This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
There are eight games for Thursday's slate including key divisional battles between the Capitals and Rangers, the Stars and Predators and the Flames and Canucks.
The Blue Jackets will be of particular interest, who are on the road against the Panthers, having defeated the Maple Leafs in overtime. Patrik Laine has found his scoring touch yet again, and in 31 games this season has scored 18 goals, scoring at the best goal-per-game pace of his career.
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. WSH ($8,500): Shesterkin is arguably the best goalie in the league, and he's 3-1-0 with a .924 Sv% and 2.53 GAA in his career against them. Since the calendar flipped, Shesterkin has allowed more than two goals just twice.
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. NJ ($8,400): Jarry hasn't been sharp with four goals allowed in four of his past six games, though Jarry is 2-1-0 against the Devils this season. As bad as the Pens' goaltending has been, the Devils' has been worse, and Jarry should get plenty of goal support from an excellent top line and Evgeni Malkin riding a three-game point streak.
Linus Ullmark, BOS at SEA ($8,200): Ullmark's losing the starting job to Jeremy Swayman, but a matchup against the Kraken should produce a win. The Kraken have been one of the league's worst teams, and the Bruins should have Brad Marchand back in the lineup for added goal support after serving his six-game suspension.
J-F Berube, CBJ at FLA ($6,600): No doubt this is a big contrarian play, considering the Panthers defeated the Jackets by a seven (!) and four-goal margin in their previous meetings. However, the Panthers like to swap scoring chances, and they might be playing with fire against a red-hot Jackets offense. There's almost no chance Berube keeps them off the board, but hopefully he can limit the damage enough to pull off a win.
VALUE PLAYS
Danton Heinen, PIT vs. NJ ($4,800): Heinen is expected to skate on the second line with veterans Malkin and Jeff Carter and it'll be a good matchup against the Devils, who have allowed at least four goals in six of their past seven games. Malkin is on a three-game point streak and Carter has two assists in his past three games; hopefully, some of that will rub off on Heinen.
Maxim Mamin, FLA vs. CBJ ($3,700): Mamin has been skating on a line with Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe and this should be a high-scoring game. The Panthers pumped 17 (!) goals in two games against the Jackets, whose goaltending has not been particularly good recently. The Brad Larsen-era Jackets are a much more offensive bunch, but their playing style may cater to a Panthers team that likes to run-and-gun and swap offensive chances.
LINE STACKS
Wild at Maple Leafs
Frederick Gaudreau (C - $4,800), Matt Boldy (W - $6,400), Kevin Fiala (W - $6,300)
The Leafs' top pairing of Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie will likely draw Kirill Kaprizov's line, leaving Fiala's line to feast on the other two pairs, who are far weaker. Boldy was held without a point last game but finished with five shots on goal, and Gaudreau could be a good value play on his own playing with two very good wingers.
Canucks vs. Flames
Elias Pettersson (C - $5,300), Nils Hoglander (W - $3,600), Vasily Podkolzin (W - $3,500)
Pettersson has finally woken up with 10 points in seven games in February, and the Canucks' "kid line" with sophomore Hoglander and rookie Podkolzin have been one of their best performers lately. Playing Pettersson on this line means he could draw easier matchups with the Flames likely deploying their top pair to face either captain Bo Horvat or top scorer J.T. Miller's line.
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Fox, NYR vs. WSH ($6,900): Fox has been a little quiet lately with only one assist in three games, but he still possesses as much offensive upside as any other elite defensemen. Ilya Samsonov has been better recently but Fox has also historically been very good against the Caps, scoring nine points in 12 games.
Rasmus Andersson, CGY at VAN ($5,700): Andersson quarterbacks the top power play unit and the Canucks have the worst penalty killing in the league, operating at below 70 percent. The downside with Andersson, however, is that he's very much the extra player on the power play and doesn't touch the puck a whole lot and often tasked with just making sure the puck doesn't come out of the offensive zone. Still, it's a good opportunity especially with Thatcher Demko fighting the puck lately.
