This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Sandwiched between a 13-game Tuesday and an 11-contest Thursday, we have a very light night. All that's on the docket for Wednesday are the Capitals hosting Toronto at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Coyotes visiting Dallas at 8:00 and the Wild playing in LA at 10:00. Lighter nights can be fun for DFS play because the limited options make it harder to assemble a good roster, so if you're up for that challenge tonight, then I have some recommendations to consider.
SLATE PREVIEW
Toronto, Minnesota and LA are all on the second half of a back-to-back, so fatigue might be a factor for those squads. At least in the case of the Wild and the Kings, they're playing each other, so that mostly cancels it out, but the Maple Leafs have a bigger challenge on the road against a rested home squad.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at LAK ($7,600): The Wild are coming off a 4-0 victory over Anaheim and are on a 6-0-2 run, but Minnesota is still three points behind in the fight for a wild-card spot, so it can't afford to slow down. Fortunately, they have a 39-year-old netminder with plenty of experience playing with the pressure on to turn to Tuesday. It also helps that Fleury has been red hot recently, posting a 5-1-1 record, 1.69 GAA and .937 save percentage over his past seven appearances.
Charlie Lindgren, WAS vs. TOR ($7,300): Lindgren is having a great campaign with an 18-11-5 record, 2.59 GAA and .915 save percentage across 36 outings, and he's been especially effective recently, allowing just eight goals on 182 shots (.956 save percentage) over his last six starts. The Maple Leafs rank third offensively with 3.57 goals per game, so they're typically a rough opponent for opposing goaltenders, but as noted above, Toronto will have to combat fatigue tonight. Additionally, they're missing Mitchell Marner, who remains unavailable due to an ankle injury.
VALUE PLAYS
Jamie Benn, DAL vs. ARI ($5,300): Benn has provided at least one point in seven of his last eight games, totaling three goals and 11 points in that span. That's propelled him up to 12 goals and 45 points across 69 outings this year. Arizona ranks 23rd defensively with 3.29 goals allowed per contest, so this is a somewhat favorable matchup for Dallas forwards.
Logan Cooley, ARI at DAL ($4,700): The value play offers are somewhat slim tonight, so I'm going to suggest a bit of a reach. The 19-year-old Cooley is looking to finish his rookie campaign on a positive note. He's found the back of the net in each of his past two games and five of his last 10 outings, bringing him up to 13 tallies along with 32 points through 68 appearances in 2023-24. He's been firing the puck at a steady rate lately, collecting 17 shots in his past five games, which both increases his chances of scoring again tonight and means he should at least provide you with a modest total of FanDuel points even if he fails to factor in on the scoresheet.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Wild at Kings
Ryan Hartman (C - $5,600), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $9,900), Matt Boldy (W - $7,800)
Along with the likes of Fleury, Minnesota's top line is doing everything in its power to carry the Wild into the playoffs.
Kaprizov is on an eight-game scoring streak in which he's supplied 10 goals and 14 points. He's up to 36 markers and 77 points in 62 appearances in 2023-24. His linemates haven't been nearly as hot, but Hartman has contributed five points (three goals) in his last five outings while Boldy has collected six points (one goal) in the same span, so it's worth selecting the entire trio.
DEFENSEMEN
Thomas Harley, DAL vs. ARI ($6,300): We're light on offensive defensemen options tonight, but Harley is having a solid campaign with 15 goals and 38 points through 66 appearances in 2023-24. He's also strung together three points (one goal) over his past two games, so the 22-year-old might be at the start of a hot streak.
John Carlson, WAS vs. TOR ($6,000): Although Carlson is having a down season, a bad year for the 34-year-old is still better than what most other blueliners produce offensively during a good campaign. He's provided five goals and 40 points through 67 appearances in 2023-24. He did have a three-game scoring drought from March 11-14 but has bounced back by supplying a point in each of his last two appearances. Carlson also leads the Capitals with 156 blocks and has a respectable 131 shots, so he'll usually provide you with some value even on nights when he doesn't score.
