This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Wednesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 PM Eastern time and features five games. Below, you'll find an overview of the matchups and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Vegas represents the chalkiest stacking option at home against Chicago. Washington's league-best offense is likely to keep rolling, even against a Flyers team that's won four in a row. The Senators are coming off an 8-2 loss to Carolina, but they find themselves in an unfamiliar position as the superior team against a New Jersey club that's been outscored 58-41 through 16 games. Two of the league's four best teams at preventing goals will be looking to slow down top-heavy Canadian attacks, with the Islanders hosting the Maple Leafs and the Stars in Calgary.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,200) should live up to his valuation as this slate's most expensive goaltender. He's compiled a 9-4-1 record, 2.52 GAA and .920 save percentage heading into a home date with Chicago's bottom-10 offense.
If you don't trust Fleury following subpar performances in two of his last three starts, Calgary's David Rittich ($8,000) is a fine alternative among expensive goaltenders. Rittich is 6-0-2 on home ice and draws this slate's worst offense, as Dallas averages a measly 2.39 goals per game.
Using Braden Holtby ($7,500) in Philadelphia lets you save a few hundred bucks over the top options. While the Flyers have been rolling lately, so has Holtby, as he's won four straight starts with a 2.46 GAA and .922 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Taylor Hall ($7,100) will be the most talented offensive player on the ice for either side by a wide margin in the Senators-Devils showdown. Ottawa's a bottom-10 defensive team, so Hall should have plenty of opportunities to build on his 15 points through 16 games. Considering he scored 93 points in 2017-18 and is currently shooting just 3.4 percent, Hall has plenty of room to improve on his already robust output.
Alex Ovechkin ($8,300) finds himself hanging around the league's scoring leaders as usual, with a 13-10-23 line through 19 games. The superstar winger should continue to pile up offense against young Flyers netminder Carter Hart, whose save percentage is just .893.
This could be the time to buy low on Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews ($4,700). The Golden Knights have had trouble covering centers, and Toews is starting to come alive after a slow start with six points in his last six games after recording only two points in his first 11 appearances. Considering the veteran pivot's coming off an 81-point season, his recent play is more indicative of Toews' abilities than the slow start.
Like Toews, Philadelphia's Sean Couturier ($5,300) has heated up recently after a slow start. In Couturier's case, he's racked up three goals and five assists in his last seven games after sitting at just five points through 10. He still has time to build up to the 76-point output he's played at in each of the past two seasons, and Couturier's likely to play a key role if the Flyers are going to extend their four-game winning streak at Washington's expense.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Golden Knights vs. Blackhawks
Paul Stastny (C - $4,800), Max Pacioretty (W - $7,000), Mark Stone (W - $6,800)
Stone leads the Golden Knights with 18 points in 19 games, while Pacioretty is tied for second on the team with 16 points and leads with 77 shots. That frequent shooting is paying off after a snakebitten start, as Pacioretty has now lit the lamp in three straight and four of five. Stastny brings an element of affordability to this line as he attempts to top 40 points for the seventh consecutive season and 10th in the past 11. The veteran center has a 5-4-9 line through 19 games, and perhaps facing a Blackhawks team that's won just six of 17 games will help Stastny end a six-game point drought.
Capitals at Flyers
Evgeny Kuznetsov (C - $6,900), Jakub Vrana (W - $6,300), Tom Wilson (W - $5,300)
Three of Washington's top five scorers skate on this second line. Kuznetsov has an 8-10-18 line despite missing three games to start the season, while Vrana's at 9-8-17 and Wilson's at 8-8-16. It's better use of your funds to grab this trio and just cherrypick Ovechkin off the top line rather than invest in that whole unit.
Senators at Devils
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C - $5,900), Brady Tkachuk (W - $6,600), Anthony Duclair (W - $5,200)
This line has been hot for a while, and now it draws a favorable matchup against the Devils, whose 3.79 goals allowed per game are surpassed only by Los Angeles. Pageau has five goals in the past five games, Tkachuk has four goals and four assists in the past seven, and Duclair sports a 5-3-8 line over the past nine.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson ($7,700) continues to easily pace defensemen with 29 points this season. He's by far the most expensive blueliner in this slate, but those who don't pay up for him will likely struggle to make up the difference in production elsewhere.
Thomas Chabot ($6,100) is on pace to fall short of last season's 55-point output with 10 points through 17 games, but that pace is likely to climb by the time he's through with the lowly Devils.
P.K. Subban ($5,100) has only five points through 16 games with New Jersey, but a home tilt against Ottawa offers as good an opportunity as any for the four-time 50-point scorer to get his season back on track.
Devon Toews ($4,500) leads all Islanders defensemen in both points (10) and power-play points (two). His role as the lone blueliner on New York's top power-play unit should pay off against a 77.1 percent Maple Leafs penalty kill that's the second-most generous in this slate after New Jersey's.
