This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
There are 11 games on tap Thursday, all involving teams that did not play Wednesday. Edmonton travels to Boston, Buffalo hosts Dallas, Philadelphia is in Carolina, the Rangers take on the Canadiens in Montreal, the Islanders play in Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay hosts Vegas, the Devils are in Washington, San Jose takes on St. Louis, Arizona hosts Nashville, LA is in Colorado and finally, Ottawa travels to Seattle. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Igor Shesterkin, NYR at MON ($24): Shesterkin is coming off a tough start, giving up four goals on 24 shots in a loss to the league-leading Bruins on Saturday. He had won his previous two starts and is 27-11-7 with a 2.67 GAA and .909 save percentage this season. Shesterkin lost his only start versus the Canadiens earlier in the season but played well, giving up two goals on 31 shots in a 2-1 Montreal victory. The Canadiens are the fifth-lowest scoring team in the NHL, averaging 2.69 goals per game this season.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Stuart Skinner, EDM at BOS ($23): Skinner has won his last three games in a row but faces a very tough matchup against the best team in the NHL, as the Bruins have 103 points in 62 games. They are also the second-highest scoring team, averaging 3.79 goals per game and trailing only the Oilers. Skinner is 18-13-4 with a 2.86 GAA and .913 save percentage this season.
CENTER
Jack Eichel, VGK at TB ($27): Eichel is on a four-game point streak in which he has three goals and six points. He has been hot since Feb. 9 (after picking up only one assist in his previous nine games), scoring eight goals and adding seven assists in 12 games. He has regained his scoring touch after a tough injury-plagued two seasons, in which he had 16 goals and 43 points in only 55 games. This season, Eichel has 23 goals and 49 points in 51 contests.
CENTER TO AVOID
Bo Horvat, NYI at PIT ($24): Horvat has not been what the Islanders had hoped for thus far, as he has five goals and eight points in 14 games. He started off well with three goals and an assist in his first four games, but has gone pointless in his last three games, and has two goals and four points in his last 10 games. Overall, Horvat has 36 goals and 26 assists in 63 games, but had 31 goals and 54 points in 47 games with Vancouver, before the Jan. 30 trade.
WING
Artemi Panarin, NYR at MON ($25): Panarin has 19 goals and 50 assists in 63 games this season. He saw his three-game point streak end Saturday. Panarin has been his usual force on the power play with two goals and 23 helpers. He has a goal and an assist in two games against Montreal this season.
Kevin Fiala, LA at COL ($23): Fiala is having a great first season in LA, scoring 22 times with 45 assists in 65 games. He was a stud last season in Minnesota, scoring 33 goals and adding 52 assists, so this season is no surprise. Fiala has set a career high in power play points with 23. He has four goals and 12 points in his last 10 games.
WINGS TO AVOID
Joe Pavelski, DAL at BUF ($22): Pavelski is on a three-game point streak with a goal and five points, but he had been in a prolonged slump before that with only four assists in his previous 12 games. He went 18 games without a goal before finally finding the back of the net Saturday in a 7-3 win over Colorado. While his 15 goals and 56 points in 64 games look good, Pavelski got off to a great start this season, but has floundered in the second half.
Mike Hoffman, MON vs. NYR ($17): Hoffman snapped a 12-game goalless streak Tuesday with his first goal since Jan. 31. He had gone his previous five games with nary a point, and had only 10 goals and 26 points in 50 games this season. Hoffman had a career high 36 goals and 70 points in the 2018-19 season, but has not had more than 36 points in his last three seasons.
DEFENSE
Brent Burns, CAR vs. PHI ($25): Burns saw his three-game point streak end Tuesday. He had six assists in the three games, including a four-assist night in Arizona. Burns has had a resurgence in his career since his offseason trade from San Jose. The 37-year-old defenseman has 12 goals and 50 points in 62 games including 20 points on the power play. Burns had 83 points in 138 games over his last two seasons with the Sharks, including 17 goals.
Erik Karlsson, SJ at STL ($27): Karlsson is having a season for the ages as he has 19 goals and 63 assists in just 65 games, tying his career high in points with 17 games still left in the season. He is on pace for 103 points, which would be the 10th-best season by a blueliner in NHL history, as only Bobby Orr (five times) and Paul Coffey (on four occasions) have bettered the mark. Karlsson saw his three-game point streak end Tuesday, after he picked up five assists in the three contests. Karlsson has four goals and 20 points on the power play and is only five points away from tying his career high set in the 2015-16 campaign.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Thomas Chabot, OTT at SEA ($22): Chabot has a goal and four points in his eight games, but has points in only two games – a three-point effort versus Detroit on Feb. 27 and an assist the next night in the second game of a home-and-home series – giving him nine goals and 26 assists in 58 games. Chabot has gone the last three games without a point.
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at TB ($19): Pietrangelo is in a six-game point drought and has only a goal and an assist in his last 11 contests. He got off to a good start this season, but a family emergency after Thanksgiving has taken its toll after he missed nine games. He rebounded well right after, picking up six points in his first five games, but it has been a struggle since then, scoring four goals and adding four assists in 27 games. Overall, Pietrangelo has eight goals and 35 points in 55 games.
