This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL slate includes four games after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
All four of Wednesday's games are expected to be competitive. The largest favorites are the Golden Knights, who are looking to avenge Monday's overtime home loss in St. Louis. Penguins-Lightning and Hurricanes-Oilers are tied for the highest over/under at 6.5 goals, with the home team narrowly favored in both games, while Golden Knights-Blues and Stars-Panthers both come in with over/unders of 6.0 goals.
GOALIES
Logan Thompson, VGK at STL ($8,200): With Adin Hill (lower body) unavailable, Thompson's back to being the main man in Vegas' net. Thompson has played well as the team's 1B option this season, going 6-3-3 with a 2.33 GAA and .919 save percentage. The Blues beat Thompson 2-1 in overtime Monday, but St. Louis has a bottom-10 offense with just 2.88 goals per game.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. PIT ($8,000): Vasilevskiy's coming off a 25-save shutout of Dallas on Monday in what was his best start since returning from back surgery. If he gets the nod Wednesday, he'll look to build on that encouraging outing against a Penguins team that's averaging 3.04 goals (14th-fewest) on 33.4 shots (third-most). If Jonas Johansson ($8,000) gets the nod instead for this front end of a Lightning back-to-back, he'd be a high-risk, high-reward option, as Johansson has an ugly 3.44 GAA and .892 save percentage but two shutouts in 18 starts.
Jake Oettinger, DAL at FLA ($7,800): Like the Penguins, the Panthers have scored at a middling rate (3.00 goals per game) while piling up plenty of shots (34.1 per game), which is why Florida has been the most fantasy-friendly opponent for goalies this season. Oettinger certainly has the skills to capitalize on this favorable matchup, as he's 10-5-2 with a 2.53 GAA and .915 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Nikita Kucherov, TB vs. PIT ($9,600): Most lineups that include a pricey star will likely be built around Connor McDavid ($9,400), but Kucherov has been even better thus far this season. Kucherov is the league leader in both points (42) and shots (123), and he's tied for second in the NHL with 16 goals.
Leon Draisaitl, EDM vs. CAR ($7,900): Draisaitl is a nice bargain relative to the likes of McDavid and Kucherov considering only McDavid had more points than Draisaitl across the entire league last season, and the two Edmonton superstars are currently tied for the team points lead with 29. Carolina hasn't been nearly as stout defensively as we have grown accustomed to in recent years, ranking in the middle of the pack with 3.21 goals allowed per game.
Pavel Buchnevich, STL vs. VGK ($5,600): Buchnevich has been one of the league's hottest forwards over the past month, with an 8-7-15 line over his last 12 games. That success includes a goal Monday in Vegas. He averaged over a point per game in each of his previous two seasons with the Blues, so Buchnevich is no stranger to scoring binges.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA vs. DAL ($5,500): Verhaeghe is the hottest member of Florida's talented forward group, with a 3-2-5 line and 17 shots over his last five games. Considering Verhaeghe potted 42 goals last season, he's certainly capable of staying locked in for an extended period, and he's on pace to flirt with 40 goals again with an 11-9-20 line through 24 games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Oilers vs. Hurricanes
Connor McDavid (C - $9,400), Zach Hyman (W - $6,400), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (W - $5,000)
After a dreadful start, the Oilers have turned things around with a four-game winning streak, and McDavid has unsurprisingly led the way with a whopping 13 points over that span, as part of a larger six-game point streak in which he has a 4-12-16 line. Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins have unsurprisingly benefited from skating alongside the red-hot McDavid, both at even strength and on the top power-play unit. Hyman has a 4-4-8 line over his last four games, while RNH has a 2-3-5 line in his last five.
Golden Knights at Blues
Jack Eichel (C - $8,400), Mark Stone (W - $5,400), Ivan Barbashev (W - $3,500)
Eichel has a 3-5-8 line and 18 shots on goal during his current four-game point streak, including Vegas' only goal in Monday's loss to the Blues. The top-line center has also flashed some defensive skills with at least one blocked shot in each of those four games. Stone's 21 points are third on the team behind Eichel's 28 and the 23 of William Karlsson ($5,500). Barbashev's a nice value at just $3,500 given his top-line role, and he has a 1-2-3 line in his last three games, while the Blues are allowing the most fantasy points in the league to left wings.
Penguins at Lightning
Sidney Crosby (C - $7,500), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,500), Bryan Rust (W - $6,600)
Tampa Bay's 3.58 goals allowed per game are fifth-most in the league, and while Pittsburgh's power play has been slumping, this trio has continued to deliver at even strength. Guentzel leads the team with a 9-19-28 line through 24 games, and he's currently on a six-game point streak. Crosby's two points back of Guentzel's team-best total, and the future Hall of Famer leads Pittsburgh with 15 goals. Rust is tied with Evgeni Malkin ($5,900) for second on the team with 10 goals, and Rust has added 10 assists despite missing three games this season.
DEFENSEMEN
Evan Bouchard, EDM vs. CAR ($6,400): Bouchard has an eight-game point streak going and has a power-play point in each of the last five games. He's averaging a point per game through 22 games overall, and Bouchard has a nice opportunity to extend his power-play point streak against a Hurricanes penalty kill that's operating at 77.2 percent, which is the most generous mark among teams in action Wednesday.
Miro Heiskanen, DAL at FLA ($5,300): Heiskanen does it all as the top option Dallas' blue line, and this is a nice buy-low opportunity given his poor puck luck. The career 5.1 percent shooter has scored at least eight goals in four of the previous five seasons, but he has just one goal on 46 shots for a 2.2 shooting percentage despite featuring prominently on Dallas' top power-play unit.
Brent Burns, CAR at EDM ($5,200): Edmonton's four-game winning streak was preceded by a 6-3 loss in Carolina, in which Burns scored his fifth goal of the season. With Tony DeAngelo's defensive struggles leaving him in the press box lately, Burns is quarterbacking Carolina's top power-play unit, giving him plenty of offensive upside against an Oilers team that's allowing 3.59 goals per game. Burns' 61 shots on goal are tied for sixth-most in the NHL, and he has a 3-5-8 line in his last 10 games.
Aaron Ekblad, FLA vs. DAL ($4,200): Ekblad has easily outplayed his $4,200 valuation since returning from a shoulder injury, despite poor puck luck. He has just two assists through eight games but has piled up 23 shots on goal and 15 blocked shots. It should be just a matter of time until pucks start going in for one of the league's premier goal scorers from the blue line; Ekblad has reached double digits in goals in all but one of his previous nine seasons.
