Wednesday features a four-game NHL slate that begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on DraftKings. In this article, you will find DFS advice for DraftKings lineups, plus some DraftKings Sportsbook bets to target.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $75K Kick Save [$20K to 1st]
DraftKings Sportsbook
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Carolina Hurricanes under 6.0 goals -115
These two teams met last week and the Canes spanked the Blackhawks 6-3. Carolina has been a good under play so far this season though as the Hurricanes enter this meeting with just a 2-5 record at hitting overs. The Blackhawks seem to have got their act together on the ice of late as they’ve allowed just two goals since that beating by Carolina. Marc Andre-Fleury has now stopped 65 of his last 67 shots faced and the Hawks themselves enter with just a 4-4-1 record at hitting overs. With the Hawks’ goaltending trending well and the Canes posting the best goals against mark in the league, taking the under on the pumped up 6.0 goal total looks solid tonight.
Place your NHL bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
Top Line Stack
Colorado Avalanche vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Nathan MacKinnon ($8,400) — Andre Burakovsky ($4,500) — Gabriel Landeskog ($6,200)
When there are injury issues up front for their Avalanche, their first-line can often be a great value proposition for daily fantasy—and that’s exactly the kind of situation we have for Wednesday. With no Mikko Rantanen in the lineup, Andre Burakovsky has again gotten moved up to the Avalanche’s first-line which makes him a great value target at under $5K. He’s also getting first-unit power-play exposure and played over 19 minutes against St. Louis in Colorado’s first game without Rantanen.
Burakovsky is questionable for this game but he’s worth watching as he’ll be playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon, who will likely be called on to handle extra duties tonight. The Avalanche are banged up on wing, but also on defense with their top power-play quarterback in Cale Makar on IR. MacKinnon is heating up after a slow start and has now hit the DraftKings shot on goal bonus in two of his last four games—and also has seven points through his last four as well. The Blue Jackets also allow 35.0 shots on net per game thus far and have the 11th worst penalty-kill.
Columbus is a great opponent to not only use MacKinnon against, but to stack with his first line wingers. MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog could carry this team to a win on their own and combined for six points in their last game. Play this elite duo at what is a very fair price considering the opponent, and keep an eye on the injury news to see if you can use Burakovsky to make your Avs stack a trio tonight.
Superstar to Target
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings ($6,400)
The Blues enter this game as one of the teams leading the league in scoring at 4.1 goals for per game. A big reason behind their offensive renaissance has been the return to form of winger Vladimir Tarasenko. The Russian enters this game with nine points over his first seven games and is averaging 4.5 shots on net per game as well. This is the kind of scoring we saw from peak Tarasenko and the better news is that he’s not even technically doing it as a part of the Blues’ first-line.
Tarasenko is currently playing alongside center Robert Thomas—who you can consider stacking with Tarasenko here—on St. Louis’ second-line, but they are also getting plenty of production from being on the first unit power-play as well. He’s got four power-play points through seven games and faces a Kings team who sits fourth-last in penalty-kill percentage. With Tarasenko still hovering well below $7K in price, grabbing the winger as a core play on this four-game slate is a must.
Value on Offense
Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks ($4,600)
As I mentioned above, I would not be shocked if we saw a tighter scoring affair between Carolina and Chicago in this spot—but that doesn’t mean we can’t look for value on the forwards. Martin Necas is playing a vital top-six role for the Hurricanes and grabbed two points his last time out against Arizona. He did start slow offensively but is playing alongside elite winger Andrei Svechnikov ($7,600) now and faces a Blackhawks team who is still allowing over 32 shots per game. You can play Necas as a mini-stack with Svechnikov or on his own, but he remains a good value based on the opponent and his increasing output.
Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers vs. Nashville Predators ($2,600)
The Oilers have juggled lines of late themselves and recently brought back a second-line in Yamamoto, Leon Draisaitl ($8,200) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($5,400) that has been productive for them in the past. Yamamoto has struggled over his last 30 games or so dating back to last season, but got himself on the board finally in the Oilers’ last game with a goal against Seattle.
Despite breaking the goose egg and again getting paired alongside Draisaitl, Yamamoto remains priced at essentially the minimum on DraftKings. We’ve seen him in this role go for over $5,000 before so you’re buying in on basement level prices here. Using him with Draisaitl gives you a cheap way to get extra exposure to the Oilers’ offense and gives you the salary flexibility to fit in another elite duo if you prefer.
Stud Goalies
Jonas Johansson, Colorado Avalanche vs. Columbus Blue Jackets ($8,100)
The Avalanche have already confirmed Jonas Johansson as their starter for tonight's game. The former Sabre stopped 34 of 37 shots faced in his first game of the season for the Avalanche and is set to go off as the biggest favorite in net on the slate today, by a wide margin, at -205 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Despite being short-handed, this is a great spot for Colorado’s offense and they still have the best player in this game, also by a wide margin, in Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche are also the far superior team here as the Blue Jackets rank fifth to last in expected goal rate (xGF%), which is 20 spots lower than the Avalanche in that same stat. Whenever we get a backup set as a big favorite, and with a big DFS salary (like Johansson’s), chasing after him is often fine in DFS as many will avoid touching such a player given the high price tag. The odds say ignore that strategy and use Johansson here.
Marc-Andre Fleury ($7,500)
Marc-Andre Fleury enters this game coming off of two straight elite games. The veteran is at least trying to right the ship in Chicago (perhaps hoping that some other team will notice and trade for him) but whatever the reason, Fleury remains a great upside target for tonight in fantasy. He’s faced 34.6 shots per game over his last three starts and takes on a Hurricanes team who may be running out of gas after a hot start (they’re 8-0), as they barely got by bottom-feeding Arizona in their last game. Fleury is an excellent upside play at just $7.5K and is a good leverage play too given the likely popularity of the Hurricanes’ top-six forwards.
Value on Defense
Samuel Girard, Colorado Avalanche vs. Columbus Blue Jackets ($2,700)
As I mentioned above, the Avalanche are banged up at multiple spots right now, with defense being the hardest hit spot on the roster. Both Cale Makar and Devon Toews are out for tonight, which means it will again be Samuel Girard’s turn to lead the Avalanche’s power-play. Girard excelled when put in this same spot last season as he posted a 0.66 point per game average (a career-best) and also set career highs in goals, despite it being just a 48-game season.
The Blue Jackets rank 11th worst in penalty-kill and Girard, who is coming an injury of his own, should get plenty of ice time tonight in what is a great spot for the Avalanche’s offense. I’m sure he’ll be a popular target, but likely not popular enough. He’s a super-elite value at well under $3K in price here.
Power-Play Defensemen
Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers vs. Nashville Predators ($5,600)
Despite not scoring yet on the season and only having four assists through seven games, Darnell Nurse still rates out well in several long-term categories. He’s averaging a few less blocked shots this season (perhaps because he’s paired with a solid defenseman finally in Evan Bouchard) but has still fired 28 shots on net through eight games. Nurse scored 16 goals last season, and as a career 4.7% shooter, he is already well overdue to find the net.
The Predators have a below-average penalty-kill and three of Nurse’s four points this season have come with the man advantage. Against a mediocre Predators team, this could be the spot where Nurse finally makes an impact with a tally. Regardless, the D-man looks unpriced at under $6K simply based on his peripheral stat production and is a good way to get exposure to the Oilers’ league-leading power play and offense without killing your salary average.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $75K Kick Save [$20K to 1st]
Place your NHL bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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