This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
The NHL returns to a busy Thursday night after taking last week off due to Thanksgiving. There are 14 games: San Jose plays in Boston, Detroit hosts Chicago, Montreal travels to Florida, New Jersey takes on Philadelphia, Pittsburgh plays in Tampa Bay, Toronto travels to Seattle, Carolina hosts the Islanders, Minnesota is in Nashville, Buffalo plays in St. Louis, Winnipeg hosts Edmonton, Colorado travels to Arizona, Dallas plays in Calgary, Anaheim hosts Washington and Vegas takes on the Canucks in Vancouver. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. PIT ($7,500): Vasilevskiy returned to action Friday versus Carolina after missing the first 20 games due to back surgery during training camp. Vasilevsky was sharp in stopping 22 shots in an 8-2 victory over Carolina. He gave up three goals on 22 shots in a loss to Colorado on Monday but look for Vasilevskiy — who is widely regarded as a top-three goaltender in the NHL — to bounce back against the Penguins, who are only 17th in NHL scoring, averaging 3.10 goals per game.
Joseph Woll, TOR vs. SEA ($8,400): Woll is looking to establish himself as the undisputed No. 1 goaltender in Toronto. He has started the last two games and was sensational Tuesday, stopping 38 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over Florida as he was the first star of the game. Overall, Woll is 7-5-0 with a 2.74 GAA and .916 save percentage. The Kraken have not been a scoring threat this season as they are 26th in NHL scoring, averaging 2.86 goals per game, a far cry from last season when they were fourth in scoring with 289 goals.
VALUE PLAYS
Nikolaj Ehlers, WPG vs. EDM ($4,900): Ehlers s eemed to be snapping out of his funk as he had four goals and six points in six contests before he was held pointless the last two games. Nevertheless, he has moved up to the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, as well as seeing first power-play time and is well worth his low price, if you are looking to complete your lineup. Ehlers has 11 points in 21 games, but he has picked up 139 points in 154 games over the previous three seasons.
Dylan Cozens, BUF at STL ($4,600): Cozens is centering the Sabres' second line, as well as their second power-play unit. He has struggled at times, as he has only four goals and nine points in 20 games, but the 22-year-old proved last season that he is more than capable of scoring at the top level, managing 31 goals and 37 assists in 81 contests. Cozens had two goals in two games versus St. Louis last season.
Dawson Mercer, NJ at PHI ($4,500): Mercer is heating up as he has a goal and an assist in each of his last two games. Mercer got off to a horrid start this season, as he failed to hit the scoresheet in his first ten games, but the 22-year-old has managed five goals and eight points in his last 10 contests. Mercer is on the top-line with the great Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli and will see second-unit time on the power play.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins vs. Sharks
David Pastrnak (W-$10,300), Brad Marchand (W-$8,700), Pavel Zacha (C-$6,000)
The Bruins get to face the worst defensive team in the NHL, but to be fair, the Sharks have looked a lot better of late. Pastrnak is fifth in NHL scoring with 31 points, including 13 goals and has been a stud on the power play with four goals and 14 points. Marchand has been steady this season with seven goals and 19 points in 21 games and should be able to snap his four-game pointless streak Thursday at home. Zacha has benefitted from the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci and has taken over the top spot at center for the Bruins. He is headed for a career year, as he has seven goals and 16 points in 21 contests, a better pace than in 2022-23 when he managed 21 goals and 57 points in 82 games.
Oilers at Jets
Connor McDavid (C - $10,100), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (W - $6,100), Zach Hyman (W - $8,700)
There is no player in the NHL hotter than McDavid, at this time. The league's top skater has 12 points in his last three games, moving from a tie for 79th place in the scoring race, to tied for ninth. McDavid has clearly recovered from the upper-body injury that caused him to miss a pair of games early in the season and that hampered him until recently. Nugent-Hopkins had five points in three games before going pointless Tuesday. He has 18 points in 21 games thus far, after his first 100-point season last year. Hyman sat out Tuesday's game with an illness but he should return to the lineup Thursday. Hyman had four goals and seven points in his previous three games, giving the winger 12 goals and 22 points in 20 contests this season.
DEFENSEMEN
Brandon Montour, FLA at MON ($4,600): Montour finally picked up his first point of the season Monday in Ottawa. He was pointless Tuesday in Toronto but he managed four shots on goal as the defenseman is finally returning to the form his showed last season when he had 16 goals and 73 points in 80 games. He missed the first 16 games of the season recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and has regained his spot on the top power-play unit, ahead of Aaron Ekblad.
Cale Makar, COL at ARI ($8,400): Makar has points in 10 of his last 11 games, scoring three times while adding 18 assists. The superstar defenseman is on pace to smash his career-best season set two years ago, when he had 28 goals and 86 points in 77 games as he has six goals and 32 points in just 21 contests this season. He is in a great race with Quinn Hughes for the league lead in defenseman points with Hughes leading by one point but Makar has two games in hand.
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF at STL ($6,800): Dahlin has four goals and 18 points in 22 games this season, as he remains a top-10 defenseman in the NHL. Dahlin was outstanding last season with 15 goals and 73 points including 32 points with the man-advantage. Dahlin has regressed on the power play with only six points, but if he can pick it up again, he could hit the 70-point mark, or higher.
