This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Thursday night is packed with 13 games on the docket. The action begins at 7:00 p.m. ET with five games (New Jersey at Toronto, Washington at Ottawa, Anaheim at Tampa Bay, Detroit at Florida, San Jose at Columbus). That's followed by one tilt at 7:30 p.m. (Philadelphia at the Islanders), four at 8:00 p.m. (Calgary at St. Louis, Chicago at Nashville, Montreal at Dallas, Seattle at Winnipeg), one at 9:00 p.m. (Rangers at Utah), one at 9:30 p.m. (Edmonton at Colorado) and one at 10:00 p.m. (Los Angeles at Vancouver). Here are my FanDuel lineup recommendations for tonight.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Oilers are the only team playing in the second half of a back-to-back, and Edmonton is competing in its second straight road game, so fatigue might be a factor working against the squad. None of the teams playing tonight have a game scheduled for Friday, though, so they don't have to make lineup considerations in that regard.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. SEA ($8,600): Hellebuyck is about as reliable an option as you can get in goal. He has managed to record as many shutouts (six) as losses so far in the campaign, which is an incredible feat. Hellebuyck is 27-6-2 with a 1.99 GAA and a .929 save percentage in 35 appearances. He's on a personal three-game winning streak in which he's stopped 71 out of 74 shots (.959 save percentage).
Logan Thompson, WAS at OTT ($8,200): Offense has been a key part of Washington's success this season, but Thompson has certainly played a big role with his 19-2-3 record, 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage across 24 appearances. He's continued that trend with a 7-0-1 record, 1.69 GAA and .943 save percentage across his past eight outings. Ottawa is in a three-way tie for 20th in goals per game with 2.88.
Mackenzie Blackwood, COL vs. EDM ($7,900): Picking the goaltending opposing the Oilers is risky, but there is reason to consider it tonight. As noted above, Edmonton is likely to be tired. Meanwhile, Blackwood has been phenomenal, posting a 9-2-1 record, 1.68 GAA and .938 save percentage across his past 12 appearances. You already saw what Hellebuyck costs. Since being acquired by Colorado from San Jose, Blackwood has put up Hellebuyck-type numbers and is the meaningfully cheaper option tonight.
Igor Shesterkin, NYR at UTA ($7,600): If you feel like a gamble, Shesterkin is fairly cheap. Of course, there's a reason for that: The Rangers went into a free fall and dragged Shesterkin down with them. Still, the situation might have stabilized, with the Rangers posting a 4-1-2 record since Jan. 2. Shesterkin has also looked better with a 2-0-1 record, 1.92 GAA and .924 save percentage across his past three starts. He's still a lackluster 13-15-2 with a 2.97 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 30 outings overall, though. Exercise caution, but there might be value here, especially against Utah, who rank 25th in goals per game with 2.79.
VALUE PLAYS
Kirby Dach, MON at DAL ($5,000): Dach hasn't been particularly noteworthy this campaign in terms of offensive production, supplying just eight goals and 16 points in 43 appearances. However, he's been an effective scorer dating back to Dec. 28 with six goals and seven points across his past nine outings. As long as he's playing like that, he's worthy of consideration.
Vladimir Tarasenko, DET at ANA ($4,600): Tarasenko is another one who has left plenty to be desired in 2024-25 (six goals and 18 points in 42 outings) but has stepped up recently. In Tarasenko's case, we might be in the early days of his hot streak. He's enjoyed back-to-back multi-point games, collecting two goals and two assists in that span.
Gustav Nyquist, NAS vs. CHI ($4,300): Here's a third straight forward who is at 18 points and playing above that level at the moment. Nyquist has a goal and five points over his past six outings. It doesn't hurt that he'll be up against the Blackhawks, who rank 30th in goals allowed per game with 3.45.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Jets vs. Kraken
Mark Scheifele (C - $7,900), Kyle Connor (W - $8,700), Gabriel Vilardi (W - $6,800)
Some coaches are constantly tinkering with their lines, but Jets bench boss Scott Arniel hasn't had much reason to mess with his top trio. Even Vilardi, who is the worst of the three in terms of overall offensive production, is playing at nearly a point-per-game pace with 19 goals and 41 points across 45 appearances, and he's been even better recently, supplying seven goals and 19 points across his past 14 outings.
Meanwhile, Scheifele is on a six-game scoring streak (four goals, eight points), which brings him up to 26 goals and 52 points in 45 appearances. Connor scored four points, including a hat trick, Tuesday, giving him 26 goals and 59 points in 45 outings overall.
This is a line that's easy to love.
Canadiens at Stars
Nick Suzuki (C - $7,000), Cole Caufield (W - $7,500), Juraj Slafkovsky (W - $5,100)
Montreal is one of the league's hottest teams with a 10-2-1 record dating back to Dec. 17 thanks in no small part to the Canadiens averaging 3.69 goals per game over that stretch. Caufield has done his part over that span, recording seven goals and 15 points in 13 appearances, bringing him up to 24 goals and 42 points across 43 outings overall.
Suzuki has also looked good with two goals and eight points over his past seven games, which gives him 13 goals and 43 points in 43 appearances in 2024-25.
Suzuki and Caufield are a great duo, but unfortunately, Slafkovsky isn't playing up to his potential offensively. After recording 50 points in 2023-24, he has been limited to four goals and 23 points across 40 appearances this season. He's cheap enough that you could consider taking him anyway to round out the line, but I'd recommend swapping him for Patrik Laine (W - $7,300), who has 10 goals and 12 points in 15 outings. Laine is set to play alongside Suzuki and Caufield on the top power-play unit.
DEFENSEMEN
Zach Werenski, CBJ vs. SJS ($7,700): Werenski scored twice Tuesday to stay red hot. He has four markers and 18 points across his past 10 appearances, bringing him up to 15 goals and 50 points in 44 appearances in 2024-25. That ties him with Cale Makar for first in the defensemen scoring race. Werenski might take the lead tonight against the Sharks, who rank 28th in goals allowed per game with 3.41.
Roman Josi, NAS vs. CHI ($6,900): Josi has supplied a goal and four points over his active three-game scoring streak. Nashville's offense has underwhelmed this campaign, and that's impacted Josi to some extent. However, as noted above, the Blackhawks have struggled defensively, so this is a prime opportunity for Josi to build off his recent success.
Victor Hedman, TBL vs. ANA ($6,800): Hedman is on a four-game scoring streak in which he's collected two goals and five points. That brings him up to seven goals and 34 points in 40 appearances in 2024-25. He might not match last year's regular season finish of 76 points, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him surpass the 60-point mark for the third time in four campaigns.
Cam Fowler, STL vs. CGY ($5,200): If you need a cheap blue liner, Fowler has been productive recently, supplying four goals and 10 points across his past 10 appearances. Although he hasn't capitalized on it to any great extent yet, he's also been getting a significant amount of power-play ice time during that stretch – an average of 2:13 – and he might start seeing more success in that regard if he can maintain that role. He did have 18 power-play points last season compared to just two in 2024-25.
