NHL Plays: Wednesday

NHL Plays will highlight the best and the most underrated daily fantasy options among forwards, defensemen and goaltenders.

Please note, these players were chosen early in the day, so make sure to check NBC Sports EDGE’s player news for any lineup changes, injuries and potential changes in the crease for starting goaltenders.

Additionally, it is worth reminding everyone that FanDuel allows you to roster nine players (2C, 2W, 2D, 2UTIL 1G) with a salary cap of $55,000, while DraftKings has a cap of $50,000 for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 1G, 1UTIL) and Yahoo has a $200 budget for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 2G).

There are five games on Wednesday, but many leagues won’t include the 5pm ET game between Edmonton and Montreal.

Please note that as we approach the end of the season, there will be veteran players, including potentially some of the ones listed below, who made healthy scratches so that they can rest up for the playoffs. Be sure to confirm that whoever you pick will indeed play.

Forwards:

Auston Matthews (Toronto) – C – $9,100 FanDuel, $9,200 DraftKings, $34 Yahoo

Connor McDavid is one of those obvious picks because he’s played in a class of his own this season and while Auston Matthews isn’t quite the same, there a parallel there. McDavid surpassing the 100-point milestone in a campaign that only lasts 56 games is remarkable, but arguably just as impressive is Matthews scoring 40 goals under the same restraint. Matthews is entering tonight’s contest with 40 goals and 65 points in 50 contests. He’s also on a six-game point streak.

Tomas Hertl (San Jose) – C – $6,900 FanDuel, $5,900 DraftKings, $21 Yahoo

Hertl is an obvious step down from Matthews, but that big drop in price also makes him a great value pick. Hertl has 19 goals and 43 points in 49 contests, so while he’s not having a season for the ages, it’s certainly a good one. He’s hot right now too with at least a point in five straight games and nine of his last 10 contests.

Story continues

Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota) – W – $6,900 FanDuel, $7,100 DraftKings, $26 Yahoo

Kaprizov is better value in FanDuel than other sites, but he’s still worthy of consideration in all of them. He’s the frontrunner for the Calder Trophy with 27 goals and 51 points in 54 contests this season. Going into Wednesday’s game he’s scored five goals and 10 points over the course of his current six-game point streak.

Bargain Bin: Kevin Fiala (MIN) – $6,400 FanDuel/$6,200 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo, William Nylander (TOR) – $5,800 FanDuel/$5,300 DraftKings/$23 Yahoo, Connor Brown (OTT) – $5,200 FanDuel/$4,300 DraftKings/$19 Yahoo, Andre Burakovsky (COL) – $5,100 FanDuel/$4,900 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Reilly Smith (VGK) – $5,000 FanDuel/$4,100 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo, Mats Zuccarello (MIN) – $5,000 FanDuel/$4,800 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo

Defensemen:

Cale Makar (Colorado) – $6,100 FanDuel, $6,500 DraftKings, $28 Yahoo

Makar has been one of the most consistent defensemen this season when it comes to chipping in points. He’s never been held off the scoresheet for more than back-to-back contests and the only example of even that was on April 26-28. Thanks to that, he has eight goals and 43 points in 42 games. From a points-per-game perspective, he leads all defensemen this season.

Bargain Bin: Jared Spurgeon (MIN) – $5,100 FanDuel/$5,200 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Torey Krug (STL) – $4,800 FanDuel/$4,600 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo

Goaltenders:

Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas) – $8,400 FanDuel, $8,000 DraftKings, $35 Yahoo

Fleury is on an eight-game winning streak and has allowed a mere 13 goals over that span. That incredible run is just the latest part of what has been a season worthy of Vezina Trophy consideration. He has a 25-10-0 record, 2.04 GAA, and .927 save percentage in 35 games.

Bargain Bin: Philipp Grubauer (COL) – $8,100 FanDuel/$8,500 DraftKings/$30 Yahoo, Jordan Binnington (STL) – $7,600 FanDuel/$7,600 DraftKings/$29 Yahoo