The Olympic break is nearing for the NHL, so Thursday and Saturday are packed to the gills with games. Wednesday, though, is not Thursday or Saturday. Fun fact for you there! There are only three contests on the slate Wednesday, with the first puck dropping at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No team is on the second day of a back-to-back Wednesday. A few teams are on the first leg, but the only one with a goaltending decision to make that would matter to me from a lineup decision perspective is the Flyers, and that's only if Dan Vladar is ready to return.
GOALIE
Ilya Sorokin, NYI vs. NYR ($8,100): The Islanders and Rangers are doing a home-and-home Wednesday and Thursday, so we know Sorokin will face the Rangers one of those days. It's just a matter of who gets the call first, and let's assume that it is Sorokin. In seven outings since returning from injury he has three shutouts, and he has a .916 save percentage on the season. Both of these teams are in the bottom 10 in goals per game, but the Rangers are also in the bottom 10 in shots on net per contest as well.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Brock Nelson, COL at OTT ($6,900): Nelson has been absolutely on fire, as he's tallied 14 goals in his last 16 games. On the season, he's average 3:06 per game on the power play and has 11 points with the extra man. Though Linus Ullmark may return to action Wednesday, the Senators are 30th in penalty-kill percentage, and they were struggling on that front even when Ullmark was playing.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Blue Jackets vs. Flyers
Adam Fantilli (C – $6,100), Kirill Marchenko (W - $6,700), Mason Marchment (W - $4,600)
This is assuming Samuel Ersson will be in net for the Flyers. Vladar is skating, but it would make sense for the Flyers to save him for the second day of this back-to-back. Ersson has a career .883 save percentage, but this year that save percentage is down to .860. Columbus' last game was postponed because of the weather, but hopefully that won't happen Wednesday.
Fantilli will probably be glad to get back on the ice, given that he broke a long goal drought in his last outing (and added two assists for good measure). He's been shooting plenty and simply had terrible puck luck. Over his last 15 games he's tallied 45 shots on net but only one goal. On the shooting percentage front, that's not going to continue. Marchenko has 43 points in 47 games. He also has 15 power-play points, and the Flyers have a below-average penalty kill. Said penalty kill is worse with Ersson in net, of course. Marchment missed several games with an injury, but in his second game back he had three goals and an assist. Plus, prior to his injury, he had nine points in 10 contests.
DEFENSEMEN
Tony DeAngelo, NYI vs. NYR ($4,500): DeAngelo is coming off a fantastic game, tallying a goal on seven shots on net and adding three blocked shots. He now has nine points over his last 11 outings. Igor Shesterkin isn't expected back for this home-and-home with the Islanders, so both Jonathan Quick and Spencer Martin are in line to play at home. Both have save percentages under .890 and GAAs over 3.10.
