This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
There are eight games on tap Thursday in the NHL with only one game involving a tired team versus a rested squad. Detroit, coming off a 5-4 shootout win over Edmonton on Wednesday, head down the highway to take on Calgary. In other action, Florida plays in Washington, Carolina hosts Montreal, Winnipeg travels to Columbus, Boston is in Nashville, St. Louis is home to New Jersey, the Flyers are the road team in Seattle, while San Jose is in Sin City to take on the Golden Knights. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at WAS ($34): Bobrovsky is coming around, as he has gone 5-1-1 in his last seven starts, giving up 16 goals on 248 shots. That includes five goals in an overtime loss to Toronto and four goals on 49 shots in a loss to Colorado on Feb. 11. He was strong in defeating Minnesota on Monday, turning aside 27 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory. Overall, Bobrovsky is 15-14-2 with a 3.05 GAA and .905 save percentage. He faces the Capitals, who have scored 171 goals, good for 18th overall in the NHL. Washington will be without Alex Ovechkin, who returned to Russia this week after the death of his father.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Martin Jones, SEA vs. PHI ($29): Jones is on a three-game losing streak in which he has given up 13 goals on 92 shots in losses to the Rangers, Islanders and Calgary. While he gets a better matchup in the Flyers, he will face his former teammates as he shared the Philadelphia net last season with his likely opponent, Carter Hart. Jones has been on the bench the last two games. He enters the contest with a 23-9-3 record, but his peripherals are lacking as he has a 2.92 GAA and .891 save percentage. The Flyers are 26th in goals in the NHL with 149 this season.
CENTER
Sebastian Aho, CAR at MON ($25): Aho had a six-game goal streak snapped two games ago, after he potted nine goals in the six contests. The talented Finn has 23 goals and 46 points in 46 games with five goals and seven assists coming with the man advantage. He was outstanding last season against Montreal, scoring three times and adding four assists in only three games.
CENTER TO AVOID
Nazem Kadri, CGY vs. DET ($22): Kadri has only a goal and an assist in his last five games, both coming in Buffalo on Saturday. Kadri got off to a good start in his first season with the Flames, scoring four goals and adding five assists as he began the season on a six-game point streak, but he has somewhat slumped since then, as he has 16 goals and 31 points in his last 48 games.
WING
Matthew Tkachuk, FLA at WAS ($34): Tkachuk's first season in Florida has been awesome as the former Flame has 27 goals and 48 assists in 54 games, good for fourth place in NHL scoring. So many pundits thought that last season's 104-point effort – eighth overall in the NHL – was his career year, but he is on pace for 110 points. Tkachuk has 10 goals and 22 assists in his last 19 contests.
Johnny Gaudreau, CLS vs. WPG ($18): Gaudreau has gone under the radar this season as he is playing for lowly Columbus, but he is still having a fine season with 15 goals and 36 assists in 54 games. This is not even close to his outstanding season of a year ago, when he had career highs in goals with 40 and assists with 75. His 115 points were good enough to tie him for second place in NHL scoring, trailing Connor McDavid by eight points. Gaudreau has two goals and 15 points on the power play and had three assists in his lone game this season against the Jets.
WINGS TO AVOID
Nikolaj Ehlers, WPG at CLS ($25): Ehlers has played only 18 games this season, as he underwent sports hernia surgery in mid-November. He has four goals and 20 points thus far and is on a three-game point streak, but a closer look shows that he has only three assists in his last six games and has gone seven games without finding the back of the net. He had a goal in two games last season versus the Blue Jackets.
Martin Necas, CAR vs. MON ($23): Necas is a little bit too expensive Thursday to consider using him in your lineup. The 24-year-old center has 21 goals and 47 points in 53 games but is pointless in his last two outings. He has yet to play Montreal this season and managed two assists in three games against the Habs in 2021-22.
DEFENSE
Moritz Seider, DET at CGY ($19): Seider got off to a bad start this season but has come on strong of late as he is on a five-game point streak and has two goals and 14 assists in his last 15 games. Seider has four goals and 30 points in 53 games (he had two goals and 17 points in his first 38 contests), as he has returned to his 2021-22 form, when he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.
Erik Karlsson, SJ at VGK ($28): Karlsson is having a season for the ages as he has 18 goals and 55 assists in just 55 games. He is on pace for 109 points, which would be the 10th-best season by a blueliner in NHL history, as only Bobby Orr (five times) and Paul Coffey (on four occasions) have bettered the mark. Karlsson was held off the scoresheet last game, but had three goals and nine points in his previous four contests. Karlsson has four goals and 19 points on the power play and is only nine points away from tying the career high he set in the 2015-16 campaign.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
MacKenzie Weegar, CGY vs. DET ($17): It has been a season to forget for Weegar after he came over from Florida in the offseason. He has struggled in Calgary, scoring only once this season while adding 15 assists in 53 games. He has taken over quarterbacking the first power play in the absence of the injured Rasmus Andersson, but it hasn't helped his scoring as he has only one assist with the man advantage.
Damon Severson, NJ at STL ($16): Like Weegar, Severson has fallen off this season. The Devil has only four goals and 17 points in 52 games after a big 2021-22 campaign in which he had 11 goals and 46 points in 60 contests. Severson had five goals and 16 points on the power play last season but has managed only two assists with the man advantage this time around, as his ice time has gone from 2:20 last season to only 1:26 this year.
