Wednesdays are typically one of the lighter nights for the NHL, but there's a decent amount of action scheduled with six games on the docket. Here are the picks that stand out to me tonight.
SLATE PREVIEW
Carolina played Tuesday, so the Hurricanes might play somewhat below their peak due to fatigue. Ottawa, Philadelphia and the Rangers are scheduled to play again Thursday, which might influence those squads' lineup decisions tonight.
GOALIES
Joel Hofer, STL at CAL ($7,800): Hofer is on a roll with a 5-0-1 record, 1.64 GAA and .948 save percentage across his past six outings. That brings him up to 17-11-4 with a 2.70 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 36 appearances in 2025-26. The Flames have struggled over their past 10 outings, going 2-7-1 while averaging 2.10 goals per game.
Jake Oettinger, DAL at COL ($7,200): On a busier night, I wouldn't recommend a goaltender up against the Avalanche. However, there isn't much in the way of options I like tonight, and Oettinger is hot with a 3-0-0 record, 1.65 GAA and .940 save percentage across his past three outings. Meanwhile, Colorado has dropped three of its past four games, so the Avalanche are going through a mild rough patch. Taking Oettinger is still risky, but it's not an unjustified risk.
VALUE PLAYS
Connor Brown, NJD at NYR ($4,300): Brown has two goals and eight points in his past seven outings. He's not a consistent offensive contributor, but he's a great forward to select during stretches like this one.
Mavrik Bourque, DAL at COL ($4,200): Bourque has collected five goals and 13 points across his last 14 appearances. It helps that he's averaging 17:29 of ice time over that stretch compared to his season average of 14:58. He's likely to continue to serve in that expanded role until Mikko Rantanen (lower body) is ready to return.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Blues at Flames
Robert Thomas (C - $6,000), Dylan Holloway (W - $5,900), Jimmy Snuggerud (W - $5,400)
This has been a nice value line recently. Since the start of March, Thomas has 11 points (five goals), Snuggerud has 11 points (five goals) and Holloway has nine points (three goals) across an eight-game span. Calgary is tied for 21st in goals allowed per game with 3.12, and, as noted above, the Flames have struggled recently, so this is a nice time to take the Blues' top line.
Penguins at Hurricanes
Sidney Crosby (C - $6,500), Bryan Rust (W - $6,100), Rickard Rakell (W - $6,100)
Although Crosby (lower body) has missed Pittsburgh's past 11 games, he's set to return tonight. He'll be centering two hot wingers. Rust has six goals and 13 points across his past 10 outings, while Rakell is on a six-game scoring streak (two goals, seven points). Crosby should fit right back in with them. The 38-year-old was having another fantastic campaign before the injury, supplying 27 goals and 59 points across 56 appearances.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, PIT at CAR ($6,100): Karlsson is red hot, contributing a goal and five points across his past two outings, and he also has a goal and nine points over his last five appearances. Karlsson is now just one point away from reaching 50 for the fourth straight regular season.
Dougie Hamilton, NJD at NYR ($5,700): Hamilton has been hot-and-cold this season, but he's currently enjoying a hot streak. The 32-year-old has supplied two goals and nine points over his past nine outings.
