DraftKings NHL: Wednesday Breakdown

DraftKings NHL: Wednesday Breakdown

This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.

Wednesday's modest NHL slate consists of three games after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

SLATE PREVIEW

The Stars in Anaheim and Devils in Detroit are both clear favorites on the road, while Lightning-Wild is viewed as a tossup. This will be the second game in as many nights for Dallas and Tampa Bay. Stars-Ducks has an over/under of 6.0 goals, while the other two games come in at 6.5.

GOALIES

Scott Wedgewood, DAL at ANH ($8,300): Wedgewood's a step down from Tuesday's starter Jake Oettinger, but the backup goalie should still be good enough to take care of business against the 31st-ranked Ducks offense (2.24 goals per game). He's 6-2-2 in his last 10 decisions, and Wedgewood has limited the opposition to a single goal in three of his last four appearances (three starts).

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at MIN ($7,600): Vasilevskiy watched Brian Elliott start Tuesday in Chicago, so the Lightning's top netminder should get the nod for this one. He's 8-2-0 with only 17 goals against in his last 10 starts, and Vasilevskiy has the skills to pick up the slack if Tampa Bay's tired legs lead to a few extra opportunities for the Wild.

Ville Husso, DET vs. NJ ($7,400): Detroit reassigned Alex Nedeljkovic to the AHL on Wednesday, suggesting Husso has recovered from his illness. Regardless of whether the Red Wings roll out Husso or Magnus Hellberg ($7,400), the team's goalie of choice will be a high-risk, high-reward play against the slumping Devils. New Jersey got off to a blistering start but has won only two of its last 11 games.

VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS

Trevor Zegras, ANH vs. DAL ($5,100): Zegras hasn't scored a goal since Dec. 9, but the talented 21-year-old could be on the verge of a breakout performance. His last three games include a two-assist, seven-shot performance and a one-helper, nine-shot outing. Despite the recent scoring slump, Zegras is still on pace to reach 60 points for the second consecutive season, and if he keeps peppering the net with pucks, Zegras might just break through here against Wedgewood.

Michael Rasmussen, DET vs. NJ ($4,000): Rasmussen has a 3-4-7 line in five games since bumping up to the top line, and he's added 15 shots over that span. The 6-foot-6 Swede has started to utilize his big body more effectively at age 23, and he'll be a handful to match up against for the undersized Devils.

Sam Steel, MIN vs. TB ($3,800): Steel has fit in nicely on the top line between highly productive wingers Kirill Kaprizov ($8,200) and Mats Zuccarello ($7,400). The affordable center's averaging a point per game over his last eight, and he's a low-risk, high-reward option, even in a difficult matchup against the Lightning.

FORWARD LINE STACKS

Stars at Ducks

Roope Hintz (C - $6,700), Jason Robertson (W - $8,600), Joe Pavelski (W - $5,500)

Dallas' top line is the chalk stack against a Ducks team that's allowing a league-high 4.11 goals per game. Detroit's giving up the second-most goals per game among teams in action Wednesday at 3.29, and all four other teams average no more than 2.83 goals against. Robertson should be worth paying up for considering he ranks fifth in goals (26), third in points (55) and sixth in shots (160) around the league. Hintz has a 19-25-44 line overall, including a 6-3-9 output during his current six-game point streak. Fresh off signing a one-year extension, Pavelski's showing no signs of slowing down at age 38. He has 38 points in 39 games, including seven in his last six.

Lightning at Wild

Brayden Point (C - $7,500), Nikita Kucherov (W - $8,400), Brandon Hagel (W - $5,700)

Tampa Bay's top line has been on a roll lately, and facing a hot Wild team is unlikely to deter this talented trio. Kucherov's 13-40-53 line through 36 games is good for fifth league-wide in points. Point has 11 goals in his last 12 games, and Hagel has contributed an 8-5-13 line in his last 11.

Devils at Red Wings

Jack Hughes (C - $7,800), Dawson Mercer (W - $3,500), Erik Haula (C - $3,200)

The Nico Hischier ($5,900) line will likely match up with Detroit's top line, leaving Hughes and Co. to take advantage of Detroit's poor forward depth. Selected first overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Hughes is starting to live up to his lofty expectations, with a 21-21-42 line through 37 games, including four goals on 23 shots over the last four. Mercer has chipped in three assists in the last two games and is on pace to flirt with 50 points in his second NHL season, while Haula's also on a modest two-game point streak.

DEFENSEMEN

Victor Hedman, TB at MIN ($6,100): We haven't seen the typical elite production from Hedman this season, but he's heating up with seven assists in the last four games. The buy-low window on the star blueliner remains open, as the career 6.9 percent shooter's unlikely to stay down at his current 1.4 percent mark all year.

Miro Heiskanen, DAL at ANH ($5,300): If you're going with a Stars stack, make sure to include Heiskanen. The standout blueliner has a 6-24-30 line through 36 games, including a 1-4-5 output during his current four-game point streak. The offseason departure of John Klingberg ($3,500) to the Ducks has opened up first-unit power-play minutes for Heiskanen, who has already set a career high with 16 power-play points.

Jared Spurgeon, MIN vs. TB ($4,500): Spurgeon's been a two-way force lately, notching a 2-2-4 line, seven shots and 12 blocks over his last three games. His strong all-around play makes Spurgeon an intriguing mid-range option on the blue line, and he's on pace for his third 40-point campaign.

Jake Walman, DET vs. NJ ($4,100): Walman's shot blocking makes him a strong choice against puck possession teams like New Jersey, and he's quietly been a strong source of shots lately, too. He has 16 blocked shots in his last four games and at least three shots on goal in six of his last eight, so while Walman's ceiling is capped by a lack of scoring, his secondary production gives him a solid floor.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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