It's an exciting Wednesday of NHL action. In addition to the first Game 6 of this year, we have two Game 5s in series that are tied at two games apiece. Good stuff! The first puck drops at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my DraftKings NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Arturs Silovs seems like the guy for the Penguins now, and the Golden Knights seem set on sticking with Carter Hart, so the goaltending situations are clear to me. It also doesn't seem like any injured players are primed to return Wednesday.
GOALIE
Dan Vladar, PHI vs. PIT ($7,800): I'm sticking with Vladar as this series heads back to Philadelphia. Yes, the Flyers have lost a couple games, but Vladar hasn't been the issue. He has a 2.03 GAA and .914 save percentage in this series. I don't trust Silovs, and I have seen how that Utah-Vegas series has been going, so of the three goalies I would consider, Vladar is my pick.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Christian Dvorak, PHI vs. PIT ($4,200): The Flyers have dipped a bit these last couple of games, but Dvorak had an assist in Game 4. He didn't have a point in Game 5, but he recorded a shot on net and two blocked shots. Dvorak tallied 51 points this season, but he also has a defensive role that can be to his benefit. Silovs had an .887 save percentage this year and he has a career .885 save percentage, so I expect things eventually will unravel, and "eventually" could be Game 6.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Golden Knights vs. Mammoth
Jack Eichel (C - $8,300), Pavel Dorofeyev (W - $5,600), Ivan Barbashev (W - $4,100)
The Golden Knights have done some tweaking, and that tweaking led to a 5-4 win in Game 4. Now, the Knights head back to Vegas. Karel Vejmelka hasn't been bad in this series, and he wasn't even necessarily bad in Game 4. However, he also hasn't been good by any means. The Czech netminder has a 2.80 GAA and .899 save percentage in this series, and, owing to his heavy workload, scuffled down the stretch. Vejmelka has a 3.09 GAA and .887 save percentage over his last 20 outings.
Eichel is an elite player, and he has had no issues in this series. He has six points and 13 shots on net against Utah, and he had three assists in Game 4. Going back to the end of the regular season, he has 22 points over his last 14 outings. Dorofeyev is the one who was moved to the top line and then he scored a goal, his first point of this series. He's scored 35 and 37 goals in each of the last two seasons, though, so generally he doesn't have an issue lighting the lamp. Barbashev actually has a single point in every game of this series. It's also interesting and notable that he played 3:14 minutes on the power play in Game 4, as typically he has had a meager role with the extra man.
DEFENSEMAN
MacKenzie Weegar, UTA at VGK ($4,700): Weegar doesn't play as much as his defensive compatriot Mikhail Sergachev owing to fewer minutes on the power play, but the former Flame has averaged 21:43 per game in ice time in this series. He's picked up three points and eight shots on net, though his goal in this series was obviously fluky. Weegar now has nine points over his last 14 contests. On the flip side, Hart has an .847 save percentage over his last three starts.
