This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's featured NHL slate begins at 8:00 p.m. EDT and includes three games. With two games taking place earlier in the day and Canadiens-Oilers postponed, the selection in this slate is limited. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Most lineups should predominantly feature Penguins players, as Pittsburgh's heavily favored at home against a Sabres team that hasn't won in 14 games. That game has an over/under of 6.0 goals, which is tied for the night's highest with Jets-Canucks, where Winnipeg's favored to pull the road victory. A toss-up between the Kings and Sharks rounds out this modest slate.
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. BUF ($8,300): Whether it's Jarry or Casey DeSmith, Pittsburgh's goalie of choice will be the chalk play against a Sabres team that's bringing up the rear in the league standings. After a slow start to the season, Jarry has gone 9-3-1 over his last 13 decisions, holding eight of those opponents to two goals or fewer and allowing more than three only once.
Martin Jones, SJ vs. LA ($7,800): It's been a rough season for Jones, but he's playing his best hockey of the year, with a 2-0-1 record and just three goals allowed on 103 shots (.971 save percentage) over his last three starts. After a 41-save effort in Monday's 2-1 win over the Kings, Jones is primed to shine in the rematch between the pair of California-based teams.
Thatcher Demko, VAN vs. WPG ($7,300): Demko's coming off a four-goal clunker Monday against the Jets, but that was only his second loss in his last 10 decisions, as Demko has solidified himself as the go-to goaltending option in Vancouver. The Canucks' shoddy defense rarely does Demko any favors, but he has proven capable of repeatedly stealing games and has tremendous upside relative to his $7,300 valuation.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Dustin Brown, LA at SJ ($5,200): Brown missed a little time due to injury, but he has now put at least three pucks on net in each of his last 12 games played. He's actually been a tad unlucky to score only four times on 45 shots in that stretch, but it was preceded by a two-goal outing, and Brown has still mustered a 14-6-20 line over 29 games in what has been a renaissance season. A Sharks team that's giving up 3.40 goals per game will have a tough time slowing him down.
Nils Hoglander, VAN vs. WPG ($3,300): Once you get past the expensive big names on the Canucks, Hoglander's the best of the rest. The affordable rookie has a 6-9-15 line in 33 games overall and had built up a three-game point streak prior to Monday's shutout loss to the Jets, plus he currently tops the Canucks' depth chart at left wing.
Jeff Skinner, BUF at PIT ($2,800): Perhaps since-fires coach Ralph Krueger really was holding Skinner back, as the one-time 40-goal scorer has now lit the lamp twice on nine shots in the last three games after potting just one goal in his first 24 appearances this season. Given Skinner's pedigree and recent form, he has appeal as a cheap filler here.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Penguins vs. Sabres
Sidney Crosby (C - $7,700), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,600), Bryan Rust (W - $6,400)
Secondary scoring could be hard to come by for the Penguins with Evgeni Malkin (lower body) on IR, but this top line should dominate Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski, who hasn't won at the NHL level in over five years. Crosby leads the team in points with a 12-20-32 line in 31 games, while Guentzel leads in goals thanks to a 13-17-30 line through 32 games. Rust is third on the team in goals (11), while his 23 points trail only Crosby, Guentzel and the injured Malkin (24).
Jets at Canucks
Pierre-Luc Dubois (C - $4,800), Nikolaj Ehlers (W - $6,700), Kyle Connor (W - $6,500)
Winnipeg's top two lines are roughly interchangeable, but this second line is a bit more appealing due to recent trends. Dubois finally seems to have gotten up to speed with his new team, as he's playing his best hockey since being traded from Columbus, mustering five points in his last four games. He's flanked by the team's top two wingers. Connor leads the team with 16 goals, while Ehlers is stuck on 15 but due to break through after going unrewarded on 12 shots over the past two games. With 32 and 30 points, respectively, Ehlers and Connor rank second and third on the team behind Mark Scheifele (38).
Sharks vs. Kings
Tomas Hertl (C - $4,900), Timo Meier (W - $5,100), Patrick Marleau (W - $2,500)
San Jose's affordable second line features a pair of red-hot forwards. Hertl's 8-10-18 line through 24 games includes a 2-5-7 line over his last seven games, as he's finally starting to regain the form he sustained in 2018-19 en route to a 35-39-74 line over 77 games. Meier's also starting to regain his top form from 2018-19, as his 4-9-13 line over the past 12 games is reminiscent of Meier's 66-point campaign that year. Marleau looks washed up at age 41, but he's still capable of running into a point or two, especially with both his linemates rolling.
DEFENSEMEN
Kris Letang, PIT vs. BUF ($6,800): Letang's a key part of Pittsburgh stacks, as he remains one of the league's most productive blueliners. His 5-17-22 line is especially strong when compared to the rest of the Penguins' defense corps, as no other Pittsburgh blueliner has more than six points heading into this matchup with a Sabres team that's allowing 3.47 goals per game and only getting worse.
Drew Doughty, LA at SJ ($5,600): Doughty's 7-18-25 line has him among the top 10 defensemen in both goals and points, and the veteran should keep rolling against a Sharks team that's allowing the third-most fantasy points to opposing blueliners. His upside rivals that of both Letang and Brent Burns ($6,100) among this slate's top defensemen.
Derek Forbort, WPG at VAN ($4,400): There's only going to be so many goals to go around in this three-game slate, so locking in the high shot-blocking floor of Forbort could be an underrated strategy, especially in 50/50s and double ups. He has blocked 36 shots over the past 10 games, scoring at least 11 fantasy points four times and topping eight six times in that stretch despite totaling only one assist.
Brandon Montour, BUF at PIT ($3,400): You could do worse than Montour if you're going to have any Sabres in there at all. Perhaps doing everything in his power to build up his stock ahead of the trade deadline so a suitor sends him to greener pastures, the blueliner has three points in his last three games. With two seasons of at least eight goals and 32 points under his belt, Montour's capable of consistently chipping in and will likely be a key factor should Buffalo finally find a way to win.
