Last night, the three-game slate's biggest feature was the Central Division first-place contest between Colorado and Minnesota. Didn't seem fair. 15% of the Wild's salary cap is in limbo, and their best player is out on IR. The game was also at the Ball Arena in Denver, where the reigning champs, well, reign. None of that mattered as Filip Gustavsson withstood a 44-shot barrage to post a 4-2 win. Gustavsson, after a short blip, has stopped 111 of 115 pucks (0.965 sv%) in his last three starts. The Wild will likely call on future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury for Game One of their playoff run, but a 1A/1B alternating pattern has been working so well (one regulation loss in their last 21 matches), so why change it? Oh – Minnesota has only 42 goals against surrendered in those 21 games, not a small sample. 

Florida got a last-minute score from Brandon Montour, and another in overtime to keep the wild card race alive in the East. Pittsburgh continues to be "wildly" inconsistent – even within the 60 minutes of any game – so their Thursday-Saturday-Sunday slate should be entertaining, but entirely unpredictable.  

Tonight, while the juiciest, or most meaningful, matchup is an early game between the Rangers and Devils (only two points apart in the Metro), my fantasy finds for DFS skaters are mostly out West. That said, Jeremy Swayman ($8300) at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets was just irresistible. The Jackets are without Patrik Laine for a fourth game, and are 3-8 over their past 11 contests. Boston may have clinched their playoff position but I don't see them caving.  

Who wouldn't want to bet on the Edmonton Oilers' power play? Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6800) and Evan Bouchard ($3900) obviously aren't the top-two here, but RNH has notched two points per game over his past nine contests, including his five-point outburst (1G, 4A) Tuesday.  He may become the third Oiler to score 100 this season, presently at 96. Bouchard's having taken over the prime first power-play spot after the Tyson Barrie trade hasn't cut into the magic of their historic 33% efficiency. This is a big game for the two regulation points, and I see the home team with an advantage.  

In Seattle, also late, the Ducks visit the playoff-bound Kraken. If you saw this coming back in October, uhh you're probably lying. I don't forecast this one as a tight-checking defensive battle, but instead a wide-open 6-4 fun game to watch. Vince Dunn ($5300), and Jared McCann ($6100), yes but also spending a buck or two on Mason McTavish ($4200) to outshine Matty Beniers on this night. Dunn has very quietly amassed 61 points and a +25 rating this year. And McCann's 35 goals have surprised, as well. Beniers was gifted (yes, I said that) the Calder Trophy back in October, no matter what of Wyatt Johnston (22 goals), McTavish, Mattias Maccelli (leads rookies in assists), or even Jake Sanderson (16 power play points). He's done well, for sure, but the runaway it's been in the hockey press? And any Kraken post-season success won't be the product of the rookie, or even Philipp Grubauer or Martin Jones standing on their heads – this team plays arguably the best TEAM defense in the west, kudos to coach Dave Hakstol.  

There's DraftKings funds left for the St. Louis Blues, as they visit Chicago. The Hawks' 4-1 loss to Dallas Tuesday reflects exactly who they are now, a disjointed effort mostly by players hoping to have NHL jobs in another year or two. Oh, there are exceptions – sure – as Lukas Reichel and Taylor Raddysh should survive the rebuild and be leaders along with captain-to-be Seth Jones.  But today? No. I'll play Brayden Schenn ($4800) and Jakub Vrana ($5200), leaving me JUST enough for Utility player ….    Drake Batherson ($5400), back in the East and facing the Flyers.   Philly has been hot lately but not so much on the defensive side.  

Option: Vegas at San Jose really only matters to the Knights, and after being blown out by Edmonton, Alex Pietrangelo ($6800) and first-line, first power play Ivan Barbashev (cheap at $4300), could make a value team stack. San Jose won on Tuesday, as James Reimer shut out the Jets, but that only brings their past six weeks to be 3-13-4, yep three wins in 20 games.   Vegas' finishing first in the Pacific could mean facing Winnipeg or Calgary, instead of the Kings or Oilers. Eight critical games.

Good luck to all.