This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are three games on the Wednesday slate, with all three contests involving rested teams. Toronto hosts Florida, while the Islanders travel to Washington. In the final game of the night, Minnesota plays in Colorado. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Ilya Sorokin, NYI at WAS ($7,500): Sorokin is 4-0-1 in his last five starts, the only blemish coming March 24 when he gave up five goals on 27 shots in an overtime loss to Columbus. Sorokin is 27-19-7 with a 2.38 GAA and .923 save percentage. Sorokin has been outstanding for most of the season and is considered a top-three goaltender in the NHL. He will face the Capitals, who are falling out of the playoff picture. Washington is currently 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, six points in arrears of the second wild card Penguins.
Ilya Samsonov, TOR vs. FLA ($8,200): Samsonov has been sensational at home this season, going 18-2-2, the third best goaltender in the NHL in his home arena. He has a 1.95 GAA – trailing only Linus Ullmark – and a .929 save percentage, fourth best among netminders. Overall, Samsonov is 24-9-3 with a 2.46 GAA and .914 save percentage, as he has struggled on the road. He will face the Panthers, who are just three points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, averaging 3.45 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
J.T. Compher, COL vs. MIN ($5,900): Compher is having his best season in his NHL career, scoring 16 goals and adding 32 assists in 73 games. He has been strong on the power play with five goals and 13 points. Compher is seeing plenty of time on the first power play with Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin and that does not hurt his cause.
Anthony Duclair, FLA at TOR ($ 5,100): Duclair has a goal and five points in 12 games this season after returning from offseason Achilles surgery, that cost him the first 60 games of the season. While his stats aren't great this season, he is playing on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Eetu Luostarinen, as well as the second power play. Duclair scored 31 goals last season and added 27 assists, so he is more than capable of a breakout game.
Kyle Palmieri, NYI at WAS ($5,500): Palmieri has been red hot of late, scoring five times and adding five assists in his last six games. Palmieri has 15 goals and 31 points in 48 games as he has been quite good on the second line with Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs vs. Panthers
Auston Matthews (C-$10,100), Mitch Marner (W-$8,200), Calle Jarnkrok (W-$4,500)
Marner has been one of the hottest players in the NHL of late. He is on a 10-game point streak, scoring six times and adding 11 assists. Marner is heading for his first 100-point season of his career as he has 28 goals and 94 points with nine games remaining in the regular season. He has been a first-team All-Star in each of the last two seasons but likely won't be this season (even though he's poised to set a career high in points) as David Pastrnak and Nikita Kucherov are also having strong seasons. Matthews has points in each of his last six contests, lighting the lamp five times, with five assists. It has been a tough season for the two-time defending Rocket Richard winning scorer, as he has dealt with injuries once again. He still has 36 goals and 77 points in 66 games, a great season for most, but not Matthews. Jarnkrok gives this line plenty of value at his price. He has six goals and nine points in his last 12 games, giving him 18 goals and 36 points in 66 contests this season.
Wild at Avalanche
Matthew Boldy (W - $6,800), Joel Eriksson Ek (C -$6,700), Mats Zuccarello (W - $6,800)
Zuccarello plays on the second line while Boldy and Eriksson are on the top unit, but all three play together on the first power play. Boldy has been on fire since Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) was injured nine games ago. Boldy has 11 goals and 15 points in the last nine contests – including a pair of hat tricks – giving him 28 goals and 57 points in 74 games. He has also been a star on the power play with eight goals and 16 assists. Eriksson Ek has a goal and nine points in his last seven games as he has been instrumental in aiding Boldy's recent hot streak. Eriksson Ek has 23 goals and 58 points in 74 games this campaign. Zuccarello has two goals and six points in the nine games since losing Kaprizov as a linemate, but still has been contributing on a line with Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno. Zuccarello has 22 goal and 65 points in 72 games, including nine goals and 27 points with the man-advantage.
DEFENSEMEN
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. FLA ($5,700): Rielly was having a poor season by his standards, with two goals and 25 points in 45 games heading into March. But the 29-year-old blueliner has picked up his pace of late, scoring twice and adding eight assists in 12 games since the end of February. Rielly has a goal and 15 helpers on the power play as he is seeing the most action with the man-advantage in his NHL career.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at COL ($5,200): Spurgeon has three assists in his last two games, giving him 10 goals and 23 assists in 73 contests. He has 139 shots on goal to date, third most in his 13-year NHL career. Spurgeon is averaging almost 22 minutes per game of action this season. If you are going with expensive forwards and a goalie, you will need a player like Spurgeon to fill out your roster.
