This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are four games on the Wednesday slate, with two contests involving a tired versus rested team. The Capitals, off a 5-3 loss to the Rangers, come home to face Buffalo, while the Islanders stay in LA area to play the Ducks, after dropping a 5-2 decision to the Kings. Toronto hosts Colorado and Minnesota travels to St. Louis in other NHL action. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at STL ($8,000): Fleury has won his last five starts in a row, giving up only seven goals on 161 shots on goal. The Wild have been getting outstanding netminding this season from Fleury and No. 1 goaltender Filip Gustavsson and Fleury has been pushing back of late to regain the top spot in goal. Overall, Fleury is 21-13-3 with a 2.77 GAA and .909 save percentage. He will face the Blues, who are 20th in NHL scoring, averaging 3.06 goals per game.
Ilya Samsonov, TOR vs. COL ($8,200): Samsonov has been outstanding at home, but this will be only his second home start in the last month as the Maple Leafs have been on the road a lot. Samsonov is an amazing 17-2-1 at home, with a 2.01 GAA and .926 save percentage. Overall, the first year Maple Leaf is 23-8-2 with a 2.41 GAA and .915 save percentage. The Avalanche are 15th in scoring, averaging 3.23 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Alex Kerfoot, TOR vs. COL ($3,900): Kerfoot has moved up to the first line in even-strength situations, playing alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. That in itself is a great reason to add his inexpensive salary to your DFS lineup Wednesday. Kerfoot snapped an eight-game pointless drought Monday after being placed on the line, with an assist and has seven goals and 27 points in 66 games this season. He had an assist in his lone game versus Colorado earlier in the season.
Jack Quinn, BUF at WAS ($4,000): Quinn has five goals and 10 points in his last 14 games, giving the 21-year-old 13 goals and 30 points in 59 contests this season. Quinn is seeing second line action alongside fellow youngsters John-Jason Peterka and Dylan Cozens and is also on the second power play. Quinn has a goal and six points with the man-advantage. Quinn had a pair of assists in his last game versus the Capitals on Feb. 26.
Jakub Vrana, STL vs. MIN ($4,300): Vrana did not have a good time of it in Detroit and has played very well since the trade deadline deal to the Blues. Vrana has a pair of goals in four games with St. Louis, including one on the power play, after managing a goal and an assist in five games with the Red Wings this season. Vrana has 14 shots on goal in his four contests with the Blues and is seeing second line action with Pavel Buchnevich and Kasperi Kapanen, as well as first power play time.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Sabres at Capitals
Tage Thompson (C-$9,800), Jeff Skinner (W-$7,500), Alex Tuch (W-$7,800)
Thompson is tied for fifth spot in NHL scoring with 87 points and is fourth in goals with 42. The transformation of Thompson has been amazing as he had only 14 points in 38 games two seasons ago, before last year's breakout campaign. Thompson has 18 goals and 31 points with the man-advantage, as well as 251 shots on goal, 11th best in the league. Skinner has 29 goals and 67 points in 63 games to date. He topped his previous career high in points as he had 63 points in three different NHL seasons. Skinner has also been revitalized the last two campaigns, after he suffered through a couple of bad seasons in Buffalo, picking up 23 and 14 points respectively, starting in the 2019-20 season. Skinner has eight goals and 19 points on the power play. Tuch missed eight games with a lower-body injury, and he came back with a force Monday, scoring twice to give him 30 goals and 64 points in 58 contests. Tuch has also been strong with the man-advantage, scoring seven times and adding nine assists. Tuch had a goal and two assists in his only game versus the Capitals, while Thompson has four goals and an assist in two games. Skinner picked up a goal and two points in the same two games.
Wild at Blues
Mats Zuccarello (W - $7,000), Sam Steel (C -$3,700), Ryan Hartman (C - $5,300)
This is an inexpensive line if you need the salary taking the Buffalo line. Zuccarello has 22 goals and 62 points in 65 games, including a pair of goals and three points in his last two games without superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who is out 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury. Steel has replaced Kaprizov on the top line, and he has eight goals with 15 assists in 56 games. Hartman had a pair of helpers versus San Jose on Saturday, giving him 10 goals and 26 points in 45 contests. The Blues are a weak team defensively, giving up 3.65 goals per game, fifth worst in the NHL.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Sandin, WAS vs. BUF ($4,600): Sandin has been a gem since his deadline trade from Toronto, picking up a goal and eight assists in five games. He is quarterbacking the first power play and has come into his own his leaving the Maple Leafs. Sandin had only four goals and 20 points in 52 games with Toronto before the trade. He is a great price at this time.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at STL ($5,300): Spurgeon had a goal and an assist Saturday, and then followed up with an assist and six shots on goal Sunday, giving him 10 goals and 30 points in 67 games this season. He has 132 shots on goal to date, fourth most in his 13-year NHL career. Spurgeon is averaging almost 22 minutes per game of action this season. If you are going with expensive forwards and a goalie, you will need a player like Spurgeon to fill out your roster.
