This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Wednesday's NHL slate is a light one, with just three games on tap beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern time. Still, there's value to be found if you know where to look, so read on to see which players should be targeted and which ones should be avoided.
GOALIE
John Gibson, ANH vs. ARI ($37): Pay up for Gibson to lead your team in this small slate and don't look back. He's 3-0 with a 1.30 GAA and .958 save percentage on the young season while the Coyotes team he's facing has been shut out in each of its first two games, including once by Gibson.
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GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK at WAS ($37): Fleury seems to be turning back into a pumpkin after posting a career year during Vegas' Cinderella run last season, with a 3.93 GAA and .941 save percentage through three starts. Facing the team that beat him to win the Stanley Cup is unlikely to help Fleury turn things around, especially with Washington having scored 13 goals in its first two games.
CENTER
Travis Konecny, PHI at OTT ($13): Konecny's skating in a top-six role for the Flyers, making him a nice buy-low candidate at $13. Still just 21 years of age, Konecny jumped from 28 points (11 goals) as a rookie in 2016-17 to 47 points (24 goals) last season, so he's primed for further growth. That growth should be on display against a defensively challenged Senators team.
CENTER TO AVOID
Rickard Rakell, ANH vs. ARI ($25): Rakell has been blanked in the past two games after a three-point opening night, yet he's still priced at $25. Plenty of cheaper alternatives among Anaheim's forward ranks are similarly gifted offensively, making it tough to justify paying up for Rakell against the Coyotes and netminder Antti Raanta, who has a 2.02 GAA through two starts after posting a 2.26 mark or better in each of the previous four seasons.
WINGS
Brett Connolly, WAS vs. VGK ($13): With Tom Wilson suspended, Connolly's skating in an ideal fantasy situation on a line with Alex Ovechkin ($34) and Evgeny Kuznetsov ($25). While Connolly has only mustered one assist through two games in that role, he's bound to walk into points here and there just by being on the ice alongside two stars. Few, if any, other skaters in this price range have that going for them.
Maxime Comtois, ANH vs. ARI ($18): Comtois has quickly made a name for himself, opening his NHL career with a three-game point streak and moving up to the top line in the process. The 19-year-old forward's rating risk is minimized against an Arizona club that's yet to light the lamp this season, while his robust offensive skills give him a tremendous ceiling.
WINGS TO AVOID
Max Pacioretty, VGK at WAS ($20): Pacioretty put up just 37 points with Montreal last season and has a single point through three appearances with his new club, so it's becoming time to consider whether the 29-year-old power forward has worn down with age and simply isn't that good anymore. Given his output over the past year, $20 is an overpay for Pacioretty.
Richard Panik, ARI at ANH ($16): Panik is easily Arizona's most expensive winger, but he hasn't exactly earned a high price tag with just 5.3 combined fantasy points through two games. Given Gibson's outstanding form in net for Anaheim, Panik's unlikely to turn things around here.
DEFENSEMEN
Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI at OTT ($23): Gostisbehere is off to a slow start offensively, but his six shots and eight blocks in the first two games show that the blueliner is still helping out fantasy owners. The point production will come considering Gostisbehere put up 65 points in 78 games, so picking him up in this favorable matchup will be like grabbing a high-end forward who can also chip in blocks.
Max Lajoie, OTT vs. PHI ($18): Lajoie has been held off the scoresheet after logging a goal and an assist in his debut, but he's still putting up excellent secondary numbers with eight shots on goal and nine blocked shots through three NHL games. His ability to stuff the stat sheet from the blue line makes the 20-year-old Lajoie a strong option at $18, especially since he's been able to hold his own with an even rating thus far.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Radko Gudas, PHI at OTT ($15): Gudas isn't even a mainstay in Philadelphia's lineup, much less a guy you can count on for fantasy purposes. The physical defenseman produced an assist in the opener, but his 86 points in 340 career games show that he's far from a consistent source of offense.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI at ANH ($18): Ekman-Larsson relies on his offense to counteract poor defensive zone play, but that offense is unlikely to come given Arizona's aforementioned lack of scoring ability. The Swedish defenseman still carries plenty of rating downside, though, having posted a minus-53 rating over the past two seasons.
