This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday was a busy day for the NHL, so will Thursday. Wednesday, though, is the antithesis of that. Only two games are on the docket today. The first starts at 6:00 p.m. ET. Still, you'll want to get your NHL DFS lineups in and take a shot at generating some DFS success. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No team is on the second leg of a back-to-back, and only the Oilers are on the first leg. The difference between Stuart Skinner (currently projected to start Wednesday) and Calvin Pickard is not so stark that the choice in goal would impact my DFS decisions to any significant degree.
GOALIE
Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR at BUF ($8,200): The Sabres and Wild, the two home teams Wednesday, are pretty even offensively. Buffalo has scored slightly more goals, 3.02 per game compared to 2.95 for Minnesota. However, the Sabres have managed a mere 27 shots on net per contest compared to 27.9 for the Wild. The Hurricanes have a strong defense and have only given up 25 shots on goal per game. Kochetkov has a 2.54 GAA, even though he has a .901 save percentage, and that's why I give him the edge in goal.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Zach Hyman, EDM at MIN ($6,500): Hyman won't score 50 goals again, but he has tallied 17 points over 18 games since returning from injury. He's also averaged 3:16 per contest with the extra man and has nine power-play points. The power play success matters the most because the Wild somewhat surprisingly have a bottom-five penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Hurricanes at Sabres
Sebastian Aho (C - $6,800), Seth Jarvis (W - $6,300), Jack Roslovic (W - $4,000)
Carolina lacks a line where all three players have been producing, but this is still the matchup to target for a stack. The Oilers, Wild and Hurricanes all have a GAA between 2.72 and 2.75. Buffalo, meanwhile, has a 3.37 GAA. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a .896 save percentage and has been the Sabres' best goalie. Thus, I'll go with the Hurricanes' top line for a stack.
Though Aho only has one point over his last four games, he has 44 points in 44 contests this season. He's been fine. His 11.2 percent shooting rate is well below his career 15 percent shooting rate. Jarvis has 13 points over his last 15 games. He's also put 31 shots on net over his last 11 outings and has had multiple shots on target in each of those contests. Roslovic is the question mark, as he doesn't have a point in his last seven games. However, he does have 17 goals this season, so maybe he can swing back into form.
DEFENSEMAN
Shayne Gostisbehere, CAR at BUF ($4,300)): Gostisbehere is back to business as usual. After missing eight games in a row, the defenseman returned and played 3:11 on the power play. That's his thing. The veteran has averaged 3:44 per contest with the extra man and notched 18 power-play points in 36 games this season. Buffalo is in the bottom 10 in GAA, but it is also below average on the penalty kill.
