If you had a reasonable St. Patrick's Day, you're bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to set your NHL DFS lineups for Wednesday. There are six games on the NHL schedule, higher than usual for a Wednesday. First games start at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Only one team is on the second leg of a back-to-back: the Hurricanes, who are hosting the Penguins. However, the Rangers, Senators and Flyers are all on the first leg of a back-to-back, and they all have goaltending tandems where one goalie is decidedly better than the other. Keep an eye out there, just in case.
GOALIES
Joel Hofer, STL at CGY ($8,000): The Blues have been splitting starts between Hofer and Jordan Binnington, and not with a clear rotation. Although, it will likely be Hofer, because Binnington hasn't started two games in a row since early January. Hofer has a .906 save percentage and 2.70 GAA on the campaign as well. This is largely about the matchup, though, as the Flames are last in goals per game, which likely won't change at this point.
Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. STL ($7,400): Wolf will be glad to be back at home. This season he has an .884 save percentage in away outings, but a .908 save percentage at home. Calgary is last in goals per game, but St. Louis is in the bottom six in goals and shots on net per contest as well.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Bryan Rust, PIT at CAR ($5,700): Rust is not merely a product of playing alongside Sidney Crosby. Even though Crosby has missed time, Rust has 13 points over his last 10 games. He also has a 16.3 shooting percentage over the last two seasons. That's notable, because the Hurricanes remain the best team in the NHL at preventing shots, but they are not in the top five in GAA because of the goaltending. Carolina is on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Rust doesn't need to pepper the net with pucks to light the lamp.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, WAS vs. OTT ($4,500): Dubois has missed almost all of this season for the Capitals. However, he's played the last 10 games for the Caps and he has seven points in those games. That includes three points with the extra man. Ottawa has a clear issue, and that's killing penalties. The Canucks are going to finish last in penalty-kill percentage, and the Senators and Kraken are fighting to see who finishes 30th and who finishes 31st.
FORWARD LINE STACKS TO CONSIDER
Flyers at Ducks
Trevor Zegras (C - $5,300), Owen Tippett (W - $5,600), Nikita Grebenkin (W - $2,600)
The Ducks will make the playoffs out of the Pacific, but it's not because of defensive prowess. Anaheim has a 3.48 GAA, and it is in the bottom 10 in penalty-kill percentage as well. Philadelphia is mixing lines around with an eye toward the future, so I'm going with the current top line, featuring two members of the top power-play unit.
One imagined Zegras might be motivated to try and prove a point to the team that "gave up" on him. This isn't just about Zegras being a former Duck, though. He has 54 points in 66 games, and also a point in four of his last five games. Tippett has his fourth 20-goal season in a row, having gotten to 22 through 66 contests. He's also tallied 174 shots on net, so there's a chance he gets to 200 for the third time in four years. Grebenkin is a 22-year-old rookie who is getting his first real playing time as of late. On the year he has 14 points in 52 games, but he has two points in his last five contests.
Devils at Rangers
Jack Hughes (C - $8,600), Jesper Bratt (W - $5,100), Connor Brown (W - $3,500)
If Jonathan Quick is in net, things will look even better for the Devils. However, this trio need not rely on getting to see Quick, as Igor Shesterkin has only been able to do so much for the Rangers this year. This is a team that is below average in terms of GAA, shots on net allowed per game, and penalty kill percentage. Shesterkin has a .913 save percentage since returning from injury, but a 2.71 GAA because he's faced anywhere between 24 and 48 shots on net in that time. This trio for the Devils is in strong form, with two-to-three of them getting time on the first power-play unit as well.
It is fitting nobody has been hotter than Hughes after the NHL returned to action following the conclusion of the Olympics. He has 15 points and 34 shots on net over 10 games, with five of those points coming on the power play. It's probably not a coincidence that Bratt has picked up his production since Hughes returned to the lineup. He has 11 points in his last 10 games, even with an 8.3 shooting percentage in that time. That includes four power-play assists. Brown is the one who is not a lock to be on the top power-play unit, but it has been happening as of late more often than not. He's playing his best hockey of the campaign, notching nine points in his last eight contests.
DEFENSEMEN
Jakob Chychrun, WAS vs. OTT ($6,800): Chychrun had already pushed John Carlson to a secondary role, but now Carlson is gone, so it's all Chychrun all the time. He now has back-to-back 20-goal seasons, remarkable for a defenseman. The former Senator is also over 200 shots on net for the second time in three campaigns. I will also note that Chychrun has 14 power-play points, given that the Senators have a bottom-three penalty kill.
Jamie Drysdale, PHI at ANA ($4,200): Another former Duck! Drysdale is still only 23, and he's averaged 21:40 per game in ice time for the Flyers. That includes 2:22 per game with the extra man. I'd say Drysdale is having the best season of his career, as he's notched seven goals and 20 assists while posting a not-horrendous minus-6 rating. The Ducks, as noted, have a 3.48 GAA. Also, the Ducks are likely to drive plenty of offense, and Drysdale has blocked 70 shots in 63 games.
