We have a 10-game slate Thursday, and half of those contests will begin at 7 p.m. ET (Los Angeles at Toronto, Dallas at Montreal, Boston at Ottawa, Anaheim at Detroit, Washington at Florida). There's also one game starting at 7:30 (Edmonton at Columbus), two at 9 p.m. (Buffalo at Colorado, San Jose at Calgary) and two at 10 p.m. (the Islanders at Vegas, Winnipeg at Seattle).
SLATE PREVIEW
Edmonton and Buffalo are each playing in the second half of a back-to-back, so those squads might be tired tonight. Fatigue might be a particularly big issue for the Oilers, given that this is also their third game in four days and fourth in six. The Islanders will also play Friday, which might influence their lineup decisions tonight.
GOALIES
Scott Wedgewood, COL vs. BUF ($8,100): Buffalo would have a tough time against the Avalanche under the best of circumstances, so the odds are stacked heavily in Colorado's favor tonight given the Sabres' aforementioned fatigue. Meanwhile, Wedgewood has been fantastic with a 10-1-2 record, 2.26 GAA and .913 save percentage in 14 appearances in 2025-26.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at SEA ($7,600): Hellebuyck is a frequent recommendation thanks to his 2.36 GAA and .921 save percentage in 12 outings this year, but Seattle is also a favorable adversary. The Kraken have struggled to score this season, ranking 30th.
Yaroslav Askarov, SJS at CAL ($7,000): Askarov is going to go through some growing pains, especially on a young squad that's just starting to emerge as a contender. We saw that to start the season with Askarov going 1-4-1 with a 4.69 GAA and an .844 save percentage across his opening six outings. However, the 23-year-old is also a very promising goaltender, and we've seen that side of him lately — he's on a four-game winning streak in which he's stopped an incredible 131 of 136 shots (.963 save percentage). He should stay hot tonight against Calgary, which ranks last in the league in goals per game with 2.06.
VALUE PLAYS
Nicholas Robertson, TOR vs. LAK ($4,900): The Maple Leafs have been a mixed bag so far this season, but the emergence of Robertson has been one of the silver linings for the team. He has four goals and nine points across his past nine appearances and is entering Thursday's action amid a three-game scoring streak.
Claude Giroux, OTT vs. BOS ($4,800): At the age of 37, Giroux isn't an automatic inclusion for your team, but there are periods when he's hot and providing good value. He's going through one such stretch — Giroux has supplied a goal and four points across his past four outings.
Alex Laferriere, LAK at TOR ($4,800): Laferriere didn't find the scoresheet over his opening six games of the 2025-26 campaign, but he's been a steady offensive contributor since that slump. Dating back to Oct. 21, the 24-year-old has collected three goals and eight points over 11 appearances, and he's recorded a helper in each of his past two games.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Sharks at Flames
Macklin Celebrini (C - $7,800), Will Smith (W - $6,400), Tyler Toffoli (W - $5,400)
Celebrini and Smith are red hot — each has tallied three goals across the past four games, while Celebrini has also added five assists, and Smith has collected three across that span. Celebrini now finds himself in a three-way tie for second in the league's scoring race with 26 points (10 goals), and Smith is having a fantastic campaign in his own right with seven goals and 17 points through 17 outings.
Toffoli hasn't paced his young linemates offensively, but he does have a decent five goals and 11 points through 17 appearances this year, including a goal and four points over his past four games.
Avalanche vs. Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,200), Martin Necas (W - $7,100), Artturi Lehkonen (W - $6,500)
If you have the budget space for a more expensive option, this line is certainly worth it. MacKinnon has been otherworldly with four goals and 12 points in his past three games, which is part of his active 10-game scoring streak. The 30-year-old is up to 14 goals and 32 points through 17 outings this year.
No one is matching MacKinnon in terms of offensive production, but his linemates also are providing plenty of value. Necas has 10 goals and 20 points in 17 outings this year, and Lehkonen isn't far behind with seven goals and 17 points through 17 appearances.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL vs. BUF ($7,600): Makar's your best option so long as you can fit him in your budget. He has six goals and 23 points through 17 appearances this season. That's leagues above any other defenseman in the scoring race — Josh Morrissey and Miro Heiskanen are tied for second with 16 points.
Jacob Trouba, ANA at DET ($5,800): Trouba has shrugged off a slow start to the campaign by providing four goals and 11 points across his past 11 outings. His increase in production seems to have pushed him onto the power play — after averaging just 0:08 with the man advantage over his first nine games of 2025-26, he's climbed to an average of 1:22 across his past seven outings.
Charlie McAvoy, BOS at OTT ($5,800): McAvoy has been a steady presence for the Bruins this year with 14 assists through 17 outings, including six assists over his past four appearances. It helps that he's collected five points with the man advantage — he was limited to just four across 50 outings during the 2024-25 regular season.
