This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
There are 12 games on a busy Thursday night in the NHL. Buffalo is home to Calgary while Toronto faces the Panthers in Florida. The Rangers host Nashville, Vancouver is in Tampa Bay, Edmonton travels to Philadelphia, Minnesota is home to LA, Arizona travels to St. Louis, Vegas is in Winnipeg, Anaheim hosts Dallas, Carolina goes up the West Coast to face Seattle, Chicago takes on the Avalanche in Colorado while Boston is in San Jose. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Filip Gustavsson, MIN vs. LA ($35): Gustavsson had an outstanding season in 2022-23, taking over the No. 1 job in Minnesota from Marc-Andre Fleury. Gustavsson was 22-9-7 with a 2.10 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 39 contests. It's been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde start to the current campaign for Gustavsson, as he stopped all 41 shots he saw Opening Night versus Florida, but he gave up seven goals on 33 shots Saturday in Toronto. Expect Gustavsson to regain his mojo versus the Kings on Thursday.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Carter Hart, PHI vs. EDM ($29): Hart has a huge task slowing down Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and company Thursday as the Oilers were the highest scoring team in the NHL last season. That should carry over to this season. Hart shut out the Canucks on Tuesday, stopping 26 shots, but he gave up five goals on 31 shots in Ottawa on Saturday. Look for stats closer to the latter when Hart faces the Oilers.
CENTER
Connor McDavid, EDM at PHI ($37): McDavid seems like he is off to a slow start, but he still has two goals and five points (including a highlight reel goal versus Nashville on Tuesday) in three games. The world's greatest player had 64 goals and 153 points last season, and he is expected to approach, and possibly even better, those numbers this season.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. NSH ($31): Zibanejad had a big Opening Night with three assists versus the Sabres, but the talented center has only one assist in his last two games. Zibanejad had 81 and 91 points in his last two seasons, but his value diminishes as he likely will face Juuse Saros in the Nashville net Thursday.
WING
Jonathan Drouin, COL vs. CHI ($11): If you are using McDavid and Gustavsson, you are going to need some inexpensive players to round out your lineup. Drouin started the season on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, but is now seeing second-line time with Artturi Lehkonen and Ryan Johansen. Still, he is worth taking a chance at this salary.
Ryan Donato, CHI at COL ($15): Donato plays on the top line alongside rookie sensation Connor Bedard and that gives him huge value at this salary. He has a goal and an assist in four games thus far as he is also averaging 4:53 of power play time per game on the first unit.
WINGS TO AVOID
Brad Marchand, BOS at SJ ($29): Marchand's value has dipped in the last couple of campaigns. Although he had 67 points in 73 games last season, it was the first time in the last seven seasons that he has not averaged at least a point a game. Marchand does have two assists in two games but he isn't skating on the top line at five-on-five. Instead, he is on the second unit with Matthew Poitras and Morgan Geekie. That's not exactly the same as playing with David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron, his long-time linemates with the Bruins.
Mark Stone, VGK at WPG ($23): Stone starts the season on the second line with Chandler Stephenson and Paul Cotter. He had 38 points in only 43 games last season as back woes continued to haunt the talented winger. Stone is liable to miss a game at any time, and there are better ways to spend his salary Thursday. He had two assists Opening Night, but has only one helper in the last three games.
DEFENSE
Evan Bouchard, EDM at PHI ($18): Bouchard's fantasy value increased exponentially last season at the trade deadline, when the Tyson Barrie trade opened up the quarterback job on the first power-play unit. Bouchard had five goals and 16 points in his last 19 regular-season games last year and already has four assists in his first three contests this season.
Seth Jones, CHI at COL ($18): Jones had a tough season in 2022-23, picking up only 37 points in 72 games. He has three assists in his first four games this season and is averaging 4:47 per game on the power play. Jones had 57 points in his career-best year back in 2017-18 and could approach those numbers, as Connor Bedard boosts the top unit in Chicago.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Morgan Rielly, TOR at FLA ($21): Rielly had three points in his first three games as the Maple Leafs found the back of the net 14 time. He has lost his spot on the top power-play unit to John Klingberg though, and that is the reason to avoid Rielly as he doesn't get to play with Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares with the man advantage. His salary is best used elsewhere.
Tony DeAngelo CAR at SEA ($17): DeAngelo had an assist in each of his first three games but was held off the scoreboard in San Jose on Tuesday. He has switched teams four times in the last four years, although this is his second go-round with the Hurricanes. DeAngelo is a polarizing player who seems to wear out his welcome wherever he goes. He was held without a point in two games against the Kraken last season.
