This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are seven games on the Wednesday slate with only one team — Columbus — playing the second half of back-to-back games. They face the Sabres, while Washington is in Philadelphia, Minnesota travels to Calgary, Colorado hosts Boston, Arizona has a tough matchup in Edmonton, the slumping Rangers are in Vegas and Vancouver travels down the coast to San Jose. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark, BOS at COL ($8,700): Ullmark will face the Avalanche, who are missing Nathan MacKinnon (upper body) for the next four weeks and are slumping this season as they are 19th overall in the NHL standings with 27 points after winning the Stanley Cup last season. Ullmark has been sensational this season, with a 14-1-0 record. His peripherals are the best in the NHL, as he has a microscopic 1.93 GAA and a .936 save percentage. The Bruins are the best team in the NHL this season, with Ullmark being a major reason why.
Craig Anderson, BUF at CLS ($7,600): Anderson has faced 89 shots in his last two games, but has been on the bench the last two games, giving him the time off he needed to be at full strength Wednesday. The 41-year-old netminder is 5-4-0 with a 2.87 GAA and a .916 save percentage this season. He faces the Blue Jackets, who are not a high-scoring team, scoring just 67 goals in 24 games.
VALUE PLAYS
Andrew Mangiapane, CAL vs. MIN ($4,500): Mangiapane has three goals and an assist in his last four games, giving him six goals and 11 points in 25 contests. While it's a far cry from his breakout season of 2021-22, when he managed 35 goals and 55 points, Mangiapane seems to be coming out of his season-long slump. He had two goals and an assist in three games against the Wild last season.
Jack Quinn, BUF at CLS ($4,100): Quinn has been red-hot of late, with five goals and nine points in his last eight games. The 21-year-old was drafted eighth overall in 2020 and he is showing why he was selected that high with his performance this season. Quinn has six goals and 14 points in 20 games and gives the Sabres a boost in scoring on their second line.
John-Jason Peterka, BUF at CLS ($4,300): Peterka is on a four-game points streak and has points in six of his last seven games. Peterka has six goals and 14 points in 25 games and sees second line action with Jack Quinn and Dylan Cozens, the Sabres version of The Kid Line.
Alex Newhook, COL vs. BOS ($4,000): Newhook picks up huge value as he is expected to see first line action with Nathan MacKinnon (upper body) on the shelf for the next four weeks. He had a pair of goals Monday on the night MacKinnon was hurt, giving him six goals and nine points in 23 games. The sky is the limit while MacKinnon is out, for the 16th overall pick in 2019.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Oilers vs. Coyotes
Connor McDavid (C - $10,700), Leon Draisaitl (C -$10,200), Jesse Puljujarvi (W - $3,900)
Getting McDavid and Draisaitl together in your lineup is a recipe for success, especially as they take on the Coyotes, who are tied for second-last in the NHL standings and are 1-6-3 in their last 10 games, the second-worst in the league. McDavid leads the NHL in points with 48, while Draisaitl is second at 42. The third member of the line, Puljujarvi, has only a goal and six points this season, and could easily be replaced in your lineup by one of the above value picks, if you so desire. McDavid has goals in each of his last five games, while Draisaitl saw his five-game goal scoring streak end Monday.
Wild at Flames
Kirill Kaprizov (W-$10,000), Mats Zuccarello (W-$7,500), Sam Steel (W-$3,900)
Kaprizov has scored goal in each of his last six games and is on a 12-game points streak, with six goals and 13 assists. He has 16 goals and 32 points this season in 24 games and managed two goals and an assist in three games versus Calgary last season. Zuccarello has eight goals and 24 points in 24 games to date, as he is on a three-game scoring streak. Steel has been a recent addition to the line and he has performed reasonably, at least offensively, with three goals and an assist in seven games on the top line. They will face the Flames, who have given up 76 goals in 25 games as Jacob Markstrom, a star last season, has slumped considerably in 2022-23, going 8-6-2 with a 2.97 GAA (75 points worse than last season) and an .889 save percentage (33 points below last season's .922).
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, SJ vs. VAN ($8,400): Karlsson has been a revelation this season as he has returned to his form when he was with the Senators and one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. Karlsson has 11 goals and 34 points in 28 games this season, good for a tie for eighth place in NHL scoring and five points better than Rasmus Dahlin, who is second among rearguards.
Shea Theodore, VGK vs, NYR ($6,700): Theodore has been hot of late, which has coincided with Alex Pietrangelo (personal) being out of the lineup for the last four contests. Theodore has moved up to quarterback the top power play and has a goal and four points in his last four games. Overall, the talented blueliner has four goals and 21 points in 27 games as he is well on his way to besting his career mark of 52 points, set last season.
