This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There are five games scheduled for Wednesday night. Unusually, none of them start at 7:00 p.m. ET, but there are two 7:30 starts (Vegas at Toronto, Carolina at Philadelphia) as well as a game at 8:00 p.m. ET (San Jose at Dallas), one at 10 p.m. ET (Nashville at Seattle) and one at 10:30 p.m. ET (Buffalo at LA). Here are my FanDuel DSF lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Maple Leafs versus Golden Knights should be a good game as it pits squads with 11-6-2 and 11-5-2 records, respectively, against each other. That said, both teams are working through some injury issues. The Maple Leafs are thin up front due to the absence of Auston Matthews (upper body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (groin), David Kampf (lower body) and Ryan Reaves (suspension). With that many forwards unavailable, 20-year-old Fraser Minten is projected to make his season debut and 21-year-old Nikita Grebenkin is set to make his NHL debut. Meanwhile, Vegas put Mark Stone (lower body) and Ben Hutton (upper body) on injured reserve (IR) and long-term injured reserve (LTIR), respectively.
Even with those absences, though, Toronto and Vegas are high-end teams that are likely to compete fiercely tonight.
GOALIES
Jake Oettinger, DAL vs. SJS ($8,400): Oettinger has allowed just four goals on 69 shots (.942 save percentage) while winning his past three starts. That brings him up to 9-3-0 with a 2.27 GAA and a .917 save percentage across 12 appearances in 2024-25. The 6-10-4 Sharks rank 28th offensively with 2.50 goals per game, so this is a very favorable matchup for the Stars goaltender.
Joey Daccord, SEA vs. NAS ($7,900): Daccord has won his past four starts while saving 99 out of 107 shots (.925 save percentage). He's having a strong campaign with an 8-3-1 record, 2.51 GAA and a .918 save percentage through 12 outings. Nashville has some serious offensive weapons, but the Predators have struggled to score with any regularity this campaign, resulting in the squad ranking 30th offensively with 2.42 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Trevor Moore, LAK vs. BUF ($5,000): He's at the border of what I consider a value play in terms of price, but I can't argue with his results. Moore is going into tonight's action on an eight-game scoring streak in which he's provided two goals and 10 points. That gives him three goals and 13 points across 19 appearances in 2024-25.
Bobby McMann, TOR vs. VGK ($4,400): As noted above, Toronto is dealing with a lot of forward injuries. In that state, McMann has averaged 18:45 of ice time, including 1:38 with the man advantage, over Toronto's past two games. He has taken full advantage of the opportunity by scoring three goals over that stretch. He's a streaky scorer but is great to grab while he's hot, especially on a night when he's projected to play alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Hurricanes at Flyers
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C - $5,800), Martin Necas (W - $9,000), Eric Robinson (W - $3,500)
This line recommendation is mostly about taking advantage of Necas. He provided two goals and two assists Sunday to extend his point streak to an incredible 13 games in which he's collected 10 goals and 27 points. Up against the Flyers, who rank 29th defensively with 3.47 goals allowed per game, Necas is in a great position to keep that run going.
Kotkaniemi and Robinson aren't nearly as appealing. Robinson is fine for his low price, though. He had a goal and three points Sunday, bringing him up to four goals and eight points across his past eight outings. On the other hand, Kotkaniemi's two goals and 11 points in 17 outings aren't anything noteworthy, and he's not hot either. If you can afford the higher price tag, Sebastian Aho (C - $6,400) hasn't had any massive offensive performances this campaign, but he's been steady, recording four goals and 15 points through 17 appearances. Aho and Necas are projected to play together on the top power-play unit.
Stars vs. Sharks
Matt Duchene (C - $6,700), Tyler Seguin (W - $7,100), Mason Marchment (W - $6,300)
One of the hotter lines in the league, Seguin and Marchment will each enter the tilt on a four-game scoring streak while Duchene has three goals and six points across that same span. All three of them are also having strong campaigns overall. Duchene is leading the trio with 10 goals and 21 points through 17 appearances, but Marchmen and Seguin aren't far behind with 18 points in 16 outings and 15 points across 13 appearances, respectively.
San Jose ranks 24th defensively with 3.40 goals allowed per game, so this is a favorable matchup for Dallas' forwards.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF at LAK ($6,700): Dahlin recorded just two assists over his first eight appearances of the campaign, but he's been outstanding since then, recording at least a point in nine of Buffalo's last 10 games, giving him five goals and 14 points over that stretch. He's been especially good recently, supplying three goals and five points across his past three appearances with the three goals all coming on the power play.
Esa Lindell, DAL vs. SJS ($5,000): Lindell is another defenseman who had a cold start but is red hot now. He was held off the scoresheet entirely over Dallas' opening eight games and has made up for that by supplying two goals and eight points across his last nine appearances. Lindell has recorded at least a point in three of his past four outings, collecting a goal and four points over that stretch.
