This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's modest NHL slate includes four games after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Wild are Tuesday's largest favorites in Anaheim, followed by the Canucks in Montreal. Higher-quality Hurricanes-Panthers and Penguins-Capitals matchups round out the action Tuesday.
GOALIES
Filip Gustavsson, MIN at ANH ($8,100): Gustavsson deserves consideration as the goalie for Tuesday's largest favorite, even if it has been a rough season thus far for Minnesota's backup, who has lost all three of his starts in regulation while posting a 3.93 GAA and .878 save percentage. He should get another chance here as Minnesota finishes off a back-to-back set, and goal support will likely be plentiful considering the Ducks allow a league-high 4.62 goals per game while scoring only 2.85 themselves.
Thatcher Demko, VAN at MON ($8,000): If there was ever an opportunity for Demko to get himself going, this is it. He's a disastrous 1-6-2 with a 3.90 GAA and .879 save percentage, but Demko will take on a Canadiens team that's scoring only 2.77 goals per game – sixth-fewest in the NHL. Perhaps this favorable matchup can help Demko finally find his form from the previous two seasons, both of which he finished with a .915 save percentage.
Darcy Kuemper, WAS vs. PIT ($7,500): His 4-5-1 record may not bear it out, but Kuemper's off to a solid start in Washington, as indicated by his 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage. He's a nice value here at only $7,500 against a slumping Penguins team that's 0-6-1 over its past seven games.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Bo Horvat, VAN at MON ($7,300): Horvat continues to score at will and is showing no signs of slowing down. He has four multi-goal efforts in his last five games and 12 goals in 13 games overall. Horvat has been peppering the net with pucks, as his eight goals in the past five outings have come on 26 shots.
Cole Caufield, MON vs. VAN ($6,800): Caufield has an 8-6-14 line through 13 games, and the struggling Demko is unlikely to cool off Montreal's top-line sniper. Considering the 21-year-old winger also finished last season with 15 goals in his last 24 games, this level of production may simply be the norm for Caufield moving forward.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WAS vs. PIT ($4,500): Kuznetsov got off to a slow start, but he seemed to turn the corner with a four-point night in Washington's previous game. Two of those four points were goals, and all four came on the power play. Sharing the ice with Alex Ovechkin ($8,100) on the top line and top power-play unit should allow Kuznetsov – who's a four-time 70-point scorer – to build on his breakout effort against a struggling Penguins team that's allowing 3.67 goals per game.
Ryan Strome, ANH vs. MIN ($3,900): Strome's showing that he can still be productive even without Artemi Panarin by his side, as the former Rangers center has begun his Anaheim tenure with a 4-6-10 line through 13 games. Most of that production has come in the last five games, during which Strome has three goals and three assists. The affordable center has a nice opportunity to stay hot against Gustavsson and the Wild.
Colin White, FLA vs. CAR ($3,600): With Matthew Tkachuk suspended, White has been promoted to the top line alongside Aleksander Barkov ($7,900). White has earned the temporary promotion with a strong start to the season that's included three goals and five assists through 12 games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Wild at Ducks
Frederick Gaudreau (W - $3,700), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $8,700), Mats Zuccarello (W - $7,500)
Kaprizov and Zuccarello are two of the league's most productive wingers, and Gaudreau's a nice value in between them against the league's worst defensive team. Zuccarello's 5-7-12 line through 12 games is impressive, but he's already three goals and one point behind Kaprizov, who looks ready to push for 50 goals after lighting the lamp 47 times last season. Gaudreau has supplied a 1-3-4 line, but there's no better time to lock him in than against a Ducks team that's surrendering a league-high 4.62 goals per game.
Penguins at Capitals
Sidney Crosby (C - $7,600), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,700), Bryan Rust (W - $5,900)
This top line isn't to blame for the Penguins' recent struggles. Crosby has been productive as usual with a 6-8-14 line through 12 games, while Guentzel has needed only eight appearances to rack up a 6-4-10 line, and he's been held without a point only once. Rust has added a 4-4-8 line, but he's capable of more, having come two points shy of averaging a point per game in 60 appearances last season. Pittsburgh's in a more extended slump, but Washington isn't exactly hot, either, having won only once in its last five games.
Hurricanes at Panthers
Sebastian Aho (C - $6,400), Seth Jarvis (W - $4,200), Teuvo Teravainen (W - $4,100)
The Panthers have been far from impenetrable, allowing 3.23 goals per game, so Carolina's top line offers some nice value here. After finishing within two points in either direction of a point per game in each of the last four seasons, Aho is ahead of that benchmark in the early going with a 7-8-15 line through 12 games. Jarvis is still only 20 years old, but he's already proven capable of handling top-line minutes and has chipped in a 3-3-6 line. This is a nice buy-low opportunity on Teravainen, who has five helpers without a goal through 11 games. The Finn racked up 65 points in 77 games last season, and Teravainen's a career 9.9 percent shooter, so he's likely to course correct at some point after having failed to light the lamp on 26 shots thus far.
DEFENSEMEN
Brent Burns, CAR at FLA ($6,600): Burns has been a fantasy darling for many years, delivering a high floor thanks to his shot volume and a high ceiling with his scoring ability. Even well past his prime at age 37, Burns is still a force to be reckoned with, as his 2-7-9 line through 12 games has been accompanied by 51 shots on goal.
John Klingberg, ANH vs. MIN ($4,400): Klingberg got off to a slow start with his new team, but another acquisition in Anaheim's busy offseason is starting to heat up. He has dished out five helpers during his current four-game point streak while rounding out his line with 11 shots and six blocks over that span. Klingberg reached the 40-point mark in six of eight seasons with the Stars, so he can be expected to continue contributing offensively.
Joel Edmundson, MON vs. VAN ($3,900): Sure, it's only a three-game sample size, but Edmundson's averaging an eye-popping 16.9 fantasy points, putting him above the likes of Ovechkin (14.6) and Crosby (14.4). That robust fantasy production has come primarily thanks to blocked shots, as Edmundson has accrued a whopping 19 of those to go with one assist and six shots. This shot-blocking pace isn't sustainable, but given Edmundson's sub-$4,000 valuation, it could be worth seeing whether he has another similar performance in him.
Erik Gustafsson, WAS vs. PIT ($3,200): If John Carlson (lower body) and Dmitry Orlov (upper body) remain sidelined by their respective injuries, there will be a lot of minutes available on Washington's blue line. Gustafsson moved up to the top power-play unit with both teammates out Monday against Edmonton and filled in more than adequately, dishing three assists with the extra man. Having reached the 60-point mark with Chicago back in 2018-19, Gustafsson has substantial offensive upside for a $3,200 blueliner.
