This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT and features nine games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The two obvious teams to target here will be the Avalanche (in San Jose) and Blues (vs. Anaheim), with Colorado especially appealing given that game's over/under of 6.0 goals. That line is tied with Capitals-Rangers for Wednesday's highest. Among the plethora of other options in this slate, the Predators (in Columbus) and Canadiens (in Ottawa) stand out as two teams primed to provide value, but there's no shortage of appealing alternatives available around the league.
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. ANH ($8,400): The Blues have rebounded nicely from a midseason swoon and are on the verge of locking up a playoff spot. Binnington's benefited from his team's turnaround with a 4-0-1 record in his last five starts, including Monday's 3-1 win over the Ducks. A second straight meeting with Anaheim's 30th-ranked offense provides a nice opportunity for Binnington to add to his recent success, and the Blues will be motivated in front of him since they can clinch a playoff berth with a win.
Juuse Saros, NSH at CLS ($8,300): You'll be hard-pressed to find two teams heading in more disparate directions than Nashville and Columbus. The Predators are on an extended 16-5-1 hot streak which has them in the driver's seat for the Central Division's final playoff spot, while the Blue Jackets were once in the mix for that spot but have fallen off dramatically with just three wins in their last 21 games and one in the past 12. All told, Saros is 20-10-1 with a 2.30 GAA and .928 save percentage, and he's limited three of his last five opponents to no more than one goal heading into this matchup with Columbus' 29th-ranked offense (2.32 goals per game).
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. WPG ($7,800): Markstrom has played well recently and should continue to do so against a Jets team that's in free fall. The Swedish netminder has gone 6-4-0 in his last 10 starts, allowing just 19 goals in that stretch while holding all but one opponent to two or fewer goals. Meanwhile, Winnipeg has been shellacked by a 28-10 margin during its active seven-game streak of regulation losses.
Jake Oettinger, DAL at TB ($7,400): If Oettinger gets the nod in Dallas' net, the youngster could provide some against-the-grain value against a slumping, injury-riddled Lightning offense that's scored only two goals in its last two games and five in the last three. The Stars need this one more than the Lightning do, as Dallas is trying to chase down Nashville for the Central Division's final playoff spot, and Oettinger is in the midst of a spectacular rookie season (2.23 GAA, .918 save percentage).
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Ryan O'Reilly, STL vs. ANH ($6,700): O'Reilly has been instrumental in the Blues' recent success, with a 6-4-10 line over his past six games. With a bottom-10 Ducks defense (3.15 goals allowed per game) in town, O'Reilly should continue to produce. He lit the lamp on five shots in Monday's win over Anaheim.
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY vs. WPG ($4,800): Calgary's offense as a whole has struggled recently but not Gaudreau, who has been held off the scoresheet only once in his last 10 games, producing a 5-7-12 line in that stretch. A Jets team that comes in having dropped its last seven games is unlikely to cool off the red-hot Flames winger, who's a bargain at just $4,800.
Daniel Sprong, WAS at NYR ($3,600): Sprong has stepped up recently for a Capitals team that's battling injuries to a few of its top forwards. He has five goals in his last five games, including one on seven shots in Monday's 6-3 win over a Rangers team that's missing two of its top three defensemen in Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren due to upper-body injuries.
Cole Caufield, MON at OTT ($4,500): Caufield has displayed tremendous skill and a flair for the dramatic in his young NHL career, scoring the overtime winners in each of Montreal's last two games for his first two career goals in his fourth and fifth NHL appearances. A dominant offensive force at every level he's played at prior to the NHL, the 2019 first-round pick offers excellent upside relative to his $4,500 valuation against a Senators team that's allowing 3.40 goals per game.
Kevin Fiala, MIN vs. VGK ($6,100): Fiala already proved that he's capable of producing against the stout Vegas defense with a goal and an assist in Monday's wild 6-5 Wild win, and he's been lighting the lamp against everyone lately. The surging winger has been held without a point only once and without a goal twice over his past eight games, generating a 6-7-13 line over that dominant stretch.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche at Sharks
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $9,200), Mikko Rantanen (W - $8,600), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $7,300)
No need to overthink this one. Colorado's outstanding top line should continue to dominate a porous Sharks defense that's surrendering 3.42 goals per game, as has been the case in these teams' previous three meetings over the past week (all won by Colorado). MacKinnon has back-to-back multi-point performances coming into this one and, even more impressively, put nine pucks on net in each of those two games. He's piled up multiple points in 11 of his last 17 games. Rantanen has a five-game multi-point streak and nine-game point streak going, accruing an 8-8-16 line over the latter stretch. Landeskog hasn't matched his linemates' gaudy production, but it's hard to find fault with his 2-2-4 line and 13 shots over these past three games against the Sharks.
Predators at Blue Jackets
Ryan Johansen (C - $3,900), Filip Forsberg (W - $6,600), Eeli Tolvanen (W - $4,700)
Nashville's top players are getting healthy down the stretch and should carry play against the sliding Blue Jackets, who are surrendering 3.26 goals per game. Forsberg had a goal and an assist Monday in Columbus in his second game back after missing over a month due to an upper-body injury. Despite all that missed time, Forsberg's 31 points in 36 games have him only two back of Roman Josi's team-leading total. Tolvanen's assist Monday was his third point in six games following a two-week absence due to a lower-body injury, and he has a 5-8-13 line in his last 15 appearances. Johansen has struggled overall, but Monday's two-point effort gave him a 2-3-5 line over his past seven games.
Rangers vs. Capitals
Mika Zibanejad (C - $7,600), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $6,500), Alexis Lafreniere (W - $3,900)
The Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention but they'll be plenty motivated to seek retribution on the scoresheet after the league opted not to suspend Tom Wilson for his pair of cheap shots in Monday's meeting between these teams. Wilson first punched Buchnevich in the head while the Russian was already lying on the ice, then ended Artemi Panarin's season with a hair-pull, take-down combination move in the ensuing scuffle. Panarin's absence should ensure a first-line role for Lafreniere in what's expected to be a high-scoring affair, putting the rookie first overall pick in prime position to add to his recent success (2-3-5 in the last six games). Buchnevich has a 20-25-45 line in 52 games, trailing only Zibanejad (22-26-48) in goals among Rangers. Zibanejad has been especially effective against the Capitals recently, as his two-goal effort Monday gave him a 9-4-13 line in nine meetings with Washington since the start of last season.
DEFENSEMEN
Justin Faulk, STL vs. ANH ($5,400): Faulk's playing massive minutes on the injury-riddled St. Louis blue line and making the most of them. He's averaging over 28 minutes per game in the last four and has racked up 17 shots and seven blocks in that stretch. Faulk had two assists in Monday's win over the Ducks, who are surrendering the fourth-most fantasy points to defensemen.
Jakob Chychrun, ARI vs. LA ($7,300): The Coyotes' bid for a playoff spot will end up coming up short, but a silver lining from this season is Chychrun's emergence as a star on the blue line. The 23-year-old stud has a 17-21-38 line in 53 games, and he's only getting stronger down the stretch, with a 4-2-6 line and 33 shots in his last six games. That production includes goals in both meetings with the Kings over that stretch, and Chychrun should continue to produce against a Los Angeles team that's allowing the third-most fantasy points to defensemen.
Devon Toews, COL at SJ ($5,600): Toews is a nice consolation prize if you can't quite afford Cale Makar ($7,000). While he lacks Makar's offensive prowess, Toews is a stat-stuffer capable of making an impact on the scoresheet. Just look at his last four games: one goal, one assist, 15 shots and four blocks.
Ben Chiarot, MON at OTT ($3,800): Chiarot has delivered solid two-way play on Montreal's blue line lately, blocking three shots in each of the past three games while adding six shots and an assist over that stretch. He's an appealing budget option against a Senators team that's been the league's most generous to opposing defensemen.
