This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There's no shortage of action tonight with 12 games on the docket. There's a heavy lean towards eastern and central start times with 10 of the games set to begin by 8:00 p.m. ET or earlier, but the final two tilts will open at 10:30. Here are my FanDuel lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Nashville and Chicago are both on the second half of a back-to-back, so fatigue might be an issue for those squads. It's a particularly challenging stretch of the schedule for Nashville, which is playing for the third time in four days and the fourth time in six. Pittsburgh and Minnesota are scheduled to play Friday in addition to tonight, so that might influence those teams' lineup decisions.
GOALIES
Jake Oettinger, DAL vs. CHI ($8,400): Oettinger stopped 22 out of 24 shots en route to a 4-2 victory over the Blackhawks on October 26. It wouldn't be surprising if we saw a similar result Thursday. He's been effective in 2024-25 with a 5-2-0 record, 2.44 GAA and .917 save percentage in seven outings. Chicago, as noted above, will be playing tired. They rank 25th offensively with 2.64 goals per game.
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. BUF ($8,000): Shesterkin has won his past two starts while stopping a combined 75 out of 78 shots (.962 save percentage). That's good work and part of what's been a great start to the campaign. He has a 6-2-1 record, 2.23 GAA and a .933 save percentage through nine appearances. The Sabres are a middling opponent. They have a 5-7-1 record and rank 15th offensively with 3.15 goals per game.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL vs. PHI ($7,900): Vasilevskiy has missed back-to-back opportunities to reach the 300-win milestone, but the 30-year-old netminder has a great opportunity to get there tonight. The Flyers are a favorable adversary, ranking 26th offensively with 2.62 goals per game to go along with a 4-8-1 record. Vasilevskiy hasn't been special this season – 6-5-0 with a 2.59 GAA and a .903 save percentage in 11 appearances. I still feel comfortable playing him, however, given the quality of his upcoming competition.
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA vs. NAS ($7,800): Bobrovsky has gotten off to a rough start this campaign, posting a 3.09 GAA and an .892 save percentage through nine outings. The silver lining is he plays for the Panthers, which means he has a 6-2-1 record despite those poor personal numbers. He has a good shot of collecting another win tonight against the tired and struggling Predators. Nashville is 4-8-1 and ranks 29th offensively with 2.38 goals per game.
VALUE PLAYS
Gabriel Vilardi, WPG vs. COL ($5,000): Vilardi has been one of the most productive players at this price point, supplying five goals and 11 points through 13 appearances. He's also red hot, going into tonight's action on a five-game scoring streak. Colorado is expected to start Alexandar Georgiev, who has struggled this season with a 4.62 GAA and a .822 save percentage, so Vilardi is in a good position to extend that streak.
Alexis Lafreniere, NYR vs. BUF ($5,000): Lafreniere is another standout option at this price. He has five goals and 10 points across 11 outings. He's projected to play alongside Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on Thursday, which is about as close as you can come to ideal linemates.
Trevor Moore, LAK vs. VAN ($4,400): Moore hasn't been anything special this season, providing a goal and seven points through 14 outings. Still, he's worth consideration because he's going into tonight's action on a three-game scoring streak in which he's supplied four assists.
Dawson Mercer, NJD vs. MON ($4,100): Mercer was limited to two goals and three points over his first 11 appearances in 2024-25, but he's making up for lost time. He's collected a goal and five points across his past four outings. Montreal is a good adversary to stay hot against, as the Canadiens rank 31st defensively with 4.00 goals allowed per game.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Panthers vs. Predators
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,300), Sam Reinhart (W - $8,200), Evan Rodrigues (W - $4,200)
Barkov was unavailable from October 12-26 due to a lower-body injury, but he's been fantastic since returning, supplying two goals and seven points over his past three games. It helps that he's playing alongside Reinhart, who is proving his 57-goal, 94-point regular-season performance in 2023-24 was far from a fluke. The 29-year-old Reinhart has an incredible 10 goals and 21 points through 13 outings and enters tonight's tilt on a four-game goal-scoring streak as well as a five-game point streak.
Rodrigues rounds out this line with an unremarkable three goals and six points through 13 outings, but he has found the back of the net in each of Florida's past two games, so you might as well grab him as an affordable option to balance out his more expensive linemates.
Lightning vs. Flyers
Anthony Cirelli (C - $6,000), Nikita Kucherov (W - $8,900), Brandon Hagel (W - $6,600)
Kucherov is the clear appeal of this line. He's one of the league's top scorers with 10 goals and 22 points through 13 outings and is showing no signs of slowing after supplying two goals and eight points across his past four appearances. Up against the Flyers, who rank 30th defensively with 3.85 goals allowed per game, Kucherov should do rather well.
His linemates aren't nearly as hot, but they're still strong options in their own right, especially on a night when Tampa Bay is facing a leaky defense. Hagel has seven goals and 14 points while Cirelli has provided two goals and 13 points across Tampa Bay's 13 games.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. COL ($7,000): I've been a broken record when it comes to recommending Cale Makar ($7,800) whenever the opportunity presents itself, but I'm hesitant tonight because he's questionable due to an undisclosed injury. If Makar doesn't play, that leaves Morrissey as perhaps the best offensive defenseman available tonight. The 29-year-old Morrissey has two goals and 16 points in 13 outings, including eight points across his past five appearances. The power play is a big part of Morrissey's production, accounting for seven of his points.
Victor Hedman, TBL vs. PHI ($6,800): Hedman is going into Thursday's game against the Flyers riding a four-game scoring streak in which he's provided a goal and five points. That brings him up to three goals and 13 points in 13 outings. The 33-year-old recorded 76 points in 78 games last season. It wouldn't be surprising to see him surpass the 60-point mark again this time around.
Quinn Hughes, VAN at LAK ($6,700): Hughes is one of the few young defensemen who can usually measure up to Makar in terms of raw offensive output. That hasn't been the case so far in 2024-25, but that has more to do with how unworldly Makar has been rather than any fault of Hughes. Under normal circumstances, Hughes' two goals and 12 points through 11 appearances would put him in the running for the top spot in the defensemen scoring race as opposed to the 11-point deficit he currently finds himself compared to Makar. Still, Hughes is a strong option, especially after recording six points (one goal) across Vancouver's past four games.
Dougie Hamilton, NJD vs. MON ($5,400): Hamilton has done better, but his eight points (one goal) through 15 outings is fine given his current price point. I'm recommending him in part because he's been hot – all of his eight points have come in his past nine appearances – and because, as previously noted, Montreal is a vulnerable opponent defensively.
