We're halfway through October and about a week into the latest NHL season. However, we're still in "just a few games" territory in terms of gleaning anything. Some stuff that has happened definitely intrigues me, but separating a fluke from the real deal is a work of speculation. It's fun to speculate, though! There are four games on the schedule Wednesday. The first pucks drop at 7 p.m. ET. Onto the DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
One team is on the second leg of a back-to-back, as the Flames have to travel to Utah to face the Mammoth. It is known that, owing to relative remoteness and elevation, the Jazz have one of the proper home-court advantages in the NBA. I wonder if the Mammoth will end up with a similar home-ice advantage?
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. CHI ($8,400): I don't love Binnington as much as some do, as I look at the fact that he's been a below-average goalie after his rookie season as being more relevant than a couple good games in 4 Nations. What I do love, however, is a competent goalie at home against the Blackhawks. Chicago has yet to score more than three goals in a game, and last season it managed a meager 24.5 shots on net per contest.
Karel Vejmelka, UTA vs. CGY ($8,300): After three road games, the Mammoth finally get to play at home. Vejmelka started two of those three games, only allowing two goals each time. The Flames, the sole team on the second leg of a back-to-back Wednesday, also happened to finish 29th in goals per game last season.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Dylan Holloway, STL vs. CHI ($6,700): It's too early to wring hands about guys who don't have points. Take Holloway, for example. He emerged with the Blues last season with 26 goals and 37 assists. This year, pointless though he may be, he has nine shots on net through three games, and his ice time is all the way up to 19:28 per contest. Spencer Knight may mean the Blackhawks don't finish with a 3.56 GAA again, but last year they also gave up 31.1 shots on net per game. To that end, Knight has faced 88 shots through three games.
Claude Giroux, OTT at BUF ($4,100): With Brady Tkachuk out for a month, the Senators might have to ask for more minutes from the veteran Giroux. Hey, if he gets to enjoy some of those minutes on the power play, I'm sure he can manage. Last year he had 18 points with the extra man, and while he doesn't have a power-play point yet, he has two points through three contests this year. Alex Lyon has a .919 save percentage, but he's also faced at least 30 shots in every game. I don't think he can sustain this, given his career .902 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Mammoth vs. Flames
Logan Cooley (C - $5,900), Dylan Guenther (W - $7,300), JJ Peterka (W - $4,700)
It's my first time recommending a stack for the now-named Mammoth! What an event! The Flames' new backup netminder is Devin Cooley. If that name doesn't ring a bell. That's fair. The 28-year-old has played in six NHL games, with all of them coming during the 2023-24 season with the Sharks. He posted a .870 save percentage. Yeah, I think the Mammoth might have a fun first home game of the season, and I'm liking the look of their second line right now.
Logan Cooley was in the mix to be the first-overall pick in 2022 and he has shown why. He had 20 goals as a rookie and 25 last season; those 25 goals coming with 40 assists as well. While Cooley has only one goal through three games, I have zero worries about the 21-year-old burgeoning star. Plus, he might want to score on a guy with the same surname! Guenther had 60 points in only 70 games last season and he's on fire to start this year. He has two goals, two assists and 13 shots on net. His 15.4 shooting percentage isn't even unsustainable. After two seasons in a row with more than 25 goals with the Sabres, the Mammoth added Peterka as an, "Okay, we're serious about making the playoffs" move. He has a goal and an assist, and is skating on the second line and second power-play unit, so things are looking solid so far.
DEFENSEMEN
Mikhail Sergachev, UTA vs. CGY ($5,700): The points will come for Sergachev. He had 53 points last year and he was regularly a 30-point guy even when playing second fiddle to Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay. Plus, the Russian has put seven shots on net and blocked 10 shots, so clearly he's busy. The Flames, on the second leg of a back-to-back, are starting Cooley. I already noted his lack of track record for any NHL success.
Artem Zub, OTT at BUF ($4,100): Here's a defenseman a little further down the salary scale. Zub had three points in Ottawa's opener. That was fluky, I'm sure, but in the two games since then he's tallied four shots on net and five blocked shots. While he doesn't get any power-play time, he skates with Jake Sanderson on the top pairing. As I noted, Lyon may be off to a good start to the season, but he's a veteran goalie with a career .902 save percentage.
