This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
There are 13 games on the busy NHL schedule Thursday after 7:00 p.m. EST. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
There's no shortage of quality targets here, but a few teams stand out as particularly enticing here. The Panthers and Maple Leafs both have top-five offenses, and they're also both heavy home favorites against the Flyers and Coyotes, respectively, in games with over/unders of 6.5 goals. Wild-Red Wings and Jets-Devils clashes also check in at over/under 6.5 goals. Meanwhile, the second tier of favorites consists of the Bruins vs. Chicago, Golden Knights in Buffalo and Kings against San Jose.
GOALIES
Jeremy Swayman, BOS vs. CHI ($8,800): Swayman stumbled in his last game against Columbus but still came away with a victory, improving to 7-0-1 in his last eight starts. He's allowed just 11 goals during this dominant stretch and should be worth paying up for against a Blackhawks team that's scoring only 2.57 goals per game this season and has won just 10 of 28 road games.
Juuse Saros, NSH vs. ANH ($8,400): Saros has righted the ship after a post-All-Star break swoon, as he's given up just one goal on 43 shots in his last two starts. Meanwhile, Anaheim's downward spiral since the break is showing no signs of letting up, as the Ducks are just 4-7-0 since that point and are quickly falling out of playoff contention. With the Nashville defense limiting chances in front of him, Saros is a safe pick here.
Anton Forsberg, OTT vs. SEA ($8,000): Forsberg's 2-2-0 record in his last four starts may not show it, but he's spectacular over that stretch. Only nine of 156 pucks have eluded him over that stretch, as the busy goalie has posted a .942 save percentage. A home date with a bottom-five Kraken offense that's scoring only 2.56 goals per game presents an excellent opportunity for Forsberg to build on his recent success.
Igor Shesterkin, NYR at STL ($7,300): If you're looking for an affordable goalie with upside, Shesterkin's your guy. After a night off during the Rangers' previous game, the Vezina Trophy frontrunner should be back in action against a St. Louis team he defeated 5-3 eight days ago. The Blues are actually the only team to score more than two goals against Shesterkin in his last 10 appearances and the only of his last six opponents to muster more than one goal, so it's hard to go wrong with the star netminder at just $7,300.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Jack Hughes, NJ vs. WPG ($6,500): His success has gone largely unnoticed because the Devils continue to languish near the bottom of the standings, but Hughes has been showing the skills that made him the first player selected in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, racking up a 6-12-18 line over his last 11 games. A Jets team that's allowed 25 goals over its last six games is unlikely to slow down the lightning-fast center.
Mason Marchment, FLA vs. PHI ($5,100): It's hard to pick which members of the deep Florida offense to build around, but locking in Marchment has usually worked out lately. He has an 11-12-23 line in his last 15 games, and Marchment's sitting above a point-per-game pace overall this season with 34 in 32.
Nick Schmaltz, ARI at TOR ($4,900): Schmaltz has just posted the best two-game stretch we've seen in the NHL this season, racking up a 4-7-11 line in Arizona's last two games. The winger was hot even before this outburst, as Schmaltz has an 11-10-21 line over his last 10 games. Toronto has allowed 29 goals in its last six games, so Schmaltz should stay hot in what promises to be a high-scoring clash.
Tyler Toffoli, CGY vs. TB ($4,500): Toffoli has come alive since being traded from the struggling Canadiens to the surging Flames, as he comes into this one with a 5-4-9 line over the previous six games. He'll have some extra motivation against the Lightning team that beat his Montreal team in the Stanley Cup Final last season, and at $4,500, Toffoli's a low-risk, high-reward option given his recent production.
Andreas Athanasiou, LA vs. SJ ($3,200): After a five-game hiatus from the lineup, Athanasiou has returned in style, potting three goals over the last two games, including the overtime winner in Boston last time out. At just $3,200, it's worth seeing whether the former 30-goal scorer can keep building on that success against an injury-riddled Sharks team that's been outscored 14-3 during its three-game losing streak.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Golden Knights at Sabres
Jack Eichel (C - $6,700), Max Pacioretty (W - $6,600), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $5,600)
Three words: Eichel revenge game. Unlike many of the times this type of narrative comes up, there almost certainly is some bad blood between Eichel and his former organization considering the Sabres wouldn't let him get his preferred type of neck surgery before ultimately trading him. The highly motivated center will do all he can to add to his 2-1-3 line and 22 shots from the past four games, and Eichel's linemates should thrive alongside him. Pacioretty has a 15-13-28 line in just 27 appearances this season, and he's due for a breakout performance after being denied on all 12 of his shots over the past two games. Marchessault is the hottest of these three guys from a scoring perspective, as he's racked up a 4-4-8 line over his active six-game point streak.
Maple Leafs vs. Coyotes
Auston Matthews (C - $9,400), Mitch Marner (W - $8,300), Michael Bunting (W - $5,000)
Toronto will likely need to keep its foot on the gas offensively all game to outscore a Coyotes team that's managed to light the lamp 17 times in its previous two games, but Arizona's also allowing 3.55 goals per game overall, so keeping pace shouldn't be difficult for one of the most effective lines in hockey. Matthews has six goals in his last three games, pushing his season total to a league-high 43. Marner has added a 6-11-17 line during his eight-game point streak and a 23-39-62 line in 48 games overall. Bunting's a bargain at $5,000 given his 3-8-11 line over the past six games.
Wild at Red Wings
Ryan Hartman (C - $5,700), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $7,800), Mats Zuccarello (W - $5,400)
Detroit has been staggeringly bad defensively in recent games, getting outscored 36-18 en route to a 1-5-0 record in its last six. Minnesota's top line should add to the scoring barrage against the Red Wings. Kaprizov's 28-43-71 line has him seventh league-wide in points. Hartman's second on the team in goals with 23, including four in the past four games. Zuccarello's 17-40-57 line has him second on the Wild in points, and he's accrued that production in just 47 appearances – his 1.21 points per game are 17th among skaters with at least five games played.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL at CAR ($7,400): The matchup is a tough one, but even the Hurricanes may not be capable of keeping Makar in check at the moment. A 3-2-5 line and 11 shots in the last two games have helped Makar extend his point streak to 13 games, and he leads all defensemen in both goals and points with a 21-44-65 line through 54 appearances.
Noah Dobson, NYI vs. CLS ($6,000): Dobson's had the most productive stretch of his NHL career over the past month, notching a 4-8-12 line in his last 12 games, as well as 36 shots and 20 blocked shots. The 22-year-old defenseman is coming into his own despite the Islanders' offensive limitations around him, and Dobson should continue to find success against a Columbus team that's allowed more fantasy points to defensemen than any other team in action Thursday.
Neal Pionk, WPG at NJ ($4,400): Pionk's been a consistent, though far from spectacular, source of offense of late, notching seven points in his last eight games and over 9.0 fantasy points in six of those games. He should add to that recent success against a Devils team that's giving up 3.53 goals per game.
Brandon Montour, FLA vs. PHI ($3,800): Montour had a three-game point streak come to an end in Pittsburgh last time out, but he has a nice opportunity to bounce back against the inferior team from Pennsylvania. He flies under the radar given all of Florida's scoring options, but Montour's 1-3-4 line and 10 shots in the past four games show that he possesses solid upside for a sub-$4,000 defenseman.
