This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL slate features six games but won't start until 8:00 PM Eastern time. Below, you'll find an overview of the matchups and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Scoring will come at a premium in this slate, which features three of the league's four stingiest defensive teams (Bruins, Stars, Coyotes), as well as two other top-10 squads in that regard (Islanders, Avalanche). The Rangers-Blackhawks, Wild-Canucks and Panthers-Ducks games should feature more open ice, and Boston's sixth-ranked offense should also make some noise in Edmonton.
GOALIES
A goalie duel is likely to occur between the Coyotes and Stars, both of whom sport bottom-eight offenses and top-four defenses. While Dallas' Ben Bishop ($8,200) will be the more commonly used option in net and has the highest floor in this slate, Arizona's Antti Raanta ($7,000) could be the better value option. Raanta has turned aside 64 of 66 shots over his last two starts, winning both. Darcy Kuemper ($6,800) would also be an enticing bargain option if he's able to make his long-awaited return from a lower-body injury after recently getting back on the practice rink for the Coyotes.
Pavel Francouz ($8,100) allowed four goals to the Lightning in his last start, but he still has a nice 13-5-3 record, 2.51 GAA and .922 save percentage. Operating as Colorado's starter in net while Philipp Grubauer tends to a lower-body injury, Francouz should fare much better against an Islanders team that's scored just one goal over the first three games of its road trip.
Sergei Bobrovsky ($7,500) snapped out of an 0-4-1 funk with a win Monday in San Jose. It's been a challenging first season in Florida for the high-profile netminder, but his ceiling remains high against a Ducks team that's scoring the third-fewest goals in the league (2.54 per game).
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
David Pastrnak ($8,500) is this slate's most expensive skater for a reason. His 42 goals have the Bruins winger one behind Auston Matthews' league-leading total, and Pasta's heating up at the moment with four goals on 14 shots in his last three games.
The Ducks have been stingy against wingers, but the same hasn't been true for centers, to whom the Ducks are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points. Florida's Aleksander Barkov ($6,800) is primed to take advantage of Anaheim's struggles against his position and build on his 17-40-57 line in 56 games.
Dominik Kubalik ($4,800) leads all rookies with 23 goals, and 12 of those have come in his last 17 games. The Blackhawks winger's a nice value at $4,800 against a Rangers team that's letting up 3.09 goals per game.
Kevin Fiala ($5,800) has pulled a massive hit streak seemingly out of nowhere for the Wild, registering a 5-5-10 line and 33 shots in his last seven games. He's been held off the scoresheet in the last two contests but continued to generate chances at a high clip, so grab Fiala in Vancouver now that his price has normalized after a momentary spike up to $7,000.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Canucks vs. Wild
Elias Pettersson (C - $7,200), J.T. Miller (W - $6,200), Tyler Toffoli (W - $4,700)
This is a tremendous opportunity for Vancouver's top power-play contributors, as the Canucks' power play ranks fifth at 23.7 percent while the Wild's 74.9 percent penalty kill is the second-worst in the league. Pettersson and Miller are tied with Bo Horvat for the team lead in power-play goals with eight, and Pettersson's also tied with defenseman Quinn Hughes for the team lead in power-play points with 22, with Miller next at 19. Toffoli is projected to immediately slot into a role on this line and on the top power-play unit after being acquired from the Kings, and he was hot prior to the trade with four goals in his last two games.
Rangers at Blackhawks
Ryan Strome (C - $5,300), Artemi Panarin (W - $7,600), Jesper Fast (W - $3,500)
These teams are heading in opposite directions, as New York has won four of its last five games while Chicago has just one win in its last six. Panarin has a six-game point streak going whole Strome has at least one point in each of the last five games, bringing their respective season lines to 29-49-78 and 14-36-50. The former mark ranks Panarin fifth league-wide in points while the latter ties Strome's previous career-best output. Fast's more of a cheap filler, though the industrious winger is on pace for a career-best 35 points with an 8-16-24 line and will be at his best to impress potential suitors ahead of the trade deadline.
Ducks vs. Panthers
Ryan Getzlaf (C - $5,800), Rickard Rakell (W - $5,600), Max Jones (W - $2,700)
Only the Red Wings and Devils allow more goals per game than the Panthers (3.36), so even the offensively challenged Ducks should do some damage. Plus, Anaheim's actually a respectable 12-11-3 on home ice. Getzlaf leads the Ducks with 38 points in 57 games, while Rakell's 34 points gave him tied for second with Jakob Silfverberg. Jones hasn't had much success yet with a 7-3-10 line in 48 games this season, but the 22-year-old winger was Anaheim's first-round selection in 2016 and has more offensive ability than he's conveyed thus far.
DEFENSEMEN
Given the earlier mention that Quinn Hughes ($5,300) is tied for the team lead with 22 power-play points, it's no surprise the young Canucks blueliner is a recommended option against the vulnerable Wild penalty kill. Hughes has taken his game up a notch recently, as his 8-37-45 line includes 11 points in his last nine games.
Adam Fox ($4,500) saw nearly six minutes of power-play in the last game after racking up an assist in each of the previous two. The playmaking rookie defenseman should continue to play an outsized offensive role for the Rangers in Chicago if fellow productive blueliner Anthony DeAngelo (upper body) remains out, and Fox's 6-25-31 line in 58 games suggests he's more than capable of holding his own if DeAngelo returns.
John Klingberg ($4,500) is another defenseman who's capable of contributing on offense at a reasonable price. The Stars blueliner has a goal, three assists and 10 shots over an active three-game point streak. With 27 points in 48 appearances, Klingberg should push for a sixth consecutive 40-point season to open his career if he can stay healthy the rest of the way.
