This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
We have five games on the docket tonight, starting with three clashes at 7:00 p.m. ET (Minnesota at Toronto, Los Angeles at Florida, Philadelphia at New Jersey). After that, the final two games will start at 9:00 p.m. ET (Vancouver at Nashville) and 9:30 p.m. (Pittsburgh at Utah). Here are my FanDuel lineup recommendations for this relatively light slate of action.
SLATE PREVIEW
None of the 10 teams playing today played yesterday, so they're all fairly rested. However, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are each in the first half of a back-to-back set, which might influence those squads' lineup decisions.
GOALIES
Joseph Woll, TOR vs. MIN ($7,800): The Wild have had a good campaign overall, but they've lost five of their past seven games. They're missing forwards Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) and Marcus Johansson (concussion), though, so their offense is well below full power. Woll endured a rough patch from Jan. 9-20 (3.61 GAA, .876 save percentage over five appearances), but he looked solid Saturday, stopping 21 out of 23 shots versus Ottawa, so perhaps that slump is behind him. He's 17-9-0 with a 2.67 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 26 outings overall.
Karel Vejmelka, UTA vs. PIT ($7,600): Vejmelka has held his own this campaign with a 2.47 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 30 appearances. The downside is his 11-14-3 record due to the mediocre play of the team in front of him. Still, Pittsburgh isn't that great either at 20-24-8. The Penguins are missing Evgeni Malkin (lower body), so this could be a good game for Vejmelka and Utah.
VALUE PLAYS
Pius Suter, VAN at NSH ($4,700): Suter had a goal and an assist in his last game Monday, giving him three points over his past three outings. He's seen his usage tick upwards recently to an average of 18:31 of ice time across his past five outings compared to his 16:13 per game over his opening 43 appearances. He's still not an ideal source of offensive production, but his goals tend to come in bunches, so perhaps he's at the start of such a run.
Gustav Nyquist, NSH vs. VAN ($4,600): Nyquist has found the back of the net in each of his past two games. He has nine goals and 20 points in 47 appearances in 2024-25, which is OK production, but it's vastly below the pace he enjoyed during his 75-point showing in 2023-24. Perhaps he'll have a better second half. He's still getting opportunities, evidenced by logging 22:24 of ice time on Saturday.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Predators vs. Canucks
Filip Forsberg (W - $8,500), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $7,300), Steven Stamkos (W - $6,500)
None of these forwards are listed as a center on FanDuel, which is unfortunate, but this trio still needs to be mentioned. Stamkos and, to a lesser extent, Marchessault had rough starts to the 2024-25 campaign. At this point, though, all three members of this unit are playing up to their full potential.
Stamkos has provided five goals and eight points across his past six appearances while Marchessault has been steady for a while, supplying 10 goals and 25 points over his last 20 outings. Even with those recent results, Forsberg is easily the hottest of them. He's on a 10-game scoring streak in which he's supplied nine goals and 19 points.
Utah HC vs. Penguins
Logan Cooley (C - $6,700), Clayton Keller (W - $7,800), Nick Schmaltz (W - $6,300)
Keller is the highlight of this unit. He's on a seven-game scoring streak (four goals, 13 points) that has brought him up to 18 goals and 54 points in 48 outings overall. Schmaltz has been productive too, supplying four goals and 10 points across his past nine appearances, which gives him 10 goals and 39 points in 49 games this season.
By contrast, Cooley is on a three-game scoring drought, but that's already the longest slump he's had this season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him break out of it tonight. He's been great overall, providing 15 goals and 42 points in 49 outings.
Pittsburgh is also a favorable adversary, ranking 31st in goals allowed per game (3.60).
DEFENSEMEN
Quinn Hughes, VAN at NSH ($6,900): Vancouver has its problems, but Hughes isn't one of them. He has 14 goals and 56 points in 45 appearances in 2024-25 and is showing no signs of slowing down with six goals and 14 points across his past 11 outings. He's the best defenseman available tonight.
Dougie Hamilton, NJD vs. PHI ($6,300): Hamilton is entering tonight's action on a three-game scoring streak (two goals, five points), and he's been a steady offensive force for a little while now with three goals and 13 points over his last 17 appearances. He's had some slumps this campaign but has performed well overall with eight goals and 34 points in 52 games.
