This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Thursday's NHL slate begins at 8:00 p.m. EDT and features three games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Colorado should provide the main building blocks for most lineups, as the team's heavily favored at home against the Kings in a game the Avalanche need to win to secure the West division crown. Calgary's the second-biggest favorite at home against the Canucks, and that game's tied with the Minnesota-St. Louis toss-up for the night's highest over/under at 6.0 goals. The Kings-Avalanche and Wild-Blues matchups are rematches from Wednesday's action, while Canucks-Flames is a fresh matchup. Colorado and St. Louis both dominated Wednesday, with 6-0 and 4-0 wins, respectively.
GOALIES
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. VAN ($8,200): Markstrom has played well lately, while the visiting Canucks haven't. He's allowed more than two goals only twice in his last 13 starts, while Vancouver's 2-8-0 in its last 10 games. If both recent trends continue, Markstrom should deliver a strong performance in this battle with his former team.
Jonas Johansson, COL vs. LA ($8,500): Assuming Philipp Grubauer ($8,500) won't be tasked with starting on back-to-back nights, Johansson should get the start for the heavily favored Avalanche. Johansson has gone 3-1-0 in his last four starts while allowing just seven goals in that stretch, so he shouldn't have trouble shutting down the bottom-five Kings offense (2.56 goals per game) here.
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. MIN ($7,700): After watching backup Ville Husso shut out the Wild on Wednesday, Binnington will look to do the same. Binnington's 5-0-3 in his last eight decisions and could wind up providing nice value at just $7,700 against a Wild team that's 21-5-2 on home ice but just 14-10-3 on the road.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
David Perron, STL vs. MIN ($6,600): Perron racked up a goal and two assists in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Minnesota, pulling into the Blues' team points lead with a 17-38-55 line through 55 games. As long as he gets a chance to play in what will be St. Louis' season finale, Perron should be a solid option. Linemate Ivan Barbashev ($2,500), who scored a goal Wednesday, is also a strong choice as long as he remains on a line with Perron and Ryan O'Reilly ($6,800).
Nils Hoglander, VAN at CGY ($4,600): Hoglander's finishing his rookie season on a high note, with a 3-3-6 line over his last six games. Skating in a top-six role, the 20-year-old winger remains in position to deliver strong bang for the buck at $4,600.
Joonas Donskoi, COL vs. LA ($3,900): Outside of the top line, Donskoi should be the next Avalanche forward you target if you're going for a stack. He opened the scoring in Wednesday's 6-0 win with a power-play goal and finished with a game-high seven shots. Donskoi's line sits at 16-14-30 in 50 appearances.
Alex Iafallo, LA at COL ($4,500): Nobody from the Kings did much of note in Wednesday's 6-0 loss to Colorado, but Iafallo was one of three Kings to avoid a minus rating in the game, and he also tied for the team lead among forwards with two shots. Perhaps he'll build on that performance in this rematch and add to his 13-17-30 line.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Flames vs. Canucks
Elias Lindholm (C - $7,000), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $6,000), Johnny Gaudreau (W - $5,400)
Calgary's top performers should deliver against a struggling Canucks team that's allowing 3.29 goals per game overall and has given up four-plus in seven of its last nine. This line has the team's top three point-scorers, as Lindholm leads the team with a 17-26-43 line followed by Gaudreau at 19-23-42 and Tkachuk at 11-26-37. Gaudreau has been the hottest Flame down the stretch, with a 6-9-15 line over his last 12 games.
Avalanche vs. Kings
J.T. Compher (W - $2,500), Mikko Rantanen (W - $8,700), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $7,500)
With Nathan MacKinnon (undisclosed) sidelined, Compher takes over between Colorado's top two wingers. This combination showed it doesn't need McKinnon to thrive against the lowly Kings in Wednesday's 6-0 win, as Compher scored a hat trick, Rantanen racked up three assists and Landeskog chipped in a goal and an assist.
Wild at Blues
Ryan Hartman (C - $3,800), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $7,300), Mats Zuccarello (W - $5,200)
Kaprizov and his team-best 27-24-51 line is the engine that drives this line, but its other two members offer enticing value as well. Hartman's offense has perked up lately with a 1-2-3 line in the last four games, while Zuccarello's producing at a point-per-game pace through six May contests. After being shut out by the Blues on Wednesday, expect Minnesota's top scorers to put forth a better effort here, as long as they're in the lineup for what will be the Wild's final regular-season contest.
DEFENSEMEN
Devon Toews, COL vs. LA ($5,100): Toews was Colorado's most effective blueliner in Wednesday's 6-0 steamrolling of the Kings, dishing out a pair of helpers to go with three shots and two blocks. The well-rounded defenseman's across-the-board contributions give him a high floor, and Toews has demonstrated previously untapped offensive ability with a 9-21-30 line through 52 games for Colorado.
Torey Krug, STL vs. MIN ($4,900): After taking a game to get back up to speed in his return from an upper-body injury, Krug was back in form Wednesday, contributing a goal, an assist and four shots. If he's out there for Wednesday's rematch, Krug should provide nice value at his sub-$5,000 valuation.
Rasmus Andersson, CGY vs. VAN ($4,100): Andersson's three helpers in his last four games have him up to 20 points through 52 games, leaving him two points shy of last year's career high with four games to play. This matchup with the defensively challenged Canucks presents a great opportunity to close that gap, and Andersson's just five points back of Mark Giordano for the team lead among defensemen despite coming in at $2,600 cheaper.
Jack Rathbone, VAN at CGY ($2,800): Rathbone continues to be an upside bargain bin play on the blue line. He's averaged over 17 minutes of ice time in his last two games after hovering around 12 in his first three appearances for the Canucks, and the 21-year-old defenseman has a 1-1-2 line through five NHL contests after delivering a 2-7-9 line in eight AHL games.
