This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are seven games on the Wednesday slate with three games featuring a tired team A tired New Jersey team travels to Florida to take on the Panthers, while Tampa Bay, coming off a 4-1 loss to Toronto, make their way to Detroit. Finally, the Ducks face off against Minnesota after dropping a 4-1 decision to LA. Colorado hosts Montreal, Nashville takes on Chicago, Edmonton is in Dallas and Arizona travels to Vegas. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. MON ($8,500): It has been a stellar season thus far for Georgiev, who is coming off a 26 save shutout over the Islanders. He has been very good once again over his last four games, giving up only five goals on 101 shots. Georgiev is 13-6-2 with a 2.46 GAA and a .923 save percentage as he is only three wins away from tying a career-high. Georgiev will face the Canadiens, who are 27th in the NHL, averaging 2.75 goals per game.
Brian Elliott, TB at DET ($8,300): This is the second game in back-to-back contests for the Lightning, so Elliott is expected to start. He has fulfilled his role as a backup netminder quite well, at least as far as his record is concerned. Elliott is 7-1-0 with a 3.09 GAA and a .902 save percentage. He has been solid in his last two starts, giving up three goals on 61 shots. Elliott will face the Red Wings, who are 25th in the NHL, averaging 2.90 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Matt Duchene, NAS at CHI ($6,000): Duchene has goals in each of his last two games and has eight goals and 24 points in 30 games. He had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 43 goals and adding 43 assists. Duchene has moved down to the third line with Ryan Johansen and Yakov Trenin as the Predators are trying to spread their scoring around the top three lines, but still sees first power play time.
Mike Hoffman, MON at COL ($4,400): Hoffman scored the overtime winner Monday in Arizona, giving him seven goals and 10 points in 22 games. Hoffman was a very good scorer with Ottawa and Florida and is on pace for a 24-goal season, which would be his best in three seasons. He is good value if you are looking to round out your lineup.
Alex Newhook, COL vs. MON ($4,100): Newhook is seeing top-six minutes as well as second power play duty as the Avalanche are still missing Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Newhook has three goals and five points in his last eight games, giving him seven goals and 12 points in 30 games this season. He was drafted in the first round (16th overall) in 2019, so the pedigree is there for the 21-year-old.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Wild vs. Ducks
Kirill Kaprizov (W-$9,900), Mats Zuccarello (W-$8,800), Sam Steel (C-$4,700)
Kaprizov and Zuccarello lead the Wild in scoring with Kaprizov scoring 19 times, along with 23 assists, while Zuccarello has 14 goals and 36 points and is on a 10-game points streak. Kaprizov saw his 14-game points streak come to an end Dec. 10, but started up a new one, as he has two goals and eight points in his last four games. Steel has six goals and 13 points in 31 games, with four goals and six assists in his last 14 games. He sees second power play time while Zuccarello and Kaprizov are on the top unit. The trio have combined for 14 points in their last two games and play the worst defensive team in the NHL, the Ducks, who have given up 4.15 goals per game.
Avalanche vs. Canadiens
Mikko Rantanen (W - $9,800), J.T. Compher (C -$5,000), Artturi Lehkonen (W - $6,900)
Rantanen has 21 goals and 38 points to lead the Avalanche this season and has scored 10 goals in his last 13 games. He was held off the scoresheet Monday as Colorado won 1-0 in a shootout, but had 10 shots on goal. Lehkonen is having a career year, with eight goals and 21 points in 27 games. He has been outstanding with Colorado, since his trade at the deadline from Montreal and is seeing first line duty as well as first power play time. Compher has moved into the middle as Nathan MacKinnon continues to recover from an upper-body injury that will sideline him until early January, and has four goals and 12 assists this season, while also moving up to the first power play unit.
DEFENSEMEN
Aaron Ekblad, FLA vs. NJ ($6,600): Ekblad has slumped of late, as he has not picked up a point in five of his last six games. But the defenseman had a pair of assists Saturday against the Devils and will go against New Jersey once again Wednesday, this time at home. Overall, Ekblad has four goals and 14 points in 22 games. He was brilliant last season before a broken leg ended his regular season in late March, as he had a career high 57 points in just 61 games.
Miro Heiskanen, DAL vs. EDM ($6,400): Heiskanen is well on his way to a career season, as he has five goals and 25 points in just 30 games. His career best was last season with 36 points in 70 games, but he was not 100 percent for a good portion of the year as he was dealing with mononucleosis. He has already set a career high in power play points with 13, and is showing why he was the third-overall pick in the 2017 Draft. He had two assists earlier in the season against the Oilers.
