaderboard with 18 points in 14 games and 13 in 15, respectively, while Rantanen also holds the team goals lead with seven. Burakovsky has added a respectable 3-5-8 line through 12 games, but considering five of those points came on the power play, his upside is considerably higher as long as he's skating on the top line over Gabriel Landeskog, as Burakovsky will be much more dangerous than usual at even strength.
Blues vs. Kings
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $5,800), David Perron (W - $6,700), Jordan Kyrou (W - $5,100)
St. Louis has put its top three point producers together on the top line heading into this home matchup against the surprisingly decent Kings. Perron leads the team with a point-per-game pace through 19 thanks to a 6-13-19 line, with Kyrou's 7-10-17 line putting him second in goals and points, while O'Reilly's 16 points are tied with Brayden Schenn for third on the team. Schenn's also a solid option in addition to this line if you're stacking Blues in hopes the 8-6-3 Kings start to slide back towards expectations, as he leads the team with nine goals.
DEFENSEMEN
Devon Toews, COL vs. MIN ($5,700): Toews has been quietly superb since returning from injury on Feb. 14, racking up double digit fantasy points in each of the four subsequent games. He's skating on the top pairing and stuffing the stat sheet, with a goal, an assist, 12 shots and 14 blocks in this four-game stretch.
Rasmus Andersson, CGY at TOR ($4,700): Andersson dished out a pair of helpers in Monday's win over the Maple Leafs, improving his season line to a robust 3-9-12 through 19 games. Expect his offensive prowess from the blue line to shine through again in what's expected to be the night's highest-scoring game.
Cam Fowler, ANH at ARI ($3,300): Fowler's done all he can to get the lackluster Anaheim offense going recently, as four of his seven points this season have come in the past five games. Despite his recent success, the veteran blueliner can still be had for just $3,300 against a Coyotes team that has been among the league's most generous to opposing defensemen.
Drew Doughty, LA at STL ($5,700): Doughty's another familiar face leading the Kings' surprising resurgence. His 4-11-15 line through 17 games includes eight points in the last six, and Doughty looks capable of pushing for his fourth career 50-point campaign despite the shortened nature of this season.
