This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Thursdays tend to be among the NHL's busier days, and tonight is no exception with nine games on the docket. Five of the matches start at 7 p.m. ET (Florida at Toronto, Boston at Ottawa, Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, St. Louis at Pittsburgh, Vegas at Columbus) followed by one game at 7:30 (Edmonton at New Jersey), one at 8 p.m. (the Rangers at Minnesota) and two at 10:30 (Washington at Los Angeles, Chicago at San Jose). Here are my FanDuel lineup recommendations for the upcoming night of hockey.
SLATE PREVIEW
None of the 18 teams featured tonight played Wednesday, so fatigue shouldn't be a significant consideration in any of these games. Edmonton is gearing up for the first half of a back-to-back set, which might influence the team's lineup decisions.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL at PHI ($8,000): Vasilevskiy's last three starts have been rough (1-2-0, 4.01 GAA, .864 save percentage), but he's still having a fantastic campaign overall with a 30-18-3 record, 2.29 GAA and .919 save percentage in 51 outings. If he was up against a stronger adversary, I might be more hesitant, but the Flyers rank 23rd in goals per game with 2.79, and Vasilevskiy has traditionally done great against Philadelphia, posting a 14-4-1 record, 2.19 GAA and .931 save percentage across 20 career regular-season outings.
Filip Gustavsson, MIN vs. NYR ($7,600): The Rangers aren't the easiest of opponents, but they have lost four straight (2-0-2) and are missing top offensive defenseman Adam Fox (upper body), so the Wild appear to be catching them at an advantageous time. I also like this matchup for the Wild because Gustavsson is on a roll with a 3-1-0 record, 1.48 GAA and .946 save percentage across his past four appearances. The 26-year-old netminder has a 25-14-3 record, 2.56 GAA and .915 save percentage in 43 outings overall in 2024-25.
VALUE PLAYS
Ilya Mikheyev, CHI at SJS ($5,000): Mikheyev isn't a great offensive weapon, but he's playing like one right now with four goals and six points across his past seven outings. It doesn't hurt that the Blackhawks are set to face the Sharks, who rank last in goals allowed per game with 3.70.
Zachary Bolduc, STL at PIT ($4,900): Bolduc hasn't had any trouble finding the back of the net recently, supplying five goals (six points) over his past seven appearances. The 22-year-old has also recorded 14 shots in that span, which is an uptick compared to his 80 shots in 55 outings this season.
David Perron, OTT vs. BOS ($4,700): With the Senators competing for a playoff spot, the veteran Perron has stepped up. He's on a four-game scoring streak and has been held off the scoresheet just once over his past six appearances, giving him three goals and five points over that span.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Penguins vs. Blues
Sidney Crosby (C - $8,000), Rickard Rakell (W - $6,500), Bryan Rust (W - $6,200)
Pittsburgh is all but completely out of the playoff race, but that hasn't stopped Crosby. The superstar has five goals and eight points across his past five appearances, which has pushed him up to 23 goals and 70 points across 65 appearances in 2024-25.
When Crosby gets on the scoresheet, there's a fair chance you'll find Rakell's name there with him. Rakell has assisted on three of Crosby's past four games, and Crosby has similarly assisted on three of Rakell's last four markers. It should then be no surprise that Rakell is hot at the same time as Crosby -- the 31-year-old Swedish forward has four goals and seven points over his past six appearances.
Rust has often gotten in on that action, too, but that hasn't been the case recently, which has resulted in Rust going three straight outings without a point. However, the 32-year-old still has a solid 47 points (21 goals) in 56 appearances this season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him get going again.
Oilers at Devils
Leon Draisaitl (C - $9,000), Viktor Arvidsson (W - $5,400), Jeff Skinner (W - $4,900)
I haven't recommended Draisaitl a ton this season, and the reason for that is he usually isn't listed as having good linemates. Still, he's too hot right now to ignore. Draisaitl is on a 15-game scoring streak with 11 goals and 23 points in 15 outings this campaign.
Arvidsson and Skinner have largely been disappointments this campaign, but at least they're cheap, so you could make an argument for either one and hope for the best. Personally, I'd consider taking Draisaitl and Connor McDavid (C - $8,900), who is on an eight-game scoring streak (two goals, 11 points), which has elevated him to 24 goals and 82 points in 58 outings overall. McDavid and Draisaitl connect on the power play and can also end up together at even strength, so it's nice having both of Pittsburgh's superstars if you can work it into your budget.
Golden Knights at Blue Jackets
Jack Eichel (C - $8,700), Mark Stone (W - $7,500), Victor Olofsson (W - $4,700)
Eichel and Stone are such a good duo. Eichel has a goal and nine points across his active six-game scoring streak, which gives him 20 goals and 78 points in 63 appearances in 2024-25. Stone is similarly hot with a goal and six points over his past three outings, bringing him up to 17 goals and 57 points in 50 games this season.
It wouldn't be surprising to see them continue their success against the Blue Jackets, who rank 27th in goals allowed per game with 3.31.
Olofsson is another story. He has 11 goals and 22 points in 42 appearances in 2024-25 and hasn't recorded a point over his past four appearances. He's cheap enough to take as a way of offsetting more expensive options, but you could easily pass on him. A potential alternative is Pavel Dorofeyev (W - $6,200), who has two goals and five points in his past six appearances, giving him 25 goals and 41 points in 64 outings in 2024-25. Dorofeyev is likely to share the ice with Eichel and Stone on the power play.
DEFENSEMEN
Evan Bouchard, EDM at NJD ($6,600): Bouchard almost certainly won't match his 82-point effort from 2023-24, but he's looking great down the stretch. He has three goals and six points across his last five outings, giving him 12 goals and 51 points in 64 appearances this campaign.
Jake Sanderson, OTT vs. BOS ($6,300): Sanderson has been racking up points recently, collecting nine assists over his past six outings. The 22-year-old is up to six goals and a career-high 45 points through 63 appearances in 2024-25. He's been particularly effective with the man advantage, collecting 25 power-play points, four over that six-game stretch.
Noah Hanifin, VGK at CLM ($5,700): Hanifin has been streaky offensively this season, and he's currently going through a hot streak. The 28-year-old has three goals and 11 points over his past 10 appearances after supplying a goal and an assist Tuesday. He's up to nine goals and 32 points in 64 games this season.
Luke Hughes, NJD vs. EDM ($5,500): Hughes is on a roll with two goals and 10 points across his past 10 outings. Dougie Hamilton (lower body) is done for the remainder of the regular season, which has elevated Hughes to the top power-play. The 21-year-old Hughes has three power-play assists over his past four outings.
