It's a light day for the NHL on Wednesday, which is the norm. However, Tuesday was busy and the two nationally televised games Wednesday are good ones, so I have no complaints. First puck drops at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations for Wednesday.
SLATE PREVIEW
One team is on the second day of a back-to-back. The Senators visit the Rangers, which could open the door for a Rangers' offense that is, as the saying goes, largely garbage. In terms of teams on the first leg of a back-to-back, my only question is with Philadelphia. Dan Vladar is certainly better than Samuel Ersson, but could he possibly be saved for Thursday against the Penguins? That is both a rivalry game and a game with divisional implications.
GOALIES
Akira Schmid, VGK at LOS ($7,800): Both goalies I am recommending come from teams on the first leg of a back-to-back. I want whichever goalie gets the call on both fronts, but keep an eye on who is tapped for Wednesday. Schmid has allowed two or fewer goals in four of his last seven games. That's largely because he hasn't faced more than 25 shots in any of those games, and he's only faced more than 20 shots twice in that time. Vegas is elite at preventing pucks from getting to the net, and Los Angeles is in the bottom five in goals per game.
Joey Daccord, SEA at NJD ($7,400): Out of nowhere, Philipp Grubauer has gotten his groove back, leading to a goaltending rotation in Seattle. Daccord is up for Wednesday, though, so he should see the Devils. The rotation seems to be helping Daccord, as in his nine starts in what I would call the Rotation Era, he has a 2.53 GAA and .919 save percentage. I know Jack Hughes is back, but the fact remains the Devils have averaged 2.61 goals per game, and Hughes has played in 28 of their 46 games.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Vincent Trocheck, NYR vs. OTT ($5,500): The Olympian Trocheck has 13 points in his last 15 outings. I don't think it is a coincidence that in that time he's averaged 3:42 per game with the extra man and tallied six power-play points. The Senators are in the bottom three in penalty-kill percentage, and they are the one team on the second leg of a back-to-back Wednesday.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kraken at Devils
Matty Beniers (C - $4,400), Jordan Eberle (W - $4,600), Kaapo Kakko (W - $3,600)
The Devils are average in terms of GAA and shots on net allowed per game but in the bottom 10 in penalty-kill percentage. However, New Jersey's goaltending doesn't seem even average. Jacob Markstrom has struggled all year, as he has a 3.11 GAA and .879 save percentage. Jake Allen was shouldering the load, but he's falling off as well. He has a 3.43 GAA and .885 save percentage over his last five starts. The Kraken have tweaked the lineup recently owing to returning players, but I will go with the team's top line for a stack.
Beniers is on a five-game point streak, and he has at least one point in nine of his last 11 outings. On the year he has nine points with the extra man, and, as I noted, the Devils have a bottom-10 penalty kill. One of the roster tweaks I mentioned is Eberle returning from a two-game absence. He scored a goal in his return, and he has nine points in his last nine games. The former Islander also has 12 power-play points on the campaign. Kakko has shown some signs of life as of late. He has 12 points in his last 14 outings. The Finn also has tallied three of his four power-play points during that run of games.
DEFENSEMEN
Vince Dunn, SEA at NJD ($4,800): Yes, Dunn has a minus-14 rating, but there is a reason behind that, which is not a concern when it comes to Wednesday's DFS decisions. He's playing a higher percentage of his minutes on the power play, and he's tallied 14 of his 25 points with the extra man. In this matchup, that's not a problem. The Devils, as noted have a bottom-10 penalty kill.
Cam York, Phi at BUF ($4,200): York has tallied 18 points on the season but in 37 contests. He's also put 28 shots on net over his last 12 games. The Sabres are in the bottom eight in shots on net allowed per contest, and there are questions about the goaltending. Alex Lyon is hurt, the rookie Colten Ellis has a .900 save percentage, and while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had three great starts to end December, in his three January starts he has a 3.36 GAA (though with a .905 save percentage, going back to the porous defense).
