This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The NHL season, which is fresh enough to still call "new," has been going on for a couple weeks. Some interesting stuff has happened, but the sample size is still small, so it still pays to keep an eye on what happened last season. There are four games Wednesday — here are my recommendations.
GOALIE
John Gibson, ANA vs. NYI ($8,600): Gibson was a workhorse last season, as he played in 60 games while posting a .926 save percentage. To start the year he's been even better, with a .944 save percentage through five games. The Islanders had a good offense last season, but there's a little guy named John Tavares who is missing from the lineup this year.
CENTER
Nicklas Backstrom, WAS vs. NYR ($6,800): Backstrom is getting overshadowed by Evgeny Kuznetsov, but he's still an excellent playmaker. For the last five year's he's notched at least 50 assists, and he has six to start this season. The Rangers are on the road for the second night of a back-to-back, and last year they allowed 37.4 shots on net per contest in away games.
Max Domi, MON vs. STL ($5,700): Domi had a disappointing season last year, his final with the Coyotes, but he also had a 6.0 shooting percentage that's bound to improve. He doesn't have a goal yet, but he does have four assists, and he's averaged 3:29 per game on the power play. Jake Allen has an .878 save percentage through four games, which is a small sample size, but it comes after he had a .906 save percentage last season.
WING
T.J. Oshie, WAS vs. NYR ($6,400): Oshie has been a power-play weapon since he was a rookie, as he's never averaged less than 2:22 per game with the extra man in his career. He had 18 power-play points last season, even though his overall numbers were a bit down. The Rangers had a 3.37 GAA and allowed 37.4 shots on net per contest in away game last season, and on top of that they are on the second night of a back-to-back.
Jake DeBrusk, BOS at CGY ($4,800): DeBrusk got off to a bit of a slow start, but he had two goals in Boston's last game. He's also started more of his shifts in the offensive zone than any Bruin, after being second on that front last season. The Flames had a 3.42 GAA after the All-Star break last season after Mike Smith started to regress before getting injured. Now, Smith has an .881 save percentage to star this year.
Maxime Comtois, ANA vs. NYI ($3,400): Yes, the 19-year-old rookie is likely to slow down, but the fact is that he's got five points in six games. He's also skating on Anaheim's second line, and he's seeing time on the power play. The Islanders finished last in the league in GAA, shots allowed, and penalty-kill percentage last year, so this matchup could help keep Comtois hot.
DEFENSE
Hampus Lindholm, ANA vs. NYI ($4,400): Lindholm set a personal best by scoring 13 goals last year, even though he only played in 69 games. He's off to a hot start to this season, as he has six points in six contests, including two on the power play. As previously noted, the Islanders had the highest GAA in the league last year (3.57), and even though they have new coaching, and some new personnel, only so much progress is likely to be made.
Jeff Petry, MON vs. STL ($4,300): Last year, Shea Weber missed time, and Petry stepped into his role. He finished the year with 42 points, including 23 on the power play. Weber is still out, and Petry has five points in five games, and he's averaged a whopping 5:00 per game on the power play. Obviously, that's going to go down, but he will remain the quarterback of Montreal's top power-play unit for the foreseeable future. The Blues had the 18th-ranked penalty kill last year, but that was with Carter Hutton having a career year. He's gone, and he's been replaced by Chad Johnson, who had an .891 save percentage last season.
