This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday marks the final NHL slate before the All-Star break, with five games on the docket after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Flames are easily Wednesday's largest favorites in Arizona as both teams close out back-to-back sets, but for what it's worth, the Coyotes will be brimming with confidence after ending Colorado's 18-game home winning streak Tuesday. Flames-Coyotes has an over/under of 6.0 goals, which is tied with Oilers-Capitals and Wild-Blackhawks for the evening's highest over/under, while the remaining Kraken-Islanders and Kings-Red Wings games come in at 5.5. With three of the bottom four (and five of the worst eight) offenses in action, making the right choice in net will be crucial Wednesday.
GOALIES
Daniel Vladar, CGY at ARI ($8,300): Jacob Markstrom has been a workhorse in the Calgary net lately, but he's due for a night off in this second leg of a back-to-back, especially after being far from his sharpest in Tuesday's 4-3 win over Dallas. Vladar was actually credited with the win in that game, as he replaced Markstrom after two periods and stopped all five shots in the third while the Flames came back from a 3-1 deficit. The backup has a solid 6-3-1 record, 2.64 GAA and .911 save percentage, and Vladar will have a great opportunity to pick up his second win in as many nights against the league-worst Coyotes offense (2.18 goals per game).
Cam Talbot, MIN at CHI ($8,100): Talbot is enjoying a solid campaign, with a 17-8-1 record, 2.92 GAA and .910 save percentage. He'll look to build on those numbers against a Blackhawks team that's mustering just 2.42 goals per game.
Philipp Grubauer, SEA at NYI ($7,400): Like Chicago, the Islanders also have a bottom-five offense that's scoring just 2.42 goals per game. Grubauer sat out Tuesday's 3-2 loss in Boston but should be back in Seattle's net for this more favorable matchup. It's been a rough season for Grubauer, but the German netminder has been better recently, going 4-2-0 in his last six outings while limiting three of those opponents to two goals or fewer.
Semyon Varlamov, NYI vs. SEA ($8,000): Grubauer's more of a bargain, but both goalies in the Kraken-Islanders game should find success. Not only do both teams have bottom-10 offenses (Seattle scores 2.60 goals per game), but they're also both playing for the second time in as many nights. This one will likely be even more boring than your typical grind-it-out Islanders game, but the defensive results should be strong at the end of the night.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Leon Draisaitl, EDM at WAS ($8,600): It's rare that Draisaitl's only the third-priciest skater in a game, but that will be the case here, as both Connor McDavid ($9,400) and Alex Ovechkin ($8,800) are above him. The German's ceiling is still as high as ever, especially since Washington will likely be choosing between a weary Ilya Samsonov (45 shots faced Tuesday) or an unproven third-string goalie with Vitek Vanecek battling an upper-body injury. Draisaitl needs two goals and three points to catch up to Chris Kreider and Jonathan Huberdeau, respectively, for the league leads at the All-Star break.
Dylan Larkin, DET vs. LA ($7,200): Larkin may not get all the accolades he deserves while toiling away in Detroit, but his recent production has been turning heads. The top-line center has seven goals in his last seven games, as well as a 3-2-5 line and 12 shots in the last two contests alone. Ride him while he's hot.
Mathew Barzal, NYI vs. SEA ($6,000): Barzal has benefited from a more aggressive mindset in recent games, lighting the lamp in three of his last four contests and putting six pucks on net in the other. He'll have a nice opportunity to maintain his momentum heading into the All-Star break against a Kraken team that has struggled to keep the puck out of its net, allowing 3.51 goals per game.
Clayton Keller, ARI vs. CGY ($5,400): Keller has a five-game point streak going, though he's been producing at a high level for substantially longer than that, with a 10-9-19 line in the past 17 games. If the Coyotes are going to notch a second signature win in as many nights after shockingly toppling the Avalanche in a shootout Tuesday, Keller will likely play a significant role once again.
Andrew Mangiapane, CGY at ARI ($3,900): Mangiapane's having a statistical oddity of a season. While 20 goals and only five assists is quite skewed but not unheard of, scoring 19 goals on the road and just one at home is a unique distribution. Two of those road tallies have come in his last four games, and Mangiapane has added an assist in that stretch, so he's heating up ahead of this trip to Arizona. Both of these teams played last night, so the Coyotes will be trotting out Karel Vejmelka — who's 0-3-0 with 15 goals allowed in his last three starts — in net.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Flames at Coyotes
Elias Lindholm (C - $6,700), Johnny Gaudreau (W - $7,500), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $7,100)
Calgary's top line should be worth paying up for against an Arizona team that's allowing 3.66 goals per game. These three have been by far Calgary's best point producers. Gaudreau leads the team with an 18-35-53 line through 41 games, including a 3-11-14 output over the past seven. Tkachuk comes next with a 20-25-45 line, followed by Lindholm at 14-22-36. The Flames' fourth-leading point producer is Mangiapane with 25, so it's not hard to decide which players to build around if you anticipate a strong offensive showing from the Flames.
Wild at Blackhawks
Ryan Hartman (C - $6,500), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $8,000), Mats Zuccarello (W - $6,400)
Kaprizov and Zuccarello rank eighth and 17th, respectively, in points per game. The reigning Calder Trophy winner has already surpassed his rookie point total with an 18-34-52 line through 39 games as a sophomore, while the diminutive winger on the opposite side has a 13-27-40 line in just 34 appearances. Hartman has chipped in an 18-15-33 line in 40 games, and a Blackhawks team that's allowing 3.33 goals per game will have a hard time containing this dynamic trio.
Kings at Red Wings
Anze Kopitar (C - $6,200), Alex Iafallo (W - $5,000), Adrian Kempe (W - $4,300)
The Red Wings held Anaheim to one goal in their last game, but they allowed a whopping 26 goals in the preceding five contests. Meanwhile, Los Angeles' top line has been clicking lately. Kopitar has a 1-4-5 line over an active four-game point streak, Iafallo has three goals and a trio of four-shot efforts in his last five, and Kempe has failed to log a point only twice in his last nine games.
DEFENSEMEN
Moritz Seider, DET vs. LA ($5,500): Seider has been noticeable all season in the offensive end, with 29 points through 46 games, but the rookie blueliner has picked up his contributions in the defensive zone recently without sacrificing any offense. He's notched multiple blocked shots in five of the past six games while totaling four blocks three times in the last nine, giving Seider a high floor on a nightly basis.
Connor Murphy, CHI vs. MIN ($3,400): Speaking of two-way production, Murphy's certainly provided it recently, with a goal, an assist, five shots and nine blocks in the past two games. Even if his offense dries up, Murphy should still provide an excellent floor relative to his $3,400 valuation courtesy of his robust shot and block totals. He's posted multiple shots and blocks in each of the past seven games, with three-plus shots in four of those and at least four blocks in five.
Duncan Keith, EDM at WAS ($3,200): Keith has put his body on the line for the Oilers, resulting in consistent production over the past five games. He's added 15 blocked shots along with 10 shots and three assists in the past five games, scoring between 11.4 and 14.2 fantasy points in four of those five contests.
Dmitry Orlov, WAS vs. EDM ($3,100): Orlov stuffed the stat sheet with an assist, two shots and three blocked shots two games ago, then one-upped that effort Tuesday night with two goals, three shots and four blocks. At just $3,100, it's worth plugging in the affordable blueliner and hoping he can keep the good times rolling. Orlov has been an underrated source of offense all season, with a 7-15-22 line in 42 games.
