NHL DFS Picks Today: Connor Hellebuyck Dominates Minnesota

There is a stacked 15-game slate on Wednesday with almost every team in action. With that in mind, there are plenty of 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.

NHL DFS Picks for DraftKings

Stack 1 – Calgary Flames

(W) Adam Ruzicka: $4,200

(W) Tyler Toffoli: $6,100

(C) Elias Lindholm: $5,600

The first stack to target on Wednesday’s slate features the Calgary Flames, who travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. Projected to take the crease for Pittsburgh is goaltender Tristan Jarry, who has had an underwhelming start to the campaign by his standards.

Through 11 starts, he possesses a .904 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average (GAA). He has now allowed four or more goals in five of his last seven starts, a trend that could continue against the Flames.

Among starting goaltenders, Jarry hovers around the league average in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx/60) at five-on-five. In front of Jarry is a defense that has struggled this year.

At five-on-five, the Penguins rank in the bottom half of the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60). The John MarinoTy Smith trade turned out to be a disaster for Pittsburgh, as Marino is thriving in New Jersey while Smith is in the minors.

A stack consisting of Adam Ruzicka, Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli is a great build for this game. Through 60 minutes played together this season, this line boasts a 60% expected goals percentage.

Lindholm is first on the team in points (16), Toffoli is fourth (13) and Ruzicka is fifth in goals (4). Since head coach Darryl Sutter moved Ruzicka up to this line to play alongside Toffoli and Lindholm, as he has logged four goals and four assists through seven games.

Meanwhile, Lindholm’s willingness to block shots and his ability to score from anywhere always make him a threat to accumulate a good number of fantasy points. Rounding out this line is Toffoli, who loves to shoot the puck and is also a scoring threat.

Additionally, Lindholm and Toffoli skate together on the first power play unit while Ruzicka skates on the second.

Stack 2 – St. Louis Blues

(W) Jordan Kyrou: $5,700

(W) Pavel Buchnevich: $4,800

(D) Justin Faulk: $6,800

The second stack to target on Wednesday’s slate features the St. Louis Blues, who travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres. Slated to take the crease for Buffalo is goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who got shelled in his season debut against the Maple Leafs.

In that game, he allowed five goals on 23 shots for a mere .783 save percentage. In front of Luukkonen is a struggling defense.

At five-on-five, the Sabres rank in the bottom half of the league in xGA/60. A stack consisting of Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich and Justin Faulk is a great build for this game.

All three of those guys skate on the first power play unit, which should not struggle to score against a Buffalo team that ranks third-to-last in the league in penalty kill percentage. Kyrou and Buchnevich are the wingers on a line centered by playmaker Robert Thomas.

Coach Craig Berube continues to mix up the lines in an effort to produce more offense. In their last game, the Buchnevich-Thomas-Kyrou line produced a 52% expected goals percentage through 10:18 of ice time.

Kyrou is first on the team in goals (6), Buchnevich is fifth in assists (8) and Faulk is first among St. Louis’ defensemen in points (14). Now is a great time to buy low on Kyrou, who has not registered a goal in three straight games despite producing an abundance of high-danger scoring chances.

Meanwhile, Buchnevich’s ability to drive play with intelligent passing always makes him a threat to accumulate a good number of fantasy points. Quarterbacking the first power play unit, Faulk has been on a fantasy tear by averaging almost a point per game while blocking shots at an extremely high clip.


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Stack 3 – New York Islanders

(C) Casey Cizikas: $2,500

(D) Noah Dobson: $6,700

The last stack to target on Wednesday’s slate features the New York Islanders, who host the Edmonton Oilers. Projected to start between the pipes for the Oilers is goaltender Jack Campbell, who has been terrible this year.

Through 10 starts this season, he possesses a troubling .873 save percentage and 4.27 GAA. Among starting goaltenders, Campbell ranks second-to-last in GSAx/60 at five-on-five.

In front of Campbell is a fade-worthy defense. At five-on-five, the Oilers rank 23rd in the league in xGA/60.

A mini stack consisting of Noah Dobson and Casey Cizikas is a strong build for this game. Dobson has been an extremely valuable defenseman in fantasy this season, especially recently.

Over his last four games, he has logged two goals, two assists, averages 3.3 shots on goal and two blocked shots per game. He also quarterbacks the first power play unit, which should thrive against an Oilers team that ranks 17th in penalty minutes and 28th in penalty kill percentage.

Meanwhile, Cizikas rounds out the skaters at the price minimum of $2,500. New York does an excellent job rolling out all four forward lines with relatively equal playing time.

Despite skating on the fourth line, Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck played the most minutes out of all offensive groupings in their last game (8:20). While Cizikas does not typically score, he can still accumulate points because he is willing to shoot the puck and block shots defensively.

Goaltender

Connor Hellebuyck (WPG at MIN): $7,300

This price is too good to pass up on one of the league’s best goaltenders. Through 13 starts this season, Connor Hellebuyck is 8-4-1 with a .935 save percentage and 2.07 GAA.

Among starting goaltenders, he ranks second in GSAx/60 at five-on-five. Hellebuyck’s excellent year should continue against the Wild, a team he has dominated throughout his career.

Across 21 career starts against Minnesota, he boasts a .916 save percentage and 2.66 GAA. The Wild have had a disappointing start to the campaign, which is mostly due to their offense.

Outside of Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, the rest of this team struggles mightily to find the back of the net, as only two other guys are in the double digits in points. A big part of this lack of offensive production is due to the departure of winger Kevin Fiala, who was a primary playmaker on this team before departing for Los Angeles.

At five-on-five, Minnesota ranks just 26th in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60).

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