This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Thursday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EST and features 11 games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
After a couple of smaller slates Tuesday and Wednesday, there'll be no shortage of enticing options to choose from Thursday. This slate features a number of lopsided matchups, as the Penguins (vs. Buffalo), Maple Leafs (in Ottawa) and Capitals (vs. New Jersey) are all massive favorites. On top of that, the Lighting (in Dallas), Predators (vs. Detroit), Hurricanes (in Columbus) and even Avalanche (vs. Vegas) are all clear-cut favorites in their respective matchups as well. Maple Leafs-Senators is also tied with Panthers-Blackhawks for this slate's largest over/under at 6.5 goals, so both of those games are safe bets to provide offense in this sea of choices.
GOALIES
Juuse Saros, NSH vs. DET ($8,100): Saros should get another crack at Detroit after stopping all 31 Red Wings shots he faced in Tuesday's 2-0 win. Between Detroit's bottom-three offense (2.15 goals per game) and Saros' prolific play since returning from an upper-body injury (two goals allowed in three starts), the Finnish netminder should be a strong choice on all fronts.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at DAL ($8,200): Vasilevskiy's a suggested option pretty much every time Tampa Bay takes the ice, but such is life when you're 21-3-1 with a 1.83 GAA and .933 save percentage. Those overall numbers are already phenomenal, but Vasilevskiy's results against Dallas have been downright unfair. In four meetings this season against the team he defeated for the Stanley Cup last year, Vasilevskiy's 4-0-0 with a 0.98 GAA, .957 save percentage and two shutouts.
Alex Nedeljkovic, CAR at CBJ ($7,800): Like Saros against Detroit, Nedeljkovic logged a shutout in his previous game against Thursday's opponent, setting aside all 19 Columbus shots in Monday's 3-0 triumph. Overall, the 25-year-old netminder is 7-2-2 with a 1.96 GAA and .930 save percentage, establishing himself as the goalie of Carolina's future... and present.
Casey DeSmith, PIT vs. BUF ($8,500): DeSmith figures to get the second half of this back-to-back set against the Sabres, who are 0-13-2 in their last 15 games. Meanwhile, the Penguins are 13-3-1 at home this season, so this figures to be another win for Pittsburgh after Tristan Jarry presided over Wednesday's 5-2 victory.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Noel Acciari, FLA at CHI ($4,000): Acciari's skating on the Panthers' top line with Aleksander Barkov (lower body) out, and he made the most of the opportunity in the first game of Barkov's absence, with two helpers Tuesday in Chicago. The affordable pivot makes for a great value play as long as he's filling in for Barkov.
Alex Ovechkin, WAS vs. NJ ($9,000): Few players in league history are as imposing as an in-form Ovechkin, and the league's sixth-leading all time goal-scorer is in the midst of one of those dominant hot streaks now. Ovechkin has six goals on 27 shots in his last six games, having rocketed past Phil Esposito on the goals list during this hot streak and now sitting just 11 back of Marcel Dionne. The Devils, who sit ahead of only lowly Buffalo in the East Division standings, are unlikely to slow Ovie down.
Sidney Crosby, PIT vs. BUF ($7,600): Crosby's another all-time great in a favorable matchup. He took full advantage of facing the last-place Sabres with a goal, an assist and seven shots in Wednesday's 5-2 win. That outing gave Crosby five points in his last three games and a 13-21-34 line in 32 appearances overall.
Eeli Tolvanen, NSH vs. DET ($4,400): Tolvanen's starting to make a name for himself on Nashville's top line, as the 2017 first-round puck has four points in his last two games and a 4-5-9 line over his last 10. His $4,400 valuation is likely to keep climbing, so this matchup with the lowly Red Wings presents a nice opportunity to scoop Tolvanen up while he's still affordable.
Yanni Gourde, TB at DAL ($4,600): Gourde built on his recent hot streak with a goal in Tuesday's win over Dallas, stretching his goal-scoring streak to four games and giving him a 6-4-10 line in his last 10. There are more favorable matchups to target in this slate, but sometimes when you're hot you're hot.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs at Senators
Auston Matthews (C - $9,200), Mitch Marner (W - $8,500), Wayne Simmonds (W - $3,400)
It's important not to overthink things, especially on a night with so many choices. Paying up for Toronto's top line should work out against a Senators team that's allowing a league-high 3.74 goals per game, and there's no shortage of enticing yet affordable value options around to help you afford the likes of Matthews and Marner. Matthews is tied with Connor McDavid for the league goals lead with 21, though he has reached that mark in just 29 appearances compared to McDavid's 34. Meanwhile, Marner's 12-28-40 line in 32 games has him trailing only McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Kane in points league-wide. Simmonds is currently getting a crack at the coveted third spot on this line, and the physical winger has a 2-1-3 line and eight shots over his last three games.
Rangers at Flyers
Mika Zibanejad (C - $7,500), Chris Kreider (W - $5,900), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $6,000)
The last time these two teams met, Zibanejad produced a six-point period en route to a 9-0 Rangers win. While we almost certainly won't get a repeat of that March 17 result, another strong showing from this line is certainly on the table given Philadelphia's recent defensive struggles — the Flyers have allowed 57 goals over their last 13 games en route to a 4-8-1 record over that stretch. Zibanejad has had a disappointing season outside of his St. Patrick's Day outburst, though his three multi-point efforts in the last six games suggest he's finally getting going. The top-line center is flanked by New York's leading goal-scorer in Kreider (16 in 31 games) and its leading point scorer in Buchnevich (29 in 30 games).
Blackhawks vs. Panthers
Pius Suter (C - $4,200), Patrick Kane (W - $7,400), Alex DeBrincat (W - $7,100)
Locking in Chicago's top line won't be cheap, but this high-scoring group could be sneaky good against the Barkov-less Panthers. Kane's 44 points through 33 games are third in the league behind Edmonton's dynamic duo, while DeBrincat has a 16-16-32 line in 29 games played, and he would be tracking towards a second 40-goal season in three years if this were a full-length campaign. Suter lit the lamp in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Panthers, and he has been a stabilizing two-way force on Chicago's top line with nine goals.
DEFENSEMEN
Kris Letang, PIT vs. BUF ($6,700): Letang makes it in here for the second night in a row, but there's little reason not to go right back to him after he lit the lamp in Wednesday's win over Buffalo to bring his season line to 6-17-23 in 32 games. A Sabres team that's winless in its last 15 games is unlikely to fare any better against the high-scoring defenseman in this rematch.
Aaron Ekblad, FLA at CHI ($6,200): Ekblad's six power-play goals are tops among all defensemen league-wide, and he has a nice opportunity to add to that total against Chicago's bottom-five, 72.0 percent penalty kill. In a game that's expected to feature plenty of scoring, the first overall pick from the 2014 draft —who has already scored double digit goals for the sixth time in seven NHL campaigns — carries elite upside.
Ivan Provorov, PHI vs. NYR ($4,600): Provorov can provide value even when he's not scoring, as he's among the league's better blueliners in racking up both shots and blocks, including four of each to go with an assist in his last game. The well-rounded blueliner has a 4-11-15 line in 31 games overall, and he's a high-floor option for a Flyers team that will be out for revenge after getting embarrassed in the previous meeting between these teams.
Ryan Suter, MIN vs. STL ($3,300): Suter has been a disappointment after three consecutive seasons with at least 47 points, but he's finally finding his offense, with three points in the last two games. Given his decent contributions in both shots and blocks, Suter's a nice value at just $3,300 while he's hot.
