It's a solid Wednesday of NHL action…other than the fact one of the two nationally televised games is Chicago against St. Louis. Hey, it's not like the NFL doesn't constantly shove Cowboys-Giants down our throats no matter how good those teams actually are. The NHL: Just like the NFL in every way! That's an idea of which I am sure the league wouldn't mind taking hold, but for now, there are five games on the docket Wednesday, the first puck drops at 7 p.m. ET, and these are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Two teams are on the second night of a back-to-back. The Stars are visiting the Capitals, putting a crimp in the other nationally televised games. Unrelated to the NHL's television decisions but definitely pertinent to your DFS decisions, the Sharks are visiting the Kings. I'd also keep an eye on Montreal, who is on the first day of a back-to-back. The goaltending decision there will color my feelings about the Flames from a DFS perspective. In fact, bonus goalie recommendations: If it's Jacob Fowler for the Canadiens, I'd roster him.
GOALIES
Darcy Kuemper, LOS vs. SAN ($8,400): Kuemper's first two starts back from injury didn't go great, but he just had a strong start in his third game since returning. Also, those three games were against the Lightning and the Wild twice. Those are high-level offenses. The Sharks are not. They may be middling in goals per game, but they are bottom five in shots on net per game. Also, they are on the road for the second day of a back-to-back.
Spencer Knight, CHI vs. STL ($7,400): Knight certainly fell off after his strong start, but over his last three outings he has a .912 save percentage. That's only three starts, I grant you, but that's enough for me heading into this matchup. Right now, it's hard to argue any team other than the Blues is the worst offense in the NHL. After all, they sit last in both goals and shots on net per game.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Dylan Guenther, UTA vs. OTT ($7,200): Guenther has been making life miserable for opposing goalies as of late. He has six goals in his last eight games, but since he's put a whopping 34 shots on net in that time he has a 17.6 shooting percentage over that run that is far from remarkable. Plus, on the campaign, Guenther has tallied 10 power-play points after having 29 last season. That's important here, as the Senators have the 31st-ranked penalty kill.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Kings vs. Sharks
Alex Turcotte (C - $2,800), Kevin Fiala (W - $6,000), Andrei Kuzmenko (W - $3,300)
Anze Kopitar is banged up. So is Joel Armia. Trevor Moore? He's day-to-day as well. There are questions, but it doesn't seem any of those questions will impact the third line. As such, I will go this route for this stack. San Jose is in the bottom three in GAA and shots on goal allowed per contest, and it is playing its second game in as many days. Obviously, I wanted a Kings line. This one will suffice.
I know Turcotte only has eight points this season, but he has a 5.4 shooting percentage that is probably bad luck. He also has an assist in each of his last two games. Right now, though this is where injuries may play a role, this line is really about the wings, who are currently on the top power-play unit. Regardless of health, you can count on Fiala being there Wednesday. He's averaged 3:25 per game with the extra man and has 12 power-play points in 41 games. Fiala is also on a four-game point streak. Playing on the top power-play unit has unlocked things for Kuzmenko. Five of his eight power-play points have come in his last 12 outings, but in his last seven games he has four points at even strength as well.
DEFENSEMEN
Mikhail Sergachev, UTA vs. OTT ($5,300): Sergachev was never likely to maintain anything near the 11.4 shooting percentage he had last season, which helped him tally 15 goals, but he has 29 points through 43 games so no complaints can be registered on the offensive front. The Russian has tallied 12 of those points with the extra man. As I noted earlier, the Senators have the 31st-ranked penalty kill.
Artyom Levshunov, CHI vs. STL ($3,500): Don't let how amazing Matthew Schaefer is skew your perception of young defensemen. This is Levshunov's rookie campaign, and while he is now 20, this is his age-19 season. He's tallied 20 points in 40 games, including six points in his last eight contests. The second-overall pick in 2024 has five games with multiple shots on target in that timeframe as well. Even though the Blues have been willing to give Joel Hofer more playing time, and even if Hofer is better than Team Canada's Jordan Binnington, he still has a .900 save percentage on the campaign. His career save percentage is .906, which is reasonable for the modern era, but not imposing by any means.
