We have a busy night ahead of us with 13 games scheduled. Despite the heavy slate, it's somewhat friendly for those on the East Coast with just one game set to start at 10 p.m. ET or later. Here are my recommendations for tonight.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Red Wings and Panthers also played Wednesday, so they might be held back a bit tonight due to fatigue. Chicago, Seattle and Utah are all beginning the first half of a back-to-back, which might influence those teams' lineup decisions tonight.
GOALIES
Jake Oettinger, DAL at MIN ($8,000): Minnesota's a tough team, but the Wild can't seem to figure out Oettinger. The 26-year-old goaltender has an 8-0-3 record, 2.19 GAA and .926 save percentage in 13 career regular-season outings against Minnesota. He's also on a six-game winning streak in which he's allowed just 11 goals on 167 shots (.934 save percentage).
Jeremy Swayman, BOS at WPG ($7,800): The Jets have shown how much they rely on Connor Hellebuyck since he went down due to a knee injury – they're 3-7-1 since he last played Nov. 15 – so this is a favorable matchup for Boston. It helps that Swayman is on a roll with a 5-2-0 record, 2.04 GAA and .934 save percentage across his past seven outings. That's brought him up to a 13-7-0 record, 2.67 GAA and .913 save percentage through 20 appearances this season.
Jonas Johansson, TBL at NJD ($7,400): Johansson has stepped up during Andrei Vasilevskiy's (undisclosed) absence. The 30-year-old Johansson has limited the competition to just a single goal in each of his past three appearances. Amazingly, Tampa Bay still managed to lose two of those games, but the Lightning's offense finally woke up Tuesday with a 6-1 victory over Montreal. New Jersey ranks 22nd in goals per game with 2.87 due in no small part to the extended absence of Jack Hughes (finger).
VALUE PLAYS
Sean Monahan, CLM vs. OTT ($4,900): Monahan has supplied three goals and seven points in his past six appearances. He's been streaky this season, but he still is getting plenty of opportunities. He's averaging 18:41 of ice time this year, including 2:47 with the man advantage.
Pavel Buchnevich, STL at NAS ($4,400): Buchnevich is on a four-game scoring streak in which he's collected two goals and five points. He's a nice grab while he's hot, but even with his recent success, this is still trending to be a down year for him. He has just five goals and 16 points in 31 outings in 2025-26, which puts him on pace to finish the regular season with under 50 points for the first time since 2020-21.
Thomas Novak, PIT vs. MON ($3,900): Novak is on a four-game scoring streak and has been held off the scoresheet just once over his past six outings. He's up to three goals and seven points over that six-game span, which is tremendous production for his price point. It helps that he's projected to play alongside Sidney Crosby ($7,200) and Bryan Rust ($6,400) on Thursday.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Panthers
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,500), Martin Necas (W - $7,600), Artturi Lehkonen (W - $6,500)
This is one of the safer lines to take. MacKinnon is leading the league's scoring race with 51 points (24 goals) through 30 appearances, and it's not particularly close. He's not giving the competition a chance to catch up either, seeing as he's supplied seven goals and 14 points over his past eight appearances.
He also has strong linemates. Necas has 14 goals and 41 points through 30 outings, including a goal and 13 points in his past eight games, while Lehkonen has 11 goals and 26 points in 30 appearances.
Ducks at Islanders
Mason McTavish (C - $5,600), Cutter Gauthier (W - $7,800), Beckett Sennecke (W - $5,200)
If you want a cheaper option, the Ducks have an exciting, young second line. Sennecke is providing terrific value at his price point with 10 goals and 26 points through 30 appearances. The 19-year-old rookie is on a three-game multipoint streak and has been held off the scoresheet just once in his past 12 outings (four goals, 14 points).
Gauthier has also recorded at least a point in each of his past three games, and he's well on his way to shattering his 44-point rookie campaign after collecting 16 goals and 34 points through 30 outings this year. Finally, McTavish is the senior member of this trio at the age of 22. He's a touch below his linemates in terms of offensive production with seven goals and 20 points in 30 appearances, but he does have four goals and nine points over his last 11 games.
DEFENSEMEN
Evan Bouchard, EDM vs. DET ($6,900): Bouchard has recorded at least a point in each of his past seven outings, giving him two goals and 11 points in that span. The 26-year-old is up to five goals and 28 points in 30 appearances in 2025-26.
Jake Sanderson, OTT at CLM ($6,700): Sanderson has been a steady contributor recently with three goals and 13 points across his past 13 appearances. He'd had some colder stretches this year, but he's still done well overall with six goals and 24 points in 29 outings.
Ryan Pulock, NYI vs. ANA ($4,300): Pulock's 15 assists in 31 appearances this season isn't an offensive rate that jumps out at people, but he has been generating points at a higher rate recently. Across his past seven outings, the 31-year-old has collected six helpers, including one with the man advantage.
