This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's featured NHL slate begins at 8:00 p.m. EDT and features four games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Three of Wednesday's games features heavy favorites, as the Avalanche are overwhelming home favorites against the Kings, while the Maple Leafs (in Ottawa) and Golden Knights (in San Jose) are expected to take care of business on the road. A toss-up in St. Louis between the Wild and Blues rounds out this slate. Toronto-Ottawa has the highest over/under at 6.5 goals, followed by Vegas-San Jose and Minnesota-St. Louis at 6.0, while Los Angeles-Colorado comes in at 5.5.
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, COL vs. LA ($8,500): Grubauer should be the chalk goalie play if he gets the nod at home against the 25th-ranked Kings offense (2.61 goals per game). The German netminder has an excellent 29-9-1 record, 2.00 GAA and .921 save percentage. He'll have a motivated team in front of him, as Colorado still has something to play for in its final two games.
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK at SJ ($8,000): Fleury's been on fire lately, winning each of his last eight starts while allowing two goals or fewer in each. He comes at a $500 discount compared to Grubauer but is more than capable of replicating Grubauer's production in what's only a marginally tougher matchup against a Sharks team that's scoring 2.65 goals per game.
Filip Gustavsson, OTT vs. TOR ($7,300): Gustavsson's scintillating start to his career gives him against-the-grain appeal if you're not satisfied with the safety of Grubauer or Fleury. The Maple Leafs present a daunting matchup, but the 22-year-old Swede could be up to the challenge given his 4-1-2 record, 2.04 GAA and .937 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN at STL ($7,100): Kaprizov has long since put any debate about the Calder Trophy to bed, and he's only getting better as his rookie season winds down. The talented Russian winger has an 11-5-16 line over his last 12 games and has at least three shots on goal in every game over that stretch. A Blues team that's giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to left wings is unlikely to slow him down.
Josh Norris, OTT vs. TOR ($4,800): Norris has quietly grown into a reliable contributor over the second half of the season. The 22-year-old center has a 6-7-13 line in his last 14 games and an 11-8-19 line in his last 24. He's in good position to outperform his modest $4,800 valuation against returning Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen, who hadn't played an NHL game since March 19 and had a sub-.900 save percentage prior to sustaining his lower-body injury.
Alexander Barabanov, SJ vs. VGK ($2,900): Barabanov was buried deep down Toronto's depth chart, but he's gotten a chance to strut his stuff since coming over to San Jose via trade. The Russian winger has a 3-4-7 line in eight games with the Sharks and will be an appealing bargain option here despite the difficult matchup.
Ivan Barbashev, STL vs. MIN ($2,500): Barbashev was deployed on the top line alongside the Blues' top two scorers in Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron in the team's last game. Assuming he remains in that spot, Barbashev will be an appealing value play at the minimum price of $2,500, as it's not hard to stumble into a point or two when you're playing with those guys.
Lias Andersson, LA at COL($2,500): Continuing the theme of affordable options with sneaky upside, Andersson has three helpers in his last four games and a 2-3-5 line in his last 10 NHL appearances after opening his Kings tenure with one measly goal through 11 games. Quickly assigned bust status after struggling to open his career in the Rangers organization upon being drafted seventh overall in the 2017 draft, perhaps the 22-year-old Andersson is starting to turn the corner.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Kings
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,600), Mikko Rantanen (W - $8,200), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $6,800)
Colorado kept its hopes of a division title alive with a regulation win over Vegas on Monday, and the Avalanche now control their own destiny, needing two wins over the Kings to secure home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds. Expect the team's dominant top line to make that happen. MacKinnon (20-45-65) and Rantanen (30-31-61) both rank top 10 league-wide in points despite playing only 48 and 50 games, respectively. Landeskog has added a 19-30-49 line in 52 appearances.
Maple Leafs at Senators
John Tavares (C - $6,300), William Nylander (W - $5,300), Alex Galchenyuk (W - $3,800)
Toronto's on a roll heading into the team's penultimate game of the season, with a 7-0-1 record in its last eight games. The Senators have also played well down the stretch, but they still sport a bottom-five overall defense, allowing 3.38 goals per game. While Auston Matthews ($9,200) and Mitch Marner ($7,900) have rightfully gotten most of the headlines, this second line has been comparably effective at far more affordable valuations. Tavares has been held without a point only three times in his last 17 games, racking up an 8-13-21 line over that span. Nylander has at least a point in 11 of his last 12 games (4-11-15), and Galchenyuk has chipped in a point in four of his last five.
Golden Knights at Sharks
William Karlsson (C - $5,500), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $5,400), Reilly Smith (W - $4,100)
Like in Toronto, Vegas' second line has performed well down the stretch, and the Golden Knights' entire lineup will be motivated against the defensively challenged Sharks (3.45 goals allowed per game) with the top spot in the West division still hanging in the balance. Marchessault has surged into third on the team in both goals (17) and points (42) through 54 games, thanks to a 6-5-11 line over his last nine. Karlsson has a 3-5-8 line in his last 10 games, while Smith's salvaging what's been a down year with a 5-2-7 line over his last six.
DEFENSEMEN
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at SJ ($6,400): Pietrangelo's playing his best hockey of the season with the playoffs around the corner, as he's mustered a 2-2-4 line, 17 shots and eight blocks in his last four games. He should dominate every part of the ice against a Sharks team that's allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to defensemen.
Jake Muzzin, TOR at OTT ($4,800): No team has been more generous to opposing blueliners than Ottawa, and the red-hot Muzzin's poised to capitalize on this favorable matchup. He has been held without a point only once in his last seven games, producing a 1-6-7 line in that stretch.
Torey Krug, STL vs. MIN ($4,600): Krug's available at a bit of a discount after having just returned from an upper-body injury, so take advantage while you can. He boasts a career average of .64 points per game and has 29 in 49 with the Blues but can be had for just $4,600 here.
Samuel Girard, COL vs. LA ($3,800): Pricier options like Cale Makar ($6,500) and Devon Toews ($5,000) are good too, but Girard could be a sneaky-good value play if he's able to return from his injury for this favorable matchup with the Kings. He's been a consistent source of offense from the blue line when healthy, racking up a 5-26-31 line in 46 appearances.
