This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Wednesday's NHL slate is a modest one, with just four games on tap beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern time. Despite the limited selection, there's no shortage of enticing options to be found all across the price spectrum here, as well as players that are best avoided at their respective valuations. Read on to see which players fall into which category.
GOALIE
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. BOS ($29): Fleury has been terrific at home while Boston's been much more vulnerable on the road, setting the stage for another strong performance for Vegas' veteran netminder. In 27 home games, Fleury's 15-9-3 with a 2.46 GAA, .915 save percentage and five shutouts. Meanwhile, the Bruins have won only 14 of 29 road games while prevailing 21 times in 31 tries on home ice.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Robin Lehner, NYI at CGY ($38): Lehner has been tremendous this season, but he'll be hard-pressed to live up to his $38 valuation in this one. He's given up two-plus goals in each of his past six outings, and a Calgary club that ranks second in the league with 3.68 goals per game is likely to extend that streak.
CENTER
Dylan Strome, CHI at DET ($19): The proverbial light seems to have finally come on for Strome. The third overall selection in the 2015 draft recorded just 16 points in 48 games with Arizona, but he's one point shy of a point-per-game pace through 36 appearances for the Blackhawks. That turnaround includes five goals, 19 points and a plus-11 rating over his past 11 games. Strome won't be available for under $20 much longer if he keeps this up, so grab him at $19 while you still can.
CENTER TO AVOID
Casey Cizikas, NYI at CGY ($18): Cizikas has demonstrated a surprisingly strong two-way game with a plus-21 rating after entering this season with a career mark of minus-9, but his offensive production is due for some major regression. Having never reached 10 goals or 30 points in a season since cracking the NHL in 2011-12, Cizikas already has 15 goals and 25 points thanks to a 19.0 shooting percentage that's almost double his career 10.8 mark. Look for that percentage -- and with it, his scoring -- to plummet moving forward.
WINGS
Alex DeBrincat, CHI at DET ($24): While Patrick Kane's garnering the headlines with his historic assist streak, DeBrincat has been the man finishing off many of Kane's feeds. DeBrincat's lit the lamp 14 times in his past 17 games, including a three-goal, five-point outburst in his most recent contest. Those who can't afford Kane at $35 against a lousy Red Wings team that's getting outscored 3.23 to 2.77 on average this season should spring for DeBrincat, who comes $11 cheaper.
Jake DeBrusk, BOS at VGK ($21): DeBrusk has stepped up to fill the void left by David Pastrnak's thumb injury. The 2015 first-rounder has a goal in each of the four games since Pasta went down, and five assists over that span to boot. Skating in a top-six role and on the No. 1 power-play unit, DeBrusk will be hard to slow down, even for Fleury.
WINGS TO AVOID
Alex Tuch, VGK vs. BOS ($19): Tuch's production has plummeted and so has his ice time. He's recorded no goals, two assists and a minus-6 rating over his past nine games, and Tuch's poor recent play hasn't gone unpunished. Tuch's playing time has trended steadily downward over the past five games, from 18:06 to 16:38 to 15:54 to 15:16to 14:41.
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY vs. NYI ($32): Gaudreau enters this contest on a nine-game point drought, having managed just five helpers and a minus-4 rating over this forgettable stretch. While Lehner's looked human recently, getting back on track still won't be easy for Gaudreau against an Islanders team that's holding opponents to a league-low 2.29 goals per game.
DEFENSEMEN
Jacob Trouba, WPG at COL ($20): With Dustin Byfuglien sidelined by a lower-body injury, Trouba has moved up to become the lone blueliner on Winnipeg's star-studded top power-play unit. That role is likely to pay off against an Avalanche team that has the league's sixth-most generous penalty kill (77.3 percent), adding further value to a well-rounded resume that already features 31 points and a plus-17 rating.
Niklas Kronwall, DET vs. CHI ($12): Like Trouba, Kronwall stands to benefit from manning the point on his team's top power-play unit -- no penalty kill has denied a lower percentage of opposing extra-man opportunities than Chicago at 73.4 percent. Kronwall also brings some nice momentum into this one, having racked up a helper in each of his past two games while adding six shots, three blocks and a plus-3 rating over that stretch.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Tyson Barrie, COL vs. WPG ($19): Barrie's struggled at both ends of the ice of lately, totaling an assist for his only point over the past nine games to go with a minus-10 rating. His poor performance in the rating department is likely to continue against a Jets team that's outscoring opponents 3.39 to 2.88 on average.
Nick Leddy, NYI at CGY ($18): As has been a common theme for the players to avoid in this slate, Leddy's mired in a scoring slump, with just a single helper over his past 12 games. Things don't get much better when you zoom out the picture to the full season, as Leddy's average of 3.9 fantasy points per game is the lowest of all defensemen that cost $15 or more in this slate.
