This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Thursday's NHL slate consists of 11 games after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below are pulled from DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Bruins are overwhelming favorites in Montreal, while the Canucks should be another team to build around on home ice against the Blackhawks. The rest of Tuesday's slate is projected to be competitive, though Sabres-Blues should have plenty of scoring with an over/under of 7.0 goals.
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark, BOS at MON ($8,500): Whether Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman ($8,300) gets the nod here, Montreal will have trouble scoring on Boston's goalie of choice. The Bruins are allowing a league-low 2.02 goals per game, while the Canadiens average 2.57 — third-fewest in the league — and recently lost leading goal scorer Cole Caufield (shoulder) for the season.
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs.WAS ($8,200): Georgiev was slumping for a while, but he's rediscovered his game in his last two outings, allowing just one goal in each while racking up two wins and 62 saves. This matchup will be especially appealing if superstar winger Alex Ovechkin (lower body) remains unavailable for the Capitals.
Karel Vejmelka, ARI vs. ANH ($7,900): Vejmelka has been noticeably better at home than on the road, posting a 7-4-2 record, 3.03 GAA and .913 save percentage on home ice compared to a 5-13-2 mark with 3.47 and .897 ratios elsewhere. With the Coyotes set to welcome the Ducks into Mullett Arena, this is the perfect time to deploy Vejmelka, as Anaheim averages a league-low 2.34 goals.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at NSH ($7,800): Hellebuyck's been one of the top goalies this season, with a 23-12-1 record, 2.39 GAA and .924 save percentage. He should build on the strong season against a Nashville team that's scoring the sixth-fewest goals per game (2.76).
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Sidney Crosby, PIT vs. FLA ($7,000): A four-game point streak has boosted Crosby's season line to 22-32-54 through 46 games. The elite pivot is unlikely to slow down against a Florida team that's battling injuries and ineffectiveness in net. Either Spencer Knight ($7,400) will be called upon for his first NHL action since Jan. 8 or Alex Lyon ($7,200) will start both legs of a back-to-back following Monday's 6-2 loss to the Rangers. Knight has allowed 21 goals in his last five outings, while Lyon sports a 3.47 GAA and .878 save percentage.
Clayton Keller, ARI vs. ANH ($5,600): Keller continues to pace Arizona's offense, leading the team in both goals (18) and points (41). In this battle of bottom-feeders, the best player on the slightly better team should stand out. Keller's coming off a hat trick against Vegas, while the Ducks are allowing a league-high 4.19 goals per game.
Trevor Zegras, ANH at ARI ($5,400): Like Keller, Zegras continues to produce despite being surrounded by an abhorrent supporting cast. The 21-year-old center has been held without a point only once in 10 January games, mustering seven goals and six assists during this productive stretch. Vejmelka has been better at home, but Arizona's goalie is still far from impenetrable.
Victor Olofsson, BUF at STL ($4,500): At half the valuation of teammate Tage Thompson ($9,000), Olofsson's a nice value play in what's expected to be Tuesday's highest-scoring game. The Swedish sniper has averaged a goal per game over his last seven, bringing Olofsson up to 22 goals in 46 games. Players on pace to push for 40 goals are rarely available for just $4,500.
Lucas Raymond, DET vs. SJ ($4,300): Raymond has quietly put together a 5-4-9 line over his last seven games, and his 15-17-32 line through 45 games has the fourth player selected in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft on pace to exceed the 23-34-57 output from Raymond's rookie season in 2021-22. A visiting Sharks team that's allowing 3.73 goals per game is unlikely to cool him off.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins at Canadiens
David Krejci (C - $4,700), David Pastrnak (W - $9,300), Pavel Zacha (W - $3,300)
Boston's Czech-ing line offers a nice mix of star power and value against a Canadiens team that's surrendering 3.64 goals per game. Pastrnak's 36 goals rank second behind idle Connor McDavid's 40, and the winger's 219 shots on goal are tied for the league lead with Timo Meier ($7,900). Krejci has dished out six helpers across his last four games and is four points shy of one per game through 41 appearances. Zacha recently earned a four-year extension and has chipped in a 3-2-5 line in four subsequent games.
Canucks vs. Blackhawks
Elias Pettersson (C - $7,300), Andrei Kuzmenko (W - $4,600), Ilya Mikheyev (W - $3,400)
Vancouver's nominal third line is the team's best offensively. Pettersson's 19-35-54 line is good for 17th in points league-wide. Kuzmenko hasn't required an adjustment period, as the former star scorer in the KHL has a 19-22-41 line through 45 NHL appearances. With 12 goals through 43 games, Mikheyev's on pace to top 20 for the second consecutive season. The 14-27-4 Blackhawks are unlikely to contain this trio.
Blues vs. Sabres
Robert Thomas (C - $4,600), Jordan Kyrou (W - $7,500), Brandon Saad (W - $4,100)
Buffalo can score with the best of them, but the Sabres' defense ranks among the 10 most generous at 3.41 goals allowed per game. St. Louis' top line will look to take inspiration from the Bengals and beat Buffalo. Kyrou knows a thing or two about bad defense, but while the DraftKings DFS format doesn't punish his minus-20 rating, it does reward his offensive capabilities, which have allowed Kyrou to exceed a point per game at 22-23-45 through 44 appearances. Thomas is just two points back of Kyrou's team-leading total, while Saad has picked up his offense in 2023 with a 6-3-9 line through 10 games in January.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF at STL ($7,800): Dahlin should be worth paying up for against the Blues, who give up 3.53 goals per game. He has five points in his last three games and a 14-39-53 line overall, ranking second among defensemen in both goals and points behind Erik Karlsson ($7,400).
Seth Jones, CHI at VAN ($6,500): The Canucks are actually worse defensively than Jones' own Blackhawks, as Vancouver's allowing the second-most goals per game (3.96). Jones has been hot lately and should continue to pile up points here. Over his last nine games, Jones has a 3-8-11 line.
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. CHI ($5,100): Thanks to a 3-8-11 line over his last seven games, Hughes is up to a point per game on the season. His 42 points are sixth-most among blueliners, and Hughes has an excellent opportunity to add to that total against a Blackhawks team that's surrendering 3.58 goals per game.
Alec Martinez, VGK at NJ ($4,500): Martinez bumped up to the top pairing for Vegas' past two games and rewarded that decision with a goal and an assist in one of them. Any offense you get from him is a bonus, though, as Martinez's value lies primarily in his league-leading 147 blocked shots. His contributions in that category should be plentiful against a New Jersey team that averages the fourth-most shots on goal (34.3).
