Wednesdays tend to be a light night for the NHL, and this one is no exception. There are four games scheduled, and they're fairly well spread out with one game starting at each of 7 p.m. ET (the Rangers at Tampa Bay), 7:30 p.m. (Edmonton at Philadelphia), 9 p.m. (Buffalo at Utah) and 9:30 p.m. (New Jersey at Chicago).
SLATE PREVIEW
None of the eight teams playing Wednesday were part of Tuesday's action, so this is a rare day where all the participating squads are rested. However, Edmonton and Buffalo are in the first half of a back-to-back, which might influence those teams' lineup decisions.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL vs. NYR ($7,400): Vasilevskiy has been fantastic recently, posting a 5-1-0 record, 2.00 GAA and .923 save percentage across his past five appearances. Meanwhile, the Rangers' offense has left plenty to be desired this season. They rank 31st in goals per game with 2.41.
Spencer Knight, CHI vs. NJD ($7,600): On a day with more options, I'd probably avoid taking either goaltender in this matchup, but Knight is an interesting gamble given our limited choices. Chicago has been solid this year with an 8-5-3 record, and the Blackhawks are on a three-game winning streak. Knight's also coming off a 33-save shutout over Calgary, which has added to what was already an impressive start to the campaign – he's 6-3-2 with a 2.33 GAA and a .926 save percentage in 11 appearances.
VALUE PLAYS
Matvei Michkov, PHI vs. EDM ($4,600): Michkov has been somewhat hit-and-miss in his sophomore campaign, but the 20-year-old is heating up after finding the back of the net in each of his past two games. That gives him three goals and eight points through 15 outings this season.
Oliver Moore, CHI vs. NJD ($3,600): Moore scored his first career NHL goal Sunday, and that's just a taste of what the 20-year-old should bring to Chicago in the long run. Taken with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, he has two points in four appearances with the Blackhawks this season as well as six goals and nine points in nine outings with AHL Rockford. Moore has averaged a modest 13:23 of ice time with Chicago this year, but he's likely to see his role creep upward. It doesn't hurt that he's projected to play on the second line Wednesday.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Blackhawks vs. Devils
Connor Bedard (C - $7,900), Tyler Bertuzzi (W - $5,900), Andre Burakovsky (W - $5,800)
Bedard was great over his first two NHL campaigns, but he didn't live up to the insanely high expectations that had been thrust upon him. This year seems to be different. Bedard already has nine goals and 25 points through 16 appearances, putting him well on his way to shattering his 67-point finish from the 2024-25 regular season. Bedard's showing no signs of slowing down either, with an insane seven goals and 18 points across his past eight outings.
Bedard is the clear highlight of this line, but he's not the only player producing. Bertuzzi is on a three-game goal-scoring streak and has also collected multiple points in each of those contests, which has propelled him to nine markers and 14 points through 15 outings this year. Burakovsky also has four multipoint performances over his past seven appearances, contributing an impressive five goals and 10 points over that stretch.
DEFENSEMEN
Mikhail Sergachev, UTA vs. BUF ($6,200): Sergachev has shrugged off the six-game point drought he suffered at the start of the campaign. Since that cold spell, the 27-year-old blueliner has collected three goals and 12 points through 10 appearances, including five points with the man advantage.
Artyom Levshunov, CHI vs. NJD ($4,200): Levshunov has been held off the scoresheet just once in his past seven games, providing seven assists in that span. He's another incredibly promising prospect on a team stacked with young talent, so we're likely to see more stretches like this out of the 20-year-old in the future.
