It’s a light Wednesday for the NHL, though of course with the TNT doubleheader. Beyond those two nationally-televised games, though, we have only one other contest. Hey, you can still play DFS, even with only three games on the slate. Here are some guys to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Ville Husso, DET vs. CHI ($33): Husso has been up and down, but over his last 11 starts he has a 2.63 GAA and .916 save percentage. This game has a good chance of being one of the “up” days for Husso. The Blackhawks have averaged a mere 2.48 goals and 26.8 shots on net per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. MIN ($34): The goaltending situation is bleak Wednesday. Hellebuyck has been strong this season, but he’s been slipping recently. Over his last four starts the American has a 5.59 GAA and .844 save percentage. The Wild haven’t been good offensively, but this is about not risking Hellebuyck’s salary with his recent performances.
CENTER
Dylan Larkin, DET vs. CHI (24): Larkin is signed up long term with the Red Wings, and with good reason. He has 59 points in 62 games and has put 191 shots on net. The Blackhawks are in the bottom 10 in GAA and shots on net allowed per contest, and only one spot above being in the bottom 10 in penalty-kill percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Trevor Zegras, ANA at VAN ($17): As I mentioned, it’s a bleak goaltending situation, and that means finding players to avoid is a little less definitive than usual for me. Zegras, for his part, is on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Thatcher Demko has had a bad year, but in three starts since returning from injury he has a 2.35 GAA and .937 save percentage. Maybe that is indicative of something.
WING
Andrei Kuzmenko, VAN vs. ANA ($17): It’s surprising that Kuzmenko has a 25.7 shooting percentage in his first season after coming over from the KHL, and that is a hard number to sustain. And yet, he has seven goals over his last nine games. He’s yet to slow down. Regardless of the potential for regression toward the mean, the Ducks are last in GAA and shots on net allowed per contest, and they are on the second night of a back-to-back as well.
Nino Niederreiter, WPG vs. MIN ($17): Moving to Winnipeg has worked out thus far for Niederreiter. He’s on the top line and is on a three-game point streak. The Wild are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and Marc-Andre Fleury is going to get the start. He has a 2.81 GAA and .905 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Matthew Boldy, MIN at WPG ($18): Let’s say Hellebuyck does look a little better and gets back on track. He does have a .919 save percentage on the season, even with his struggles. The Jets also have a top-five penalty kill, and Boldy has tallied more than half his points with the extra man.
Frank Vatrano, ANA at VAN ($17): Vatrano has had some bad puck luck, as he has 15 goals on 182 shots on net through 64 games. However, for all the goaltending issues the Canucks have had, they’ve only allowed 31.4 shots on net per contest. Also, Vatrano has only averaged 1:36 per game on the power play, meaning he won’t see much of the Canucks’ league-worst penalty kill.
DEFENSE
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. ANA ($20): Hughes has averaged a whopping 4:09 per game with the extra man, tallying a hefty 28 power-play points. The Ducks aren’t last in penalty-kill percentage, as they are in GAA. No, the Ducks rank…30th. That is, of course, still awful, and Anaheim is on the second leg of a back-to-back as well.
Moritz Seider, DET vs. CHI ($17): Seider isn’t quite on the pace from his Calder-winning campaign, but he has 32 points and 104 shots on net in 63 games. Also, he’s blocked 154 shots for good measure. The Blackhawks have allowed 33.7 shots on net per contest, and there is a good chance Petr Mrazek, a former Wing, is in net for them. He has a 3.74 GAA and .891 save percentage.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at WPG ($20): Spurgeon has nine goals this season, but only one in his last 18 games. He had 40 points in 65 games last year, but only has 27 in 64 this season because he doesn’t get power-play time any more. The Wild are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and that’s enough for me to be concerned.
Seth Jones, CHI at DET ($19): Jones doesn’t have a lot of talent left around him, which can’t help his offensive upside. He’s not in line for more minutes because, say, Patrick Kane or Max Domi is gone. He just doesn’t have them around to help offensively. Husso has been better at home this season, though he only has a .907 save percentage there all in all. However, he does have a .916 save percentage over his last 11 starts.
