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NHL DraftKings Picks: Wednesday Main Slate (October 28)

By DFS Hero Team

The Oilers and the Capitals share the slate's highest implied total at 3.6 goals. The Oilers face the Flames, and the Capitals face the Flyers. The Avalanche follow at 3.5 against the Devils. Flames–Oilers, Devils–Avalanche and Maple Leafs–Kraken each carry a 6.5 total, and Flyers–Capitals sits at 6.0. The four-game slate locks Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET, and the last game starts at 10:00 PM ET.

Every goalie on the slate is projected. MacKenzie Blackwood (DK $8,100) draws Jake Allen (DK $7,300) and the Devils, with a 12.1 projection that tops the position and a 57% win chance. Logan Thompson (DK $8,300) is the Capitals' projected starter with a 67% win chance. Anthony Stolarz (DK $7,800) is projected for the Maple Leafs against the Kraken with a 56% win chance. Devin Cooley (DK $7,200) is projected for the Flames.

Injury Watch

  • Zach Hyman (Oilers, out)
  • Kirill Marchenko (DK $6,000) (Maple Leafs, day-to-day)
  • Jared McCann (Kraken, out)
  • John Tavares (Maple Leafs, out)
  • Owen Tippett (Flyers, out)
  • Travis Konecny (Flyers, out)
  • Mattias Ekholm (Oilers, out)
  • Chris Tanev (Maple Leafs, out)

Top Stacks

EDM PP1 vs CGY (DK $38,100)

Players: Connor McDavid (DK $9,800); Leon Draisaitl (DK $9,300); Evan Bouchard (DK $8,300); Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (DK $5,000); Vasily Podkolzin (DK $5,700)

The Oilers PP1 stack projects 65.2 points with 28.9% average ownership, a 41.8% optimal rate and 1.71 value. It is Stack IQ's top stack, carries a leverage of 12.9, and draws on the Oilers' 3.6 implied total. McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard each hold the top projection at their position. Nugent-Hopkins put up 15.5 DK points against the Red Wings on October 26 and averages 13.1 over his last three.

TOR PP1 vs SEA (DK $30,500)

Players: Auston Matthews (DK $8,600); William Nylander (DK $6,800); Darren Raddysh (DK $5,800); Kirill Marchenko (DK $6,000); Gavin McKenna (DK $3,300)

The Maple Leafs PP1 stack projects 54.6 points with 15.8% average ownership, an 18.1% optimal rate and 1.82 value. The Maple Leafs carry a 3.4 implied total, and the unit pairs line 1's Matthews and Raddysh with line 2's Nylander and Marchenko. Marchenko is day-to-day, and the 10:00 PM ET start makes him a late-swap check. The stack carries a leverage of 2.3.

COL PP1 vs NJD (DK $32,400)

Players: Nathan MacKinnon (DK $9,000); Cale Makar (DK $7,700); Martin Necas (DK $7,000); Nazem Kadri (DK $5,500); T.J. Hughes (DK $3,200)

The Avalanche PP1 stack projects 53.3 points with 14.3% average ownership, a 15.7% optimal rate and 1.69 value. The Avalanche carry the slate's third-highest implied total at 3.5, and MacKinnon, Makar and Necas play line 1 with the unit. Necas has a 13.4 DK average over his last three. Kadri brings a 9.5% optimal rate from line 3.

Center

Connor McDavid (DK $9,800)

The Oilers carry a 3.6 implied total against the Flames, and McDavid centers their line 1 and PP1. His 17.3 projection tops every center on the slate, with a 35.6 ceiling.

The field lines up behind McDavid as its most popular center, and his 27.4% optimal rate is the best at the position. He averages 21.1 DK points over his last three games, with a 22.6 season average over 12 games.

Auston Matthews (DK $8,600)

Matthews centers line 1 and PP1 for the Maple Leafs against the Kraken. His 16.0 projection and 34.7 ceiling are second among centers, and his 26.7% optimal rate sits right behind Connor McDavid (DK $9,800) at the position. He is a popular play.

Nathan MacKinnon (DK $9,000)

MacKinnon had a four-point game against the Lightning on October 23 for 33.8 DK points, then 8.0 against the Predators on October 25. He plays line 1 and PP1 for the Avalanche against the Devils, and his 22.7% optimal rate is third at the position. The field backs him heavily.

Wing

Leon Draisaitl (DK $9,300)

Draisaitl plays line 1 and PP1 for the Oilers against the Flames, beside Connor McDavid (DK $9,800). His 15.9 projection and 34.8 ceiling both lead every wing.

Draisaitl scored 9.5 DK points against the Red Wings on October 26 and averages 27.0 over his last three, above his 21.1 season mark over 12 games. He is the wing the field builds around, and his 21.7% optimal rate tops the position.

William Nylander (DK $6,800)

Nylander scored twice against the Oilers on October 24 for 21.5 DK points, then 14.5 against the Flames on October 26. He skates on line 2 and PP1 against the Kraken. He is 15.4% owned with a 16.3% optimal rate, second among wings.

Alex Tuch (DK $6,400)

Tuch scored twice against the Sabres on October 24 for 22.8 DK points, and he plays line 2 and PP2 for the Capitals against the Flyers. His 10.7 projection is third among wings. He is 9.4% owned with a 10.1% optimal rate.

Defense

Evan Bouchard (DK $8,300)

Bouchard plays line 1 and PP1 for the Oilers against the Flames. His 14.0 projection and 28.8 ceiling both lead every defenseman.

Bouchard has an 18.8 DK season average over 12 games and a 13.0 average over his last three. The field is heavy on him, and his 18.9% optimal rate tops the position.

Cale Makar (DK $7,700)

The Avalanche put Makar on line 1 and PP1 against the Devils, and his 12.2 projection is second among defensemen. He carries a 26.8 ceiling and a 15.4% optimal rate, and he is a play the field already likes.

Jakob Chychrun (DK $6,600)

Chychrun scored 25.5 DK points against the Sabres on October 24, and his last-three average sits at 16.3. He plays line 1 and PP1 for the Capitals against the Flyers. His 10.7% optimal rate is third among defensemen, and he draws plenty of field interest.

Goalie

MacKenzie Blackwood (DK $8,100)

The Avalanche named Blackwood their starter for Wednesday against the Devils after he took the starter's crease at the morning skate. They carry a 57% win chance, and his 12.1 projection tops the position.

Blackwood's last three games average 13.6 DK points, and he put up 17.2 against the Lightning on October 23. He is a popular goalie, and his 14.6% optimal rate is second at the position.

Anthony Stolarz (DK $7,800)

Stolarz beat the Oilers with 30 saves on October 24 for 20.0 DK points, and the Maple Leafs carry a 56% win chance against the Kraken. He is 12.3% owned with a 13.2% optimal rate. That makes him a leverage play for Build & Sim to size.

Logan Thompson (DK $8,300)

Thompson is day-to-day after coming off injured reserve on October 28 as the Capitals' slated starter against the Flyers, and he carries a 12.4% optimal rate. The Capitals carry a 67% win chance, and his 11.9 projection is second among goalies. His 27.5 ceiling backs a popular play.

What The Market Is Saying

The market builds around Connor McDavid (DK $9,800) and Leon Draisaitl (DK $9,300) on the Oilers' top power-play unit. Its second anchor is Auston Matthews (DK $8,600) with William Nylander (DK $6,800) against the Kraken, and it reads the Capitals as heavy favorites over the Flyers. The market splits on Devils–Avalanche, where it keys on the Devils playing the second half of a back-to-back, and on Maple Leafs–Kraken, where it watches the news on the Maple Leafs' crease for Anthony Stolarz (DK $7,800). DFS Hero has Stolarz at a 13.2% optimal rate. Stack IQ sides with the market on the Oilers: their PP1 is its top stack at a 41.8% optimal rate with a leverage of 12.9, and DFS Hero has McDavid at a 27.4% optimal rate.

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The content in our articles is based on data available at the time of publishing. Always double-check your lineups before locking in your players.

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