This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are nine games in the NHL on Thursday. Detroit faces Ottawa in Sweden, Arizona travels to Columbus, Montreal hosts Vegas, New Jersey takes on the Penguins in Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay plays in Chicago, Vancouver travels to Calgary, Seattle hosts the Islanders after both teams played Wednesday, Florida takes on LA and San Jose is at home to St. Louis. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov, NYI at SEA ($8,000): Varlamov is slated to get the start as Ilya Sorokin is starting Wednesday in Vancouver. Varlamov has been terrific this season despite his 2-3-0 record, as he has a 2.05 GAA and .940 save percentage. Seattle has regressed this season, going 5-8-4, after making the playoffs last season. The Kraken have scored only 43 times in 17 games and that bodes well for Varlamov.
Joonas Korpisalo, OTT vs. DET ($7,400): Korpisalo will attempt to garner his third straight win after victories over Toronto and Calgary. He is 4-4-0 with a 3.10 GAA .907 save percentage. The Senators are in Sweden this week for a pair of games and he will likely split the net with Swedish native Anton Forsberg. If Forsberg gets the Thursday start, he should also be considered in your DFS lineup.
VALUE PLAYS
Patrik Laine, CLS vs. ARI ($5,800): Laine has two goals and three points in just seven games as he has missed nine games with an upper-body injury. The Finnish Flash has averaged just a shade under a point-per-game in the last two seasons and should be rounding into playing shape after playing the last three games. He had a goal in two games versus Arizona last season.
Johnny Gaudreau, CLS vs. ARI ($4,700): Gaudreau has been in a slump all season with only one goal and five assists in 16 games. He has taken a huge hit in fantasy after picking up 115 points two seasons ago, and 74 points in 80 games last year. He is too good to sluff off and his price at this time, makes him a great play as he is due for a breakout performance.
Lucas Raymond, DET at OTT ($4,900): Raymond returns to his native Sweden for the first time as an NHLer. The 21-year-old has four goals and six points in his last eight games, giving him five goals and 11 points in 15 contests this season. Raymond had 57 points as a 19-year-old rookie and slumped somewhat last season as a sophomore, garnering only 45 points in 74 games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Blackhawks vs. Lightning
Connor Bedard (C-$7,500), Nick Foligno (W-$4,400), Philipp Kurashev (W-$4,600)
Bedard is showing the hockey world why he was drafted first overall in 2023, as he has nine goals and 13 points in 13 games. He has been red-hot of late with seven goals and nine points in his last six games. Foligno has two goals and six assists in 13 games, while Kurashev, who missed the first six games of the season, has a pair of goals and four helpers in seven contests. The trio went crazy Thursday against the Lightning, combining for two goals and seven assists. They face Tampa Bay again on Thursday -- this time at home – so look for another big effort from the Blackhawks' top line.
Blues at Sharks
Robert Thomas (C - $6,500), Pavel Buchnevich (W -$4,800), Kasperi Kapanen (W - $4,100)
Thomas has been on a hot streak as he has points in each of his last seven games, including a four-assist outburst versus Colorado on Saturday. Thomas has six goals and 16 points in 14 games this season and looks to be in line to break his career high of 77 points set two seasons ago. Buchnevich has six points in his last three games, including a hat trick versus the Avs on Saturday. Buchnevich got off to a slow start this season with only a goal and an assist in the Blues' nine games (he did miss a pair of games with an upper-body injury), but has lit it up of late and has four goals and nine points in 12 contests. Kapanen sees action with the above-mentioned pair on the top line and while he sees some power-play time, he has yet to pick up a point with the extra attacker. Still, Kapanen has three goals and seven points in 14 games and is nicely priced to complete the line.
DEFENSEMEN
Quinn Hughes, VAN at CGY ($7,800): Hughes is having another stellar season, leading all defensemen with 23 points in just 15 games. The talented blueliner already has a goal and 11 points on the power play and is coming off back-to-back 30-plus point years with the man-advantage. Hughes is on a four-game points streak and will face a struggling Flames' team that is tied for 26th in the NHL standings with 12 points in 15 games.
Zach Werenski, CLS vs. ARI ($5,700): Werenski has assists in three straight games, giving him a goal and nine points in 14 contests to date. He has yet to pick up a point on the power play, although he is averaging a career-high 3:28 per game with the extra attacker, on the top unit.
Jake Sanderson, OTT vs. DET ($5,200): Sanderson got off to a great start, scoring three times and adding four assists in the opening six games of the season. Then he went into a bit of a slump with only two assists (both in the same game) in six contests. Sanderson had an assist Saturday in a 4-1 win over Calgary, giving him three assists in his last four games. The fifth overall selection in 2020, Sanderson quarterbacks the first power play and has two goals and an assist with the man-advantage.
