This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
There are 10 games on the NHL schedule after 7:00 p.m. EST on Thursday. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Good teams in favorable matchups are plentiful Friday, and there are slime intriguing sources of value outside those games as well. The obvious teams to build around will be the Lightning and Penguins at home against the Devils and Kraken, respectively, as well as the Hurricanes in Ottawa. Besides those options, the Rangers are comfortable favorites in Columbus, while the Ducks should capitalize on facing the last-place Canadiens in Montreal and the high-powered Panthers offense is likely to find success, even with a tough Golden Knights team in town.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. NJ ($8,500): Vasilevskiy is coming off a couple of duds on the road, but he should bounce back on home ice, where the Russian netminder has played his best hockey all season. He's 12-4-2 at home with a 1.88 GAA and .931 save percentage. Meanwhile, the Devils are still learning to win on the road as a young team, and on top of that, they simply aren't very good at this stage. Those factors have led to an ugly 5-11-2 road record for the visitors.
Anthony Stolarz, ANH at MON ($8,300): Stolarz has hit a bit of a rut of late, but he'll have a nice opportunity to bounce back against a Canadiens team that brings up the rear in both the league standings (23 points) and the goals per game category (2.17). Anaheim's backup goalie – who still sports a 6-5-1 record, 2.66 GAA and .919 save percentage despite losing his last three starts – is expected to get the nod for this second leg of Anaheim's back-to-back set.
Semyon Varlamov, NYI vs. LA ($7,500): You know the drill by now – if you're going with an Islanders goalie, you'll likely have to wait until shortly before puck drop to find out which one they're starting. Luckily, both Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin ($7,500) have been pretty good of late, so either one will be an appealing value option at $7,500 against a Kings team that allows the most fantasy points to goalies by virtue of scoring the 11th-fewest goals per game (2.77) on the third-most shots (35.4).
Spencer Martin, VAN at WPG ($7,400): With the top two Canucks goalies unavailable, Martin will likely get another opportunity to start after making 47 saves in an overtime loss to Edmonton on Tuesday. He has a stellar 1.86 GAA and .952 save percentage in two appearances this season, though both resulted in overtime defeats. Perhaps the affordable netminder will finally find his way into the win column against a reeling Jets team that's winless in its last five games.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Steven Stamkos, TB vs. NJ ($6,400): No Nikita Kucherov, no problem has been a common theme for the Lightning this season, so the team shouldn't miss a beat with the star winger once again unavailable, this time due to COVID-19 protocols. While Tampa Bay can't use Kucherov's absences to manipulate the salary cap this year, the Lightning have remained a top contender thanks in large part to Stamkos' sensational play. He leads the team in both goals (20) and points (50) over 42 games, and Stamkos is showing no signs of slowing down with a 4-5-9 line over his last six games. A New Jersey team that's allowing 3.44 goals per game is unlikely to slow him down.
Chris Kreider, NYR at CLS ($6,300): The Blue Jackets are far from the only team Kreider has played well against en route to his league-best 30 goals through 43 games, but Columbus has notably had no answer for him in front of the net in two previous meetings this season. The power forward has four goals on 12 shots in those two games, with three of those markers coming on the power play. Overall, Columbus is allowing 3.60 goals per game – third-most league-wide.
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR at OTT ($6,000): Whether it's as a standalone option or part of a larger Carolina stack, Svechnikov has a strong case for being in your lineup Thursday given his recent production and favorable matchup. He has a five-game multi-point streak rolling and has supplied 17 shots to go with 10 points over that span, while the Senators give up the sixth-most goals per game (3.47).
Pierre-Luc Dubois, WPG vs. VAN ($6,000): Dubois is the primary scoring threat on Winnipeg's top power-play unit. He leads the team with nine power-play goals, and Dubois' 11 points with the extra man have him two behind Kyle Connor's team-leading total. Dubois' man-advantage prowess should be on full display against a Canucks team that has the league's most generous penalty kill (67.8 percent) and is missing both Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak in net due to COVID-19 protocols.
Anton Lundell, FLA vs. VGK ($3,700): Florida has been nearly unstoppable on home ice, with a 21-3-0 record, and Lundell has been an underrated part of that success. The rookie center has dressed for 22 of Florida's home games and produced an 8-10-18 line over that stretch. Vegas has struggled to defend centers, allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to the position, so Lundell's an intriguing value option given the circumstances here.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Penguins vs. Kraken
Sidney Crosby (C - $8, 200), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,900), Bryan Rust (W - $7,400)
This is one of the hottest lines in hockey, and it should stay scorching against a Seattle team that's surrendering 3.60 goals per game. Guentzel has been the least effective of the three lately, but he's always capable of posting a dominant performance given his 21-19-40 line in 36 appearances. Crosby has a 6-3-9 line in his last five games, while Rust has recorded multiple points in six of his last eight appearances en route to an 8-10-18 line over that stretch.
Hurricanes at Senators
Sebastian Aho (C - $7,700), Teuvo Teravainen (W - $5,000), Seth Jarvis (W - $3,600)
This line has a nice balance of productivity and affordability. Aho's one of the elite scorers in the NHL, with a 19-25-44 line in 36 games. Teravainen has excellent chemistry with his Finnish countryman and has chipped in an 11-21-32 line in 38 contests, including at least one point in each of his last four appearances. Jarvis is just 19 years old, but the 2020 first-round pick has displayed plenty of offensive potential with an 8-9-17 line through 30 games, and he's an intriguing value pick as long as he's skating on the top line, especially against a leaky Ottawa defense that's surrendering 3.47 goals per game.
Ducks at Canadiens
Ryan Getzlaf (C - $3,900), Trevor Zegras (W - $5,100), Troy Terry (W - $4,600)
Montreal's offensive woes have already been covered, but the Canadiens also aren't exactly stingy defensively, as they're tied with Arizona for the most goals allowed per game at 3.76. With all the pricey stars in action Thursday, Anaheim's top line offers some much-needed value at an affordable price in this favorable matchup. Most of Terry's production admittedly came during his early-season hot streak, but he still boasts a 23-14-37 line in 40 games, which is tremendous production for a player available at just $4,600. Zegras looks like a future star in this league, and the 20-year-old forward isn't too shabby in the present, either, with a 10-20-30 line in 39 contests. Getzlaf is still a formidable playmaker at age 36, as he leads the Ducks with 23 assists this season.
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Fox, NYR atg CLS ($6,400): Nobody allows more fantasy points to defensemen than the Blue Jackets, and nobody scores more points among defensemen than Fox, who has 46 in 43 games. Fox's production includes an active six-game point streak during which he's mustered a 2-8-10 line. Lock the reigning Norris Trophy winner in and reap the benefits here.
Mikhail Sergachev, TB vs. NJ ($4,100): Sergachev has put together a strong stretch in the past three games, dishing out four helpers while chipping in seven shots and five blocked shots. He has averaged north of 25 minutes per game over that stretch and should continue to see elevated ice time with the Lightning banged up on the blue line. That extra usage should lead to further success with the Lightning heavily favored over the Devils in this one.
Kevin Shattenkirk, ANH at MON ($4,000): Shattenkirk's enjoying a strong stretch that's seen him score 12.5, 17.1, 18.8 and 18.8 fantasy points in his last four games. He's achieved that success with well-rounded production – one goal, two assists, 10 shots and 19 blocked shots. Another strong all-around performance is quite achievable against a Canadiens team that's giving up the third-most fantasy points to defensemen.
Chris Tanev, CGY at STL ($2,700): Tanev has quietly played excellent two-way hockey over the last five games, making him an appealing bargain option here. He's scored at least 11.0 fantasy points in four of the last five contests and chipped in a respectable 8.4 in the other thanks to one goal, one assist, six shots on goal and 17 blocked shots.
