If you’re a fan of the NHL, you should be glad about the 11-game slate set for Thursday night. Specific teams have been dealing with the league’s restrictive and intensive Covid-19 protocols, but it appears that these postponements have stopped for Thursday’s massive slate. Quality matchups such as Minnesota at Boston, Calgary at Tampa Bay, and the New York Rangers at the Vegas Golden Knights present great opportunities for scoring, which is where DFS lineups get cashed.
Let’s reflect on Tuesday’s recommendations and how these players fared in lineups. Cam Atkinson (RW – PHI) was a solid play at $6,300 on FanDuel, scoring the Flyers’ only goal in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Panthers rookie center Anton Lundell (C – FLA) and Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog (LW – COL) each notched an assist, while goaltenders Linus Ullmark (G – BOS) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (G – TB) returned great value by each securing a win for their team defending the crease. My biggest misses were Aleksander Barkov (C – FLA) and Devon Toews (D – COL), as each prospect was priced relatively high but failed to score a point in plus-matchups. Overall, six of the eight recommendations returned value, so hopefully, you added a couple of these successful prospects into your Tuesday lineups.
With so many games on Thursday’s slate, I’m straying away from the preferred stacking strategy to enlist a combination of blue-chip prospects and hidden value players that will help cash lineups during one of the busiest nights of the season. Here we go!
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Recommended Plays: DraftKings
DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000
Sidney Crosby (C – PIT): $8,200
Pittsburgh is amid an absolute heater, entering Thursday’s in-state rivalry matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on a nine-game winning streak. Veteran captain and hockey prodigy Sidney Crosby has been heavily involved in the Penguins’ offense, scoring at least one point in seven of these nine games. Six of these seven games were multi-point games, which shows Crosby’s massive ceiling. Flyers’ relief goaltender Martin Jones (G – PHI) is slated to get the start in net tonight and has a 3.36 GAA in 11 starts this season and allowed five goals to the Los Angeles Kings back on January 1st. Crosby is a fantastic blue-chip prospect to target when constructing lineups for Thursday’s 11-game slate.
Chris Kreider (LW – NYR): $6,200
Chris Kreider is currently in his tenth season with the New York Rangers and playing some of the best puck of his career. The 30-year old winger skates on the first-line attack and top powerplay unit, earning anywhere between 18 and 21 minutes average time on ice per night. With Artemi Panarin (LW – NYR) on IR, Kreider has been given ample opportunities in the offensive zone, taking at least five shots on goal in four of his previous seven games played. Kreider scored his 20th goal against Edmonton earlier this week and buried three assists against the Lightning the last night. He will face Vegas goaltender Robin Lehner (G – VGK), returning from a lower-body injury. Lehner has been mediocre and inconsistent, allowing at least three goals in his previous two starts. Kreider should have many opportunities to extend his point streak to three games on the road in Vegas. He’s a good value and has a high floor, so prioritize adding Kreider into lineups.
Roman Josi (D – NSH): $7,200
Not many teams in the league have their points leader as a defenseman. Such is the case for Roman Josi, Nashville’s veteran defenseman, who has 30 points for the Predators this season. The 31-year old has spent his entire 11-year career in Nashville and is heavily active in the offensive zone, attempting anywhere from three to nine shots on goal per game. While Josi was held without a point against Vegas on Tuesday, he did score his 11th goal of the season against Chicago on January 1st after a brief stint in the COVID-19 protocols. On Thursday, he will face veteran netminder Jonathan Quick (G – LAK), who has allowed at least three goals in two of his previous three starts. Josi is too talented and takes too many shots to ignore the high salary. Pay up and solidify your defenseman slot with a high-caliber player like Josi.
Mackenzie Blackwood (G – NJ): $8,000
I typically stay away from New Jersey Devils in DFS, but the matchup is good. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been unable to score more than four goals in their last five games, resulting in a 1-3-1 record. However, the Devils have been better on offense than the Blue Jackets, scoring at least four goals and beating talented teams like Washington and Edmonton in overtime with the ability to rely on their offense. Additionally, 25-year old netminder Mackenzie Blackwood benefits from playing behind a relatively talented offense. He is 3-1 in his previous four starts despite allowing at least three goals in every game during this stretch. Blackwood is not the best goaltender on the slate by any means, but he is positioned for success at home against the Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Recommended Plays: FanDuel
FanDuel maximum salary is set at $55,000
Tomas Hertl (C – SJ): $6,600
28-year old San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl has the team competing in a Pacific Division filled with talented teams such as the Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers. Hertl is third on the team in terms of points (26) and has the third-highest amount of goals (16) through 34 games played. While earning additional minutes on the top powerplay unit and skating alongside Timo Meier (RW – SJ) in the temporary absence of Logan Couture (C – SJ), Hertl should provide plenty of value in lineups against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Sabres’ goaltender, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (G – BUF), has allowed four goals in two consecutive starts. Hertl, meanwhile, has a point in nine of his previous ten games, notching an assist in his last outing against Detroit. He possesses value based on the $6,600 salary, so add Hertl into lineups tonight against a bad Sabres team.
Alex Killorn (LW – TB): $5,700
Tampa Bay has one of the league’s most potent offenses, scoring 116 goals, and a significant contributor to this has been tenth-year veteran Alex Killorn. He has been skating on the first-line attack and the top powerplay unit for the Lightning and, as a result, sits third in total points (30) with a whopping 20 assists. The expected return of All-Star Nikita Kucherov (RW – TB) will shift Tampa Bay’s lines a bit, but Killorn should still benefit from skating alongside Anthony Cirelli (C – TB) and Steven Stamkos (RW – TB) on the second line. This season, Calgary has been a good team, but goaltender Jacob Markstrom (G – CGY) has been playing much more pedestrian defending the net, allowing six goals in a loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Killorn scored his tenth goal of the season against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday and should easily find an assist against the Flames, who are susceptible to high-powered offenses. At under a $6,000 salary, Killorn has a high floor and great value to justify inserting him into lineups on Thursday.
Kris Letang (D – PIT): $6,700
Only one Pittsburgh Penguins player has over 20 assists, and that is first-line defenseman Kris Letang. On Wednesday, he recently earned his 22nd and 23rd assists against the St. Louis Blues, helping facilitate the Penguins’ offense against other high-caliber opponents. The 34-year old defenseman, now in his 16th season with Pittsburgh, has two assists in three of his previous four games. Facing Flyers relief goaltender Martin Jones, Letang should dominate once again in the offensive zone. He has taken 14 shots on goal in his last two games, which is absurdly high for any defenseman. So pay up to acquire a player with a massive floor and ceiling against an inferior opponent on the road Thursday night.
Kaapo Kahkonen (G – MIN): $7,500
Minnesota will rely on relief goaltender, Kaapo Kahkonen, to defend the crease against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. The Bruins have managed to stay competitive despite their inability to score goals, stepping up their offense in their previous three games to defeat bad teams like the Sabres, Red Wings, and Devils. The Wild are trending in the opposite direction of the Bruins, enduring a five-game losing skid, but Boston has shown their scoring inconsistency all season. Before their three-game winning streak, scoring at least four goals in every matchup, the Bruins had consecutive losses with one goal in each outing. The Wild’s 25-year old goaltender jas only played in six games this season but has only allowed two goals in each of his previous three starts, resulting in a 2-1 record. He’s super cheap, and the Wild can end their slump against an inconsistent offensive team like the Bruins. It’s a textbook hidden value opportunity, so take the risk and plug Kahkonen into your lineups.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
