Following two busy days of NHL action, we have a lighter slate tonight. There are a pair of 7 p.m. ET starts (Ottawa at Buffalo, Florida at Detroit), followed by two that begin at 9:30 (Chicago at St. Louis, Calgary at Utah).
SLATE PREVIEW
The Flames are playing in the second half of a back-to-back, so they might be a touch sluggish tonight. The other seven squads featured Wednesday are rested, but Ottawa and Florida are scheduled to play again Friday, which might influence the team's lineup decisions.
GOALIES
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at DET ($7,900): Bobrovsky has won his first three starts of the 2025-26 campaign while allowing just five goals on 67 shots (.925 save percentage). It wouldn't be shocking if he kept that winning streak going against Detroit. The Red Wings are coming off a 3-2 win against Toronto, but Detroit was outshot 40-15, so oftentimes that game wouldn't have gone their way.
Karel Vejmelka, UTA vs. CAL ($7,500): Vejmelka has gotten off to a strong start, stopping 45 of 49 shots (.918 save percentage) across his opening two games. He won his two games against the Flames last year while turning aside 56 of 60 shots, so this is a good matchup for him, especially when Calgary is likely to be tired.
VALUE PLAYS
Frank Nazar, CHI at STL ($4,900): Nazar did fine as a rookie in 2024-25, scoring 12 goals and 26 points across 53 appearances with Chicago, but this could be his first big season. He's already accumulated a goal and five points in four outings this year. It helps that he's averaging 19:12 of ice time, up from 15:52 in 2024-25. As long as Chicago keeps leaning on Nazar that much, the 21-year-old should be a solid offensive contributor.
Jimmy Snuggerud, STL vs. CHI ($4,900): We're seeing a lot of rookies off to great starts, and Snuggerud is part of that group. He's already contributed two goals and three points through three outings this year. The 21-year-old has averaged a healthy 2:37 of ice time with the man advantage, which has allowed him to record two of those points on the power play.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Panthers at Red Wings
Sam Bennett (C - $5,900), Brad Marchand (W - $6,000), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $5,800)
The Panthers are off to a 3-1-0 start despite missing Aleksander Barkov (knee) and Matthew Tkachuk (groin), and Marchand is an important part of the reason why. Marchand has two goals and four points in four outings this year. His linemates haven't been as productive offensively – Verhaeghe has two points (one goal) and Bennett has a marker this year. However, Verhaeghe and Bennett each exceeded 50 points during the 2024-25 regular season, so they should pick up the pace.
The Panthers will be counting on this trio to produce going forward, especially given those key absences.
DEFENSEMEN
Jake Sanderson, OTT at BUF ($6,300): Sanderson set career highs during the 2024-25 regular season with 11 goals, 57 points and 195 shots across 80 appearances, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the 23-year-old match or exceed those totals this year. He's off to a great start with three assists in three games, including two points with the man advantage.
Cam Fowler, STL vs. CHI ($5,200): Fowler isn't one of the league's top offensive defensemen, but he is a steady contributor who has finished with at least 39 points in each of the past four regular seasons. Although the 33-year-old has just one assist in three games this year, Fowler will likely put up similar numbers to his recent campaigns, given his heavy workload. He's averaged 22:28 of ice time, including 2:42 with the man advantage, this year. He excelled against Chicago in 2024-25, scoring three goals in four outings, so this might be a nice night for him.
