This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Wednesday's NHL slate is for people who like to stay up a little later. Or people who don't live in the Eastern Time Zone, of course. The first game doesn't start until 8:30 p.m. EDT. That gives you a little extra time to get your DFS lineups in. Here are some players to target and avoid in the four games taking place Wednesday night.
GOALIE
Mikko Koskinen, EDM vs. NAS ($33): I was considering Frederik Andersen, but I decided to try to save a smidge of salary here. Koskinen has been starting for Mike Smith, and if he's still in the net Wednesday he'll be bringing a 2.22 GAA and .933 save percentage. Nashville is middle-of-the-pack offensively, but it is also on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, CHI vs. CAR ($23): Fleury just picked up his first win of the season. He's allowed only one goal in each of his last two games. As such, you might be thinking, "OK the start of the season was a fluke, now he's going to look like the guy who won the Vezina last year." Don't get back on the Fleury train just yet. Carolina – who has started the season with a perfect record – has averaged 4.13 goals and 34.1 shots on net per game. I do agree that Fleury should be fine, but I don't think he will be fine in this matchup.
CENTER
Brayden Schenn, STL at LOS ($16): With Ryan O'Reilly out, Schenn is centering St. Louis' top line. He's played over 19 minutes in both of his last two games, and let's not forget that he had 36 points in 56 games last year. It's not like he's incapable of producing like a first-line center. The Kings have been using both Cal Petersen and Jonathan Quick pretty evenly, so it's hard to predict who will start. All I know is that Petersen has an .895 save percentage this year (mostly due to allowing seven goals to these same Blues) and Quick has struggled for a few seasons.
CENTER TO AVOID
Nazem Kadri, COL vs. CLM ($16): Kadri's shooting percentage is going to rise from the 6.5 he posted up last season, and he does have a goal in each of his last two games. It might be hard for him to add a third game to make that a streak, though. While Columbus has been allowing a lot of shots, Elvis Merzlikins has been up to the task, as he has an 1.97 GAA and .939 save percentage. His career save percentage is .921, so this isn't a terribly fluky start.
WING
Zach Hyman, EDM vs. NAS ($23): The Oilers welcomed in Hyman by giving him a spot on their incredible top power-play unit, and he's benefited. He's already tallied three goals and an assist with the extra man in eight games. Since Nashville is on the second night of a back-to-back, it might be starting Connor Ingram in net. Ingram looked good in his one start this season, but it's the only start of his NHL career so far.
Teuvo Teravainen, CAR at CHI ($21): There are a few Hurricanes that likely have regression coming their way in the negative sense, but Teravainen actually should be getting some positive regression toward the mean. He's got an 8.7 shooting percentage, and while his career percentage is only 10.0, some more goals will likely still be coming. Plus, he has six assists in eight games anyway. While Fleury will likely play better than he did in his first few starts, the Blackhawks have also allowed 32.4 shots on goal per game, and that's less likely to regress based on last season's defensive numbers.
WINGS TO AVOID
Patrick Kane, CHI vs. CAR ($31): Kane returned from his COVID-19 absence and picked up four points. Clearly, his health is just fine. However, this is a little tougher a matchup than Ottawa. Andersen, who I mentioned earlier, has a 1.29 GAA and .956 save percentage. Kane came back firing on all cylinders, but I expect a dose of reality here.
Filip Forsberg, NAS at EDM ($20): Forsberg is doing fine, but after being in Calgary on Tuesday he's in Edmonton on Wednesday. Like I mentioned, Koskinen has a 2.22 GAA and .933 save percentage. Tough goaltending and the second leg of a road back-to-back is not a recipe for success typically.
DEFENSE
Tony DeAngelo, CAR at CHI ($19): DeAngelo's play this season is a reminder of why he keeps getting opportunities, even if his actions would seemingly not warrant them. He has nine points in eight games, including five on the power play. He's also started 59.5 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, second highest on the Hurricanes. DeAngelo is getting a lot of opportunity to provide offense, and he's done it thus far.
Torey Krug, STL at LOS ($18): Krug isn't playing as many power-play minutes as he did with the Bruins, but he's still averaged 2:51 with the extra man in his two seasons in St. Louis. The 30-year-old also has three power-play points in seven games. While it's still only a handful of penalty-kill opportunities this time of the year, the Kings are down in the bottom five in penalty-kill percentage.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CHI vs. CAR ($18): Jones has been exactly what the Blackhawks hoped for thus far, as he has eight points. However, they are all assists. Five of Jones' helpers have come on the power play, but he's also averaged a whopping 4:59 with the extra man. He's already had three games with over six minutes of power-play time, and that may literally not happen again all season. Also, even being on the power play might not help him here. The Hurricanes have a top-five penalty kill.
Mattias Ekholm, NAS at EDM ($13): Roman Josi has been a force on the blue line as per usual, but Ekholm is off to a slow start. In fact, he only has two points thus far. Maybe some more points will arrive in due time, but the Swede is on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and the Oilers have been getting strong goaltending.
