Below is a breakdown for Wednesday’s three-game NHL DFS main slate followed by example lineups. 

Teams to Target

The typical over/under is six goals, and two of tonight’s three games have a low over/under of only 5.5. The third game has a high over/under of 6.5, so the favorite in that game, Vancouver, is an obvious team to target. My own matchup stat agrees with Vegas as the Canucks and their opponent, the Blackhawks, have the two best fantasy matchups on this short slate.

Vancouver’s two most productive forwards are their top six centers, Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat. Horvat is in play on both sites while Pettersson is too expensive on DK. J.T. Miller could be stacked with Horvat as he plays on Horvat’s wing, and the pair stays together on the top PP unit. Defenseman Quinn Hughes plays the most with the Horvat line at even and plays on the top PP unit.

The Hawks are worth a look on the other side of that game given that it has the one high total of the slate. The value is on Kirby Dach’s line with Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad on his wings. All three forwards see PP work, and all three are priced reasonably to well on both sites.

The biggest favorite of the slate is Boston who opened at -200. They’ll host Montreal, which is a strong defensive team we typically wouldn’t pick on. However, it’s a short slate so options are limited, and Boston’s top line is matchup-proof anyway. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are priced well collectively on FD where the cap is softer, so we’ll be throwing them in a GPP lineup just in case they go off. You can also plug in those guys as affordable in cash games.

The other favorite is Calgary who will be in LA against a Kings team that is good defensively but undermined by goaltending with the second worst save percentage in the league. LA’s top line and top pair are above average defensively, and they’ll see Calgary’s top line with last change. That makes Calgary’s second line the option from the Flames. Mikael Backlund (who is one of the better values of the slate on DK) centers Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane. Tkachuk plays up on the top PP unit while his linemates play on the second unit. The defensive pair of Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson play the most with the Backlund line at even, and Hanifin plays on the top unit and Andersson on the second.

Value Plays

Going back to the Canucks, they provide some value options outside of their studs. Jake Virtanen is playing on Pettersson’s line with some injuries opening spots in the top six for Vancouver, and he is priced well on FD. That’s also true of D-man Alexander Edler who is $1,300 cheaper on FD than he is on DK despite the cap being higher on FD. Edler is tied among defensemen on this slate for most shots on goal plus blocked shots per minute played. You could also consider Zack MacEwen at the minimum on DK as he’ll play up on Horvat’s line.

We’re not inclined to lean heavily on Kings, but Dustin Brown is a bit of a value on both sites. Brown is on a five-game pointless streak on the heels of a five-game point streak, but he’s still been shooting regularly of late with 17 SOG in his last five.

It will be tough to beat Edler’s value potential on FD given his high floor and low price, but over on DK look to Erik Gustafsson for value. He plays on the top PP unit for the Hawks, and he is under 4K on DK.

Goalies

Whoever starts for the Bruins will be my top projected goalie of the slate, but they will also be the most expensive goalie on each slate. Don’t force Tuukka Rask or Jaroslav Halak into a lineup, only roster them if you have the funds available after selecting your forwards.

The best value of the slate is Calgary’s David Rittich. The Kings are a great matchup for opposing goalies as they rank third in shots on goal per game, but they turn shots into goals less often than any other team with the worst shooting percentage in the league. There’s not really a better value alternative to Rittich on FD, but Corey Crawford has appeal on DK. As stated many times before this season, DK’s scoring system rewards higher save totals more than FD, and Chicago allows the most shots on goal per game, which gives Crawford upside.

 

Pivots in Example Lineups are intended to skew more towards GPP plays.