We're entering the final night of the regular season, and there are six games remaining. I've gone through tonight's options to bring you my favorite picks, so let's discuss them.
SLATE PREVIEW
As you've doubtless seen, postseason-bound teams at this final stage of the season tend to rest veterans ahead of the playoffs. However, just five of the 12 teams playing tonight will be in the playoffs (Colorado, Edmonton, Anaheim, Utah, Los Angeles), so those are the ones you want to be particularly careful with tonight. Edmonton and Anaheim are also still competing for home-ice advantage in the upcoming first-round series, which might discourage those two from resting many key players, if any.
GOALIES
Dustin Wolf, CAL vs. LAK ($7,300): Wolf has endured a rough campaign with a 23-29-3 record, 3.01 GAA and .899 save percentage in 57 appearances in 2025-26. However, he's stopped 101 of 106 shots (.953 save percentage) across his past three outings, so he's red hot going into tonight's action against an LA squad that's likely to scratch some important forwards.
Joel Hofer, STL at UTA ($7,300): St. Louis will fall short of a playoff berth, but Hofer did his part with a 23-13-5 record, 2.60 GAA and .910 save percentage in 45 appearances this campaign. Like LA, I'm anticipating Utah scratching some of its best players tonight, which is part of my motivation for recommending Hofer.
VALUE PLAYS
Marco Rossi, VAN at EDM ($4,700): Injury troubles have limited Rossi to 12 goals and 35 points in 49 outings between Minnesota and Vancouver this campaign, putting him well behind his 60-point regular-season total from 2024-25. Still, he has the chance to end the campaign on a positive note after scoring two goals and four points across his active three-game scoring streak.
Mason McTavish, ANA at NAS ($4,500): This has been a disappointing campaign for McTavish overall, but he's found his game recently. The 23-year-old has three goals and six points across his past six outings, which brings him up to 40 points (17 goals) in 74 appearances this season. There is a chance Anaheim will rest him tonight, but, as noted above, the Ducks still have something to play for, and given how rocky his season has been, they might not want to do anything to disrupt him while he's hot.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Sharks at Jets
Macklin Celebrini (C - $8,000), Will Smith (W - $6,600), Igor Chernyshov (W - $4,600)
Edmonton's Connor McDavid ($8,100) and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon ($8,100) are almost always tempting choices, but there's no guarantee either plays tonight. By contrast, the Sharks fell short of the playoffs, so this will be Celebrini's final chance to add to what has been a remarkable campaign. The 19-year-old sophomore has already collected 44 goals and 112 points with the Sharks this season. He's expected to be flanked by Smith, who has 23 goals and 57 points in 68 outings, and Chernyshov, who has eight goals and 18 points in 27 appearances.
Chernyshov is clearly the least notable of the trio, but his low cost makes him worth grabbing for the sake of rounding out the unit. He's also done well lately, providing three goals and four points over his past three appearances.
Blues at Mammoth
Robert Thomas (C - $6,800), Dylan Holloway (W - $6,900), Jimmy Snuggerud (W - $6,000)
St. Louis' top line is one of the hottest in the league as we close out the regular season. Holloway has collected an incredible seven goals and 17 points across his past 11 outings, Thomas has been similarly effective with six goals and 15 points over his last 10 appearances, and Snuggerud is coming off a four-point showing Tuesday (two goals, two assists), which has brought him up to four markers and 11 points across his last six games.
Meanwhile, Utah's defense has left plenty to be desired recently, allowing 3.67 goals per game across its past 12 matches, so the Blues' top unit is well positioned to continue its recent success tonight.
DEFENSEMEN
Filip Hronek, VAN at EDM ($5,400): I'm skipping Evan Bouchard ($6,900) out of fear that Edmonton will make him a healthy scratch, but if it's close to game-time, and it appears he'll be in the lineup, feel free to utilize him. Regardless, Hronek is a great value option. He has eight goals and 49 points in 81 appearances this season, including a goal and 11 points over his past 13 outings. He's been especially effective with the man advantage lately -- 10 of those 11 points were on the power play.
Olli Maatta, CAL vs. LAK ($4,000): Maatta has been a nice grab since joining Calgary from Utah. He had just one assist in 22 appearances with the Mammoth this season, but that's jumped to two goals and 14 points across 20 outings with the Flames. The difference is tied to his playing time, which has jumped to an average of 22:31 with Calgary from 12:10 in Utah.
