Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Between the Benches. Thanks to a massive slate last night, we’re stuck with just a 3-game slate of NHL DFS tonight. It’s a small slate, but we have some mighty teams playing and it should be a fun one.
Let’s dig in and see if we can make some money.
NHL DFS Goaltending
Scott Wedgewood ($8.3K DK/$8.1k FD) vs. Anaheim Ducks – With Oettinger playing last night, we should get to see Scott Wedgewood between the pipes tonight for Dallas. Against any other team Wedgewood wouldn’t be under consideration, but he gets to take on an anemic Anaheim offense. Over their last 6 games, the Ducks have scored just 8 goals. That’s an average of just over 1 per game. That’s downright awful.
Wedgewood has been competent in games he’s played this season. He’s sporting a GAA just over 3 and a save % of .910. Both numbers would rank as career bests. He has limited upside tonight because the Ducks don’t take too many shots. That said, he does appear to have a decent floor so if you want to play it safe, he’s your guy tonight.
John Gibson ($7.1k DK/$7 FD) vs. Dallas Stars– If you want to get fancy tonight and you have a high-risk tolerance, John Gibson is your guy tonight. The Dallas Stars are in a phenomenal spot tonight. With being in such a great spot, they’re also going to be uber-popular tonight. It’s just a 3-game slate tonight and this spot could really differentiate you tonight. Should a miracle happen and Gibson stops the Stars, you’ll be ahead of the curve. This is strictly a strategic play to counteract the popularity of the Stars tonight. Gibson will also face a ton of volume so even if he gives up a few goals, he’ll still get you points.
Filip Gustavsson at $7.8k on DK is also in play. He’s been really solid this season in limited play. Tough matchup vs. Tampa, but Tampa played last night and could be tired.
NHL DFS Stacks
Dallas 1 (Hintz, Robertson, Pavelski) + Heiskanen vs. Anaheim
This line is going to be extremely popular tonight. The Ducks are just an awful team that does not know how to play defense. Over the last 2 weeks, the Ducks are giving up close to 4 goals per game and well over 40 shots on goal. They are also giving up close to 18 high-danger chances per game. There’s no beating around the bush. They are bad.
We’ll target that atrociousness with the top line for Dallas. All 3 guys from this line are in play tonight. Combined, they have 21 points over their last 5 games. Hintz has been leading the way on the goal-scoring front with 5 of them. Both Robertson and Pavelski have 5 assists over the last 5 games. There have been few better spots for a line this season than this one. The only reason to fade them tonight is to be different and hope they fail. The odds of that happening are slim though in this spot.
New Jersey 1 (Bratt, Tatar, Hischier) + Hamilton vs. Detroit
Another team in a great spot tonight is New Jersey. The Red Wings are giving up 4 goals per game over the last 2 weeks. Their goaltending has just not been good as they have a combined save % of just 87.4%. That’s far lower than any other team on tonight’s slate. In the net for Detroit tonight should be Ville Husso. He’s really struggled of late as he’s given up at least 4 goals in 4 straight games. Against a solid Devils offense, that streak should continue tonight.
While Jack Hughes is the premier player on this team, I’m going to target to the top line tonight and not his line. This line has been playing really well recently. Led by Bratt’s 4 goals, this line has combined to score 9 goals and 17 points over their last 5. They’re all also extremely affordable tonight with Hischier being the most expensive at $5.9k on DK. If you want to go full power play here, you can certainly add in Hughes as he’ll correlate with all 3. Detroit has been middle of the pact on the penalty kill.
Detroit 1 (Larkin, Perron, Rasmussen) + Walman vs. New Jersey
I don’t mind a full-game stack here. The Devils massive hot streak is a distant memory. Over the last 2 weeks, they’re just 2-3-1 and are giving up more goals than they’re scoring. They’re giving up more than 3 goals per game over that stretch.
With the Red Wings, although they’ve been defensively challenged, their offense has been superb. No team playing tonight has scored more goals per game over the last 2 weeks than Detroit. This has been led by their top line. Combined, they’ve scored 9 of the teams’ 19 goals. So nearly half. All 3 of these guys are fairly priced, with Rasmussen providing value at $4k. Defensman Jake Walman is a must play in my opinion. While his price has started to increase, it’s still nowhere near his level of productivity. Over his last 5 games, he has 18 blocked shots! He’s also putting the puck on net with 13 shots. Play him while he’s affordable, you’ll be happy with the results.
Other Stacks: TB 1 and 2, Min 1, NJ 2, Dal 2
NHL DFS Top Value Defenseman
- Brendan Smith – $2.6k on DK
- Jake Middleton – $3.1k on Dk
- Jani Hakanpaa – $2.8k on DK
Summary
This is a small, but fun looking slate. Dallas will be the uber chalk. Fading them will be tough, but if you do and they faulter, you’ll be at the top of the leaderboards. A full game stack of that Jersey/Detroit game is very much in play.
Make sure to use our Projection model when setting lineups.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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