This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Wednesday will be a somewhat light night in the world of hockey with six games on the docket. The action will be somewhat more favorable to viewers on the West Coast with four of the games starting at 9:00 p.m. ET or later. Here are my recommendations for those wishing to supplement the watching experience with FanDuel DFS contests.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Islanders and the Kings are playing in the second half of a back-to-back, so both teams might be battling fatigue. This might also be a challenging night for the Avalanche, who were already missing several key forwards when Ross Colton (foot) landed on injured reserve (IR). Jonathan Drouin (upper body) is day-to-day, so at the time of writing, there's still a chance he'll be available Wednesday, but rookie Nikolai Kovalenko ($4,000) may be elevated to the top line if Drouin isn't ready to return.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at DET ($8,600): Hellebuyck did surrender five goals on 35 shots to Toronto Monday, but this has still been a great start to 2024-25 for him. He has a 6-1-0 record, 2.14 GAA, and a .925 save percentage in seven appearances. Detroit ranks 24th offensively with 2.78 goals per game, so this is a good opportunity for Hellebuyck to bounce back.
Elvis Merzlikins, CLM vs. NYI ($6,800): I don't like a lot of the goaltending matchups tonight, but Merzlikins, if he starts, would be an interesting discount option. He's coming off a strong start in which he saved 31 out of 32 shots en route to a 6-1 victory over Edmonton on Monday. The Blue Jackets are facing the Islanders, who are tied for 30th offensively with just 2.33 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Erik Haula, NJD at VAN ($4,800): Haula has been a great source of secondary scoring for the Devils, supplying four goals and eight points across 12 appearances in 2024-25. All four of his goals this campaign have come across 17 shots over his past six outings, so he's red hot in that regard.
Matias Maccelli, UTA vs. CAL ($4,500): Maccelli netted his first two goals of the campaign Monday, bringing him up to six points through 10 outings in 2024-25. He's got a solid chance of building off Monday's showing against the Flames, who are in a freefall after allowing a combined 14 goals over their past three games – all losses.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Golden Knights at Kings
Jack Eichel (C - $9,100), Mark Stone (W - $9,300), Ivan Barbashev (W - $7,400)
The tired Kings will have their hands full with this line. Eichel has been held off the scoresheet just once across 10 outings in 2024-25, providing three goals and 16 points overall. Stone has done even better, supplying five goals and 18 points through 10 appearances. Barbashev rounds out the unit with seven goals and 12 points in 10 outings.
The only drawback is how expensive the trio is. They're worth the price, but if you simply can't afford all three, you could consider subbing out Barbashev for Pavel Dorofeyev (W - $5,000). Dorofeyev is a downgrade, but he has a solid four goals and seven points through 10 appearances. Importantly, Dorofeyev is also projected to play on the top power-play unit alongside Eichel and Stone, while Barbashev is expected to serve on the second man-advantage grouping.
Hockey Club at Flames
Logan Cooley (C - $6,100), Clayton Keller (W - $7,900), Dylan Guenther (W - $6,800)
If you're looking for a cheaper line, Utah has an interesting one. This trio was red hot at the start of the campaign with Keller, Cooley and Guenther providing six, five and five points, respectively, across the first three games. The trio cooled after that but has turned a corner recently with each of these three forwards entering tonight's action on a two-game scoring streak.
As noted above, the Flames have been terrible defensively lately, so this is a good combination of a line starting to gel again and an ice-cold adversary.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL vs. TBL ($8,400): I simply don't have it in me to pass on Makar when he's doing this well. He's opened the campaign with a 10-game scoring streak in which he's provided three goals and 17 points. Only Mark Stone and Kirill Kaprizov are ahead of Makar in the scoring race, and no defenseman is even close to Makar offensively.
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at LAK ($6,400): Pietrangelo is as close as it comes to giving Makar competition in the blueliner scoring race – the Vegas defenseman ranks second with 12 points through 10 appearances. Pietrangelo hasn't been as consistently dominant as Makar, but Pietrangelo is the league's hottest defenseman with nine points across his past four outings.
Jonas Siegenthaler, NJD at VAN ($3,700): Siegenthaler typically isn't much of an offensive threat, but he's done well recently with three assists across his past two appearances. Betting on him to extend that run is a roll of the dice, but there are no great blueliner options at this price point, so if you need a discount pick, Siegenthaler is worthy of consideration.
