This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
There are two Game 4s Wednesday, but no chance of a sweep. That's nice for all hockey fans, but especially for daily fantasy players. The more opportunities the better, and all that. As for the opportunities for you Wednesday, here are some intriguing players to consider for your DraftKings lineups.
GOALIE
Braden Holtby, WAS at PIT ($7,500): For most of Game 3, it appeared that Holtby was going to do quite a bit to quell the doubters. Then he let in two late goals. However, he still got the win, posting a .933 save percentage in the process. He's had a rough playoffs to be sure, but this is still a guy who hasn't had worse than a .922 save percentage in his last three seasons. Holtby is a great goalie who just hasn't been great for a handful of contests. The massive absence of Sidney Crosby (and Conor Sheary) certainly won't hurt Holtby either. This is about having a little faith in the team that allowed a league-best 2.16 goals per contest this season.
CENTER
Evgeni Malkin, PIT vs. WAS ($8,100): With Crosby out, Malkin will shoulder an even bigger load, but he's up to the task. He already leads the league in postseason scoring with 15 points, and he's put 23 shots on goal in eight games. Malkin has also averaged 3:56 per game with the extra man in the playoffs, which is actually less than his regular-season average of 4:11. He started a team-leading 43.8 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, averaging 4.4 DraftKings points per game in the process. In short, Malkin is great, and he's going to be leading the team without Crosby, giving him an even higher ceiling than usual. That makes him well worth the elevated price point.
Mark Letestu, EDM vs. ANA ($4,000): If you spend big on Malkin, then a guy like Letestu allows you to save a few bucks. Letestu tallied 14 power-play points in 78 games this season, and he's added four more in the playoffs. Anaheim's penalty kill has struggled in the postseason; only the Jackets, who were swiftly dispatched in the first round, have been worse in these playoffs. The Ducks allowed 2.80 goals per contest on the road, and John Gibson has a 3.15 GAA and .896 save percentage in his last five contests.
WING
Jakob Silfverberg, ANA at EDM ($5,700): Cam Talbot has been, shall we say, inconsistent this postseason. He's allowed one goal or fewer in four games, but he's allowed at least three goals in each of his other five games, including allowing six in Game 3 of this series. Overall, he has a .918 save percentage, which is in line with his regular-season save percentage of .919. That's fine, but it isn't foreboding. Meanwhile, Silfverberg has five points in this series, contributing to his total of eight playoff points in seven games. This comes after he tallied 23 goals on 227 shots over 79 contests during the regular season.
Marcus Johansson, WAS at PIT ($5,000): There's no denying how impressive Marc-Andre Fleury has been in the postseason after struggling to a 3.02 GAA and .909 save percentage in 2016-17. However, there's also no denying that the Penguins have given up a whopping 37.3 shots on net per game in the playoffs after allowing 32.6 shots per contest in the regular season. Not having Crosby (and let's not forget that Kris Letang is also absent) won't help on that front. Johansson started 36.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, fourth among Washington forwards, and he's tallied 18 points in his last 19 games.
Patrick Maroon, EDM vs. ANA ($4,600): Maroon started 35.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone during the regular season, second among Oilers forwards who played more than 300 minutes. He was behind only Connor McDavid, and playing on McDavid's wing certain helped Maroon this year, as he tallied 27 goals. While there was concern about Ryan Kesler shutting down McDavid in this series, it hasn't hurt Maroon's output thus far. He's tallied four points in this series, with at least one in every game. Maroon
has also played at least 2:22 per game on the power play in this series, and as previously noted, the Ducks have struggled on the penalty kill in the postseason.
DEFENSE
John Carlson, WAS at PIT ($5,000): Carlson has averaged 3.0 fantasy points per game, and while he hasn't been scoring much in the postseason, he's been busy nevertheless. He's tallied 27 shots on goal in nine games, and he's also blocked 18 shots. The Penguins allowed 32.6 shots on net per game, which ranked third in the NHL, but they also attempted the sixth-most shots per 60 minutes (58.8). Carlson tallied 37 points in 72 games this year, including 16 on the power play, and if he starts to show that level of production with the Caps' season on the line, he'll make a real fantasy impact.
Sami Vatanen, ANA at EDM ($3,700): Vatanen returned to action in Game 3 against Edmonton, and while he didn't score, he blocked five shots while skating 18:08, including 2:47 on the power play. The Finn remained a real power-play weapon this year, tallying 14 points with the extra man in 71 games, which was actually his lowest output in three seasons. After the All-Star break, the Oilers had the 25th-ranked penalty kill, so perhaps Vatanen will be able to take advantage of that deficiency.
