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Thursday in the NHL is yet another night highlighted by Auston Matthews ($8,900), whose game against the Canucks at 10:00 p.m. ET is bound to be the focal point for many DFS players on this slate. There are plenty of other intriguing matchups, as well, including favorable spots for teams like the Lightning, Flames, Canadiens and Islanders. This analysis will cover stacking options for Thursday’s contests, which lock at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $70K Twine [$20K to 1st]
Top Stacks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews ($8,900), Mitch Marner ($7,900), Joe Thornton ($4,100)
Carolina Hurricanes
Sebastian Aho ($6,200), Andrei Svechnikov ($5,900), Teuvo Teravainen ($4,900)
New York Islanders
Matthew Barzal ($6,500), Anders Lee ($6,300), Jordan Eberle ($4,500)
The Canucks have been a team to pick on throughout this season, but the Leafs generally don’t need strong matchups for their top line to come through. Matthews and Marner are the most expensive duo on the slate, but this is also a night with a lot of games, which means more potential value to help make those salaries work. Playing Matthews will be a popular strategy, but it certainly seems worthwhile. The Hurricanes have rearranged their lines again and have moved away from their more balanced approach to stack up their first line with more scoring. Teravainen is a game-time decision, but assuming he plays, this underpriced first line is probably the best bet on today's slate with a tremendous matchup at home against the Red Wings. The Islanders are in a really good spot, too, getting the Sabres at home, and it’s a game that sets up well for their scoring upside.
Value Stacks
Montreal Canadiens
Phillip Danault ($3,700), Tomas Tatar ($4,300), Brendan Gallagher ($6,000)
New York Islanders
Brock Nelson ($4,300), Josh Bailey ($3,600), Anthony Beauvillier ($3,700)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Yanni Gourde ($3,500), Barclay Goodrow ($2,900), Blake Coleman ($4,200)
The Canadiens have struggled of late, but they’re in a good matchup tonight against the Jets and that should help them regain their form from earlier in the season. The Danault line is generally the best at even strength for this team, but the depth lines and power plays stacks are squarely in play, as well. The aforementioned Islanders have more than just one good line, and their second line continues to be one of the most underpriced and undervalued in the NHL. Nelson and Co. haven’t produced a ton of scoring lately, but it’s only a matter of time before things turn around for them. The Lightning have arguably the best third line in the NHL, but it’s a line that had been disassembled for a few games and has only just been put back together. Gourde, Goodrow and Coleman are all cheap and they’ll make it much easier to fit in some of the expensive players on this slate.
Contrarian Stacks
Buffalo Sabres
Jack Eichel ($6,900), Victor Olofsson ($5,800), Sam Reinhart ($5,500)
Vancouver Canucks
Elias Pettersson ($6,000), Brock Boeser ($6,100), J.T. Miller ($5,700)
Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov ($7,000), Carter Verhaeghe ($4,300), Frank Vatrano ($3,800)
The Sabres haven’t been good this year and it’s not a particularly good matchup on the road against the Islanders, but there’s enough talent on this first line that they’re an appealing GPP choice at what should be minimal ownership. The same is true for the Canucks, as both teams are facing tough opponents and likely won’t be very popular as a result. As mentioned on previous days, the Canucks and the Panthers are both fairly dependent on power play success, which means that including other PP1 forwards is always worth considering. Bo Horvat ($5,500), Patric Hornqvist ($6,100) and Jonathan Huberdeau ($5,300) are the other key players to consider when looking to these teams.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $70K Twine [$20K to 1st]
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