This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are a plethora of games in the NHL Thursday with 13 contests on the slate. Buffalo plays in Boston, Detroit hosts San Jose, LA travels to Montreal, Toronto takes on Ottawa, Columbus plays the Islanders in New York, Dallas travels to Washington, Nashville hosts Tampa Bay, Anaheim is in Chicago, Philadelphia plays Arizona, Carolina takes on the Flames in Calgary, Colorado hosts Winnipeg, Minnesota travels to Vancouver and New Jersey plays in Seattle. Dallas, Tampa Bay and Carolina are the only teams who played Wednesday and should be tired facing rested teams. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIES
Connor Ingram, ARI vs. PHI ($8,500): Ingram has been the hottest goaltender of late in the NHL. He has won five straight games and has given up only five goals on 154 shots. Ingram is 11-3-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .930 save percentage as he has helped the Coyotes become one of the surprise teams of the league. The Flyers are 19th of 32 teams in scoring as they have 74 goals in 25 games.
Scott Wedgewood, DAL at WAS ($8,900): Wedgewood is expected to get the start as Jake Oettinger picked up Wednesday's start in a 5-4 loss to Florida. Wedgewood is 4-1-1 with a 3.18 GAA and .911 save percentage. He should get a break Thursday as the Capitals are the second-lowest scoring team in the NHL, averaging only 2.36 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Nico Hischier, NJ at SEA ($5,300): Hischier missed 11 games with an upper-body injury but has not missed a step since his return, as he has two goals and four assists in five games. The talented 24-year-old center is looking like he did last season when he managed career-highs with 31 goals and 49 assists in 81 contests.
Logan Cooley, ARI vs. PHI ($4,600): Cooley is off to a nice start in his rookie campaign, as he has three goals and 11 assists in 24 games. He snapped a seven-game goalless streak Monday and saw a career-high 20:26 of ice time. Cooley was drafted third overall in 2022 and is showing that he could easily have been the top player in his draft year.
Alexander Barabanov, SJ at DET ($3,500): Barabanov had nary a point in his first six games and then spent the next 18 games on the sidelines with a broken finger. He returned to action two games ago and has a goal and assist while playing on the top line with Tomas Hertl and William Eklund. Barabanov is an inexpensive play and should be used if you need a cheap alternative to fill out your roster.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Red Wings vs. Sharks
Dylan Larkin (C-$8,400), Lucas Raymond (W-$6,300), Joe Veleno (C-$3,600)
The Red Wings have been a big surprise this season as they sit in third place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind Florida with a game in hand. Larkin has been a huge part in their resurgence as he has 24 points in 22 games, including five goals and seven points in his last five games despite the tragedy in his life. Raymond has rebounded from a mediocre sophomore season and has 20 points in 24 games this season, including four goals and 10 points in his last 10 games. Veleno has moved up to the top line and while his three goals and nine points in 24 games leaves plenty to be desired, his extremely low dollar value makes him a viable pick as he plays on the top line as well as seeing second unit power-play time.
Devils at Kraken
Jack Hughes (C - $10,600), Tyler Toffoli (W - $7,300), Erik Haula (W - $5,500)
Hughes is on a four-game goal-scoring streak as well as a five-game points streak. He has become a top-five player in the NHL and the 22-year-old is ninth in scoring with 33 points in just 18 games as he missed five games in early November with a shoulder injury. Toffoli has not picked up a point in his last two games, but still has 12 goals and 21 points in 23 games this season. He has four goals and eight points on the power play, after a career-high 25 points with the man-advantage with Calgary last season. Haula has seven goals and 13 points in 19 games this season, and has two goals and four assists in his last seven contests. The trio play together on the top line and while Haula plays on the second power play, Hughes and Toffoli are on the top unit.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson, WAS vs. DAL ($6,400): Carlson has seven assists in his last 10 games as he continues to be a top-10 offensive defenseman in the NHL. The Capitals have gone from a high-scoring team to a low-scoring squad and that hurts Carlson's fantasy value, but he still has 14 points in 22 games this season.
Miro Heiskanen, DAL at WAS ($5,600): Heiskanen has assists in three of his last four games. Heiskanen was outstanding in 2022-23 with 11 goals and 73 points and has a goal and 14 assists in 24 games this season. The third overall pick in 2017, Heiskanen is quarterbacking the first power-play unit and has seven assists with the man-advantage.
Owen Power, BUF at BOS ($4,800): This is in anticipation of Rasmus Dahlin being unavailable after he suffered a lower-body injury Tuesday. Power is expected to take over quarterbacking the top power-play unit, should Dahlin not play. Power has a goal and 11 assists in 26 games in 2023-24.
