This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
We have an unusual starting time on Wednesday, as the Canucks and Senators are playing at 5:30 p.m. EDT. However, I am not going to include that one in my recommendations, even though it is a great matchup. It's also not included in the main contest slate, which begins at 7:00 p.m. Still, we get six games. That's plenty of options for your DFS lineup -- here are my recommendations.
GOALIE
Cal Petersen, LOS vs. ANA ($28): Hey, why get cute? The Ducks are last in both goals and shots on net per game. If Petersen and his .917 save percentage are in net I'm happy to have him on my DFS roster. In fact, even if Jonathan Quick (.893 save percentage) is in net I would give him a shot at his salary. There is no better matchup for a goalie currently than being at home against the Ducks.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. COL ($31): Philipp Grubauer should be back soon – which is good because the team has really needed him – but the Avalanche offense has been fine since the pause. On the season, Colorado ranks first in the league with 3.52 goals per contest. Fleury has been fabulous, but this is a huge game against the league's best offense, so I am looking elsewhere in net.
CENTER
Anze Kopitar, LOS vs. ANA ($21): Kopitar has been dishing out assists all season, as he's tallied 35 helpers in 46 games. The Slovenian has also added to his goal total with gusto recently, as he has three goals in his last six contests. Anaheim isn't as bad defensively as it is offensively, if only because it isn't last in the league defensively. Still, the Ducks have a 3.22 GAA, which is seventh highest in the NHL.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mark Scheifele, WPG vs. EDM ($26): Hey, at this point I'm willing to believe that Mike Smith has found the Fountain of Youth. Or, rather, I am willing to accept that sometimes goalies have aberration seasons, because Smith isn't the first, and he won't be the last. The 39-year-old(!) netminder has a 2.32 GAA and .923 save percentage. He's not slowing down either, as Smith has a 2.27 GAA and .926 save percentage in his last 11 contests. Scheifele is having a really good season, but Nikolaj Ehlers is out now, and recently Mason Appleton has been on his wing, which is certainly a step down.
WING
Max Pacioretty, VGK vs. COL ($34): Grubauer is skating with the Avalanche, but this is a hedge on assuming that he won't be ready to play Wednesday. If that's the case, Devan Dubnyk will likely be in net, and he has an .899 save percentage. The Avalanche admittedly suppress shots with the best of them, but I don't think any team can keep Pacioretty entirely in check. He's tallied 166 shots on goal in 45 games and is routinely one of the top shooters in the NHL every season.
Michael Bunting, ARI at SAN ($17): No, Bunting's 27.6 shooting percentage won't continue, but that doesn't mean his eight goals in 14 games aren't eye popping. Plus, the Coyotes are doing everything they can to help the 25-year-old succeed. He's skating on Arizona's top line and he's started a whopping 70.5 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. The Sharks, meanwhile, have a 3.42 GAA, which is the highest of any team playing Wednesday.
WINGS TO AVOID
Gabriel Landeskog, COL at VGK ($28): I do this sometimes and I always feel the need to explain it just in case. No, I wouldn't want Fleury as the goalie on my roster, but that's because of the overall quality of the Avalanche offense. That doesn't mean I want to pay a high salary for a specific player on Colorado, because this is still a bad matchup for its roster as well. The Golden Knights are tops in the league in GAA and penalty-kill percentage. Yes, I'd skip Fleury, but I'd also skip Landeskog. It's an equally tough matchup for both of them.
David Perron, STL at MIN ($20): I'm a big backer of Perron so I don't like doing this, but you can't argue with this matchup. Cam Talbot has a 2.33 GAA and .926 save percentage and the only two teams to score more than three goals on him are the Avalanche and the Golden Knights. Perron has also relied on the power play for 16 of his 45 points, and the Wild have a top-five penalty kill.
DEFENSE
Jakob Chychrun, ARI at SAN ($22): Chychrun has been on an incredible run for anybody, let alone a defenseman, recently. April has been great to him, as he's tallied seven goals and seven assists in his last 14 games. That's while putting 46 shots on goal as well. The Sharks, in addition to having a 3.43 GAA, has allowed a 31.4 shots on net per contest.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN vs. STL ($17): Spurgeon has three points over his last two games, but I'm more focused on the seven power-play points he's tallied while he's averaged 2:54 per contest with the extra man. Due to a variety of factors – including letting Alex Pietrangelo go I imagine – the Blues have really struggled on the penalty kill this season. In fact, they are in the bottom five in that category.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Morgan Rielly, TOR at MON ($21): Nobody expected Rielly to score 20 goals again in a season, but after having three in 47 games last year he has all of four in 48 games this year. With Carey Price out, Jake Allen has been stepping in admirably recently, as he has a 2.43 GAA and .917 save percentage over his last seven starts. On top of that, the Canadiens have only given up 28.2 shots on net per game.
Torey Krug, STL at MIN ($17): Krug has a power-play point in back-to-back games, which is what the Blues probably expected from him this season. However, that gives him all of 10 points with the extra man this year, which is not what anybody expected. Krug just hasn't been the power-play weapon he normally is with his new team, and now the Blues face the Wild and their top-five penalty kill.
