NHL DFS Picks Today: Brady Tkachuk, Anze Kopitar

With a couple of games on TNT and two fillers, there is a small four-game slate on Wednesday night. However, there are still some great options to sift through for NHL DFS.

Let’s examine the best plays for Wednesday on DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS today. Of course, be sure to check Stokastic’s NHL DFS rankings and NHL DFS projections.

Join STOKASTIC+ today!

Use accurate data and advanced tools crafted by the #1 DFS player.

NHL DFS Picks for DraftKings

Stack 1 – Edmonton Oilers

(C) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: $5,000

(W) Zach Hyman: $6,100

(D) Tyson Barrie: $3,900

The first stack to target on Wednesday’s slate features the Edmonton Oilers, who travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks in Wednesday’s nightcap on TNT. Projected to take the crease for Chicago is goaltender Petr Mrazek, who has been terrible to start the season.

Through eight starts, he is 1-5-1 with a .878 save percentage and 4.28 goals against average (GAA). Among starting goaltenders, Mrazek ranks dead last in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx/60) at five-on-five.

In front of Mrazek is one of the worst defenses in hockey. At five-on-five, the Blackhawks rank just 26th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).

A stack consisting of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Tyson Barrie is a great build for this game. It is no secret that this team runs through superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and It will be no surprise when those two guys end up being the highest-own skaters on the slate.

This means that there is tremendous value in backing their three power-play teammates, which will accumulate a good amount of points by supplying the assists or scoring on feeds from McDavid and Draisaitl. Not only does will this scoring keep this stack alive in the contest, but It will also allow us to take the money we saved on not taking McDavid and Draisaitl and spending It on other superstars who will be low-owned because the people taking McDavid/Draisaitl can not afford them.

Edmonton scored six goals on Chicago earlier in the season, and, unsurprisingly, McDavid and Drasaitl combined for four of those goals. However, these complementary pieces also scored at a high level. Nugent-Hopkins recorded a goal and two assists on three shots, Hyman posted a goal on four shots, and Barrie produced an assist while adding three shots and one blocked shot.

All three of these guys skate together on the first power play unit alongside McDavid and Draisaitl. Edmonton’s power play should feast against a Chicago team that ranks 20th in penalty minutes and 26th in penalty kill percentage.

Your first college football bet is on Caesars up to $1,250

Stack 2 – Ottawa Senators

(C) Tim Stutzle: $6,400

(W) Brady Tkachuk: $8,100

(D) Thomas Chabot: $4,900

The second stack to target on Wednesday’s slate features the Ottawa Senators, who host the New York Rangers. This stack will be lower-owned than the value projects because goaltender Igor Shesterkin is slated to take the crease for the Rangers.

Not only that, but all the people stacking McDavid and Draisaitl will not be able to afford Brady Tkachuk. While Shesterkin is still one of the best goaltenders on the planet, he has been out-of-sorts as of late.

Over his last two starts, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner is 0-2 with a .884 save percentage and 4.11 GAA. Shesterkin will return to form sooner rather than later, although It may not happen on the road against a deep Ottawa offense.

A stack consisting of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot is a great build for this game. All three of those guys skate on the first power play unit that ranks in the top 10 in the league in power play percentage (PP%).

Stutzle and Tkachuk skate on the first line alongside Claude Giroux. Among all forward lines that have played a minimum of 100 minutes this season, the Tkachuk-Giroux-Stutzle line ranks second in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60).

Tkachuk is first on the team in assists (16), Stutzle is second (14) and Chabot is second among Ottawa’s defensemen (6), although he has played in five fewer games than Jake Sanderson. Tkachuk has been shooting the puck at an extremely high volume, averaging six shots on goal over his last seven games.

Even if he is left off the scoresheet, which is unlikely, he will still produce a bunch of fantasy points with his shots. Meanwhile, Stutzle’s ability to drive play with intelligent passing while being willing to shoot the puck at a high clip always makes him a threat to accumulate a good number of fantasy points.

At a mere price of $4,900, a first power play defenseman like Chabot is always a good value pick at that low number considering how likely it is that he grabs an assist with that unit.

Latest NHL DFS Content

Stack 3 – Detroit Red Wings

(W) Lucas Raymond: $3,900

(W) Tyler Bertuzzi: $3,400

The last stack to target on Wednesday’s slate features the Detroit Red Wings, who host the Buffalo Sabres. Projected to take the crease for Buffalo is veteran netminder Craig Anderson.

Through nine appearances between the pipes this season, Anderson possesses a .917 SV% and 2.76 GAA. While those are strong surface-level numbers, his metrics suggest that regression is looming.

Among starting goaltenders, Anderson ranks just 23rd in the league in GSAx/60 at five-on-five. In front of Anderson is a fade-worthy defense that ranks just 23rd in the league in xGA/60 at 5v5.

This blue line will be especially thin for this contest as defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Jacob Bryson are both expected to miss this game. That means that the Sabres are left with an offensive-minded blue line with the likes of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.

A mini stack consisting of Lucas Raymond and Tyler Bertuzzi is a great build for this game. Both of these guys skate together on the second line and second power play unit, which should not struggle to score against a Buffalo team that ranks fifth-to-last in the league in PK%. After a slow start since returning from injury, Bertuzzi has had a couple of great games recently.

He accumulated 14.3 fantasy points against the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 19, posting a goal on three shots with one blocked shot. Two games later, he posted 20.5 points against the Arizona Coyotes with two assists and five shots on goal.

Meanwhile, Raymond has been a frequent name to see on the scoresheet. Over his last 15 games, the young winger has posted six goals and six assists.

Bet $5 on the Super Bowl and get $200 instantly!

Goaltender

Stuart Skinner (EDM at CHI): $8,300

Typically, I do not like starting a goaltender alongside a stack from the same team. If you need guys to own the offensive zone and generate shots on goal, then the goaltender is accumulating fewer points because he is not getting saves on the other end.

However, this should be a great situation to bank on Skinner to record a light-work 20-save shutout or even allow just one goal on 20+ shots. To put It as bluntly as possible, the Blackhawks are terrible.

At 5v5, the Hawks rank second-to-last in the league in xGF/60. They have now scored two or fewer goals in five of their last seven games.

This roster is constructed like that of a tanking organization, which is what they are attempting to do in an effort to win the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. That is the reason Chicago traded every valuable piece over the offseason outside of Patrick Kane, who is also likely to get dealt prior to the trade deadline.

Chicago’s offense should continue to struggle against Stuart Skinner, who has been strong between the pipes this year. Through 11 appearances in the crease, Skinner boasts a .919 save percentage and 2.80 GAA.

Among starting goaltenders, he ranks eighth in GSAx/60 at 5v5.

Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!