Thursday has nine games on the schedule, but the 2:00 p.m. ET start from Sweden between Ottawa and Detroit won't be included here. The only way to play that contest on DraftKings is to sign up for a Showdown. The evening portion of the slate features three 7:00 p.m. ET starts, one 8:00 p.m. ET start, one at 9:00 p.m. ET start, one 10:00 p.m. ET start and two beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET. All game lines and odds used below come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
Vegas (at Montreal), Tampa Bay (at Chicago) and St. Louis (at San Jose) are the biggest favorites. The Golden Knights-Canadiens and NY Islanders-Kraken matchups have the lowest over/under of the night at 6.0.
GOALIES
Adin Hill, VGK at MON ($8,500): Hill is a good option if you want to spend up for a goaltender. He is coming off a 20-save shutout win over San Jose on Friday and he posted a 37-save victory in a shootout against the Canadiens on Oct. 30. Hill has a 7-1-1 record this season with a 1.75 GAA and a .939 save percentage over nine games played.
Casey DeSmith, VAN at CGY ($7,400): DeSmith will probably get the second half of Vancouver's back-to-back after Thatcher Demko plays Wednesday versus the Islanders. DeSmith has been superb when called upon this campaign, sporting a 4-0-1 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .916 save percentage in six appearances. Additionally, Calgary ranks 28th in the league with 2.60 goals per game in 2023-24.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Timo Meier, NJ at PIT ($5,900): Meier has lit the lamp in three straight games, with two coming on the power play, going into Thursday night's action. He also has 12 shots on net and three blocked shots during that stretch.
Danil Gushchin, SJ vs. STL ($3,000): Gushchin registered one assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Florida during his season debut. He has picked up at least one point in each of his three NHL appearances, earning one goal, two helpers and 10 shots on net over that span.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA at LA ($5,800): Verhaeghe has notched four goals and four assists in his past six outings, including three markers and two helpers during a three-game point spree. He has two power-play tallies and 13 shots on target during that three-game stretch.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Blues at Sharks
Robert Thomas (C - $5,800), Pavel Buchnevich (W - $4,900), Kasperi Kapanen (W - $3,800)
Thomas has five goals, six assists and 15 shots on net during seven-game point streak. He has two power-play helpers and one shorthanded assist over that stretch. Buchnevich has accounted for three goals, seven points and 12 shots on target in his past five outings. Kapanen has two markers, one assist and nine shots on net across his last five appearances.
The top of the Blues brings plenty of value to the table versus a San Jose squad that has allowed a league-leading 71 goals against.
Penguins vs. Devils
Sidney Crosby (C - $8,200), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,600), Bryan Rust (W - $6,600)
Crosby has generated seven goals and seven assists across his nine-game point spree. He also has 36 shots on net during that stretch. Guentzel has racked up four goals, five helpers and 15 shots on target over his five-game point streak. Rust has two goals, four assists and 19 shots in his past five outings.
Pittsburgh's first line stands a good chance of remaining hot versus a New Jersey team that ranks 30th in the NHL with 3.86 goals against per contest.
Blackhawks vs. Lightning
Connor Bedard (C - $7,100), Nick Foligno (W - $3,900), Philipp Kurashev (W - $3,800)
Bedard has four goals, two assists and nine shots on net in his past two outings, which includes two markers and two helpers versus Tampa Bay last Thursday. Foligno collected three assists in Chicago's 5-3 win over the Lightning, while contributed two helpers.
The top line of the Blackhawks has plenty of bang for the buck upside if they can repeat their success versus the Lightning from a week ago. Tampa Bay ranks 28th in the league this campaign with 3.69 goals against per contest.
DEFENSEMEN
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at MON ($6,500): Pietrangelo has compiled one goal, three assists, 11 shots on net and six blocked shots over his past three outings. Additionally, he has one goal and three helpers in his last five appearances versus Montreal.
Torey Krug, STL at SJ ($3,900): Krug has heated up with one goal and five assists during a four-game point spree. He has 10 shots on net and eight blocked shots during that stretch.
