This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
We have a full day of playoff action ahead of us, and the action starts a little early for a weekday with Tampa Bay set to host Florida, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. That matchup will be followed by Toronto in Ottawa at 7 p.m., Vegas in Minnesota at 9 p.m. and Winnipeg in St. Louis at 9:30 p.m. Here are my FanDuel lineup recommendations for Thursday.
SLATE PREVIEW
Toronto and Winnipeg have both taken 2-0 leads in those respective series, so the pressure will be on Ottawa and St. Louis to respond.
The Golden Knights are the heaviest favorite tonight at minus-156 on FanDuel. All four games have an Over/Under of 5.5, but the odds (minus-120) suggest Florida-Tampa Bay is the most likely of those matches to exceed the Over.
GOALIES
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at STL ($8,000): Hellebuyck is coming off a strong showing in which he stopped 21 of 22 shots en route to a 2-1 victory over St. Louis. He's now 4-1-0 with a 2.01 GAA and a .912 save percentage across five outings versus the Blues between the regular season and playoffs in 2024-25. Hellebuyck is also the heavy favorite to win the Vezina Trophy after posting a 47-12-3 record, 2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage in 63 regular-season outings.
Anthony Stolarz, TOR at OTT ($7,900): The series moving to Ottawa does make things a little tougher for Stolarz, but I still want to take him given his recent dominance. Stolarz has won his past 10 games while saving 267 of 282 shots (.947 save percentage). Against the Senators in the first round, he's 2-0 with a 1.95 GAA and a .934 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS
Alex Iafallo, WPG at STL ($5,500): Although Iafallo is strictly a secondary scorer, he has been serving in a much bigger role lately, averaging 18:36 of ice time, including 2:33 with the man advantage, across his past 12 appearances. That includes an average of 20:42 across Winnipeg's opening two playoff games. By contrast, Iafallo averaged 13:17 of ice time in 82 outings overall during the regular season. The 31-year-old has supplied five goals and eight points over that 12-game span.
Brandon Saad, VGK at MIN ($4,800): Saad has recorded at least a point in each of his past three outings, collecting a goal and four assists across that span. It doesn't hurt that Saad has plenty of playoff experience – he's logged 105 postseason games, which puts him in a three-way tie for the 37th most among active players.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Maple Leafs at Senators
John Tavares (C - $7,800), William Nylander (W - $7,500), Pontus Holmberg (W - $3,900)
Tavares has opened the playoffs on a fantastic note, supplying two goals and four points across his past two appearances. He's done particularly well on the power play, which has accounted for three of those four points.
Nylander is expected to play alongside Tavares on both even strength and with the man advantage, so it's worth taking both halves of this duo even if Tavares' recent success is tied primarily to the power play. Nylander has also made his presence felt in the first-round series, supplying a goal and three points in the opening two games.
Holmberg isn't particularly noteworthy, though. It helps that he's cheap, but he hasn't recorded a point in the 2025 playoffs and was limited to 19 points (seven goals) in 68 regular-season outings. It's a big jump in cost, but you might want to consider taking Mitch Marner (W - $7,900) instead. Marner is riding a seven-game scoring streak that includes a goal and four points over two outings since the playoffs started. Marner is also projected to play alongside Tavares and Nylander on the top power-play unit.
DEFENSEMEN
Josh Morrissey, WPG at STL ($6,200): Morrissey had 14 goals and 62 points across 80 regular-season outings, making it his third straight 60-plus point campaign. He's added another two helpers in the first round, giving him two goals and eight points across his last six appearances.
Victor Hedman, TBL vs. FLA ($6,200): Although Tampa Bay suffered a 6-2 loss to Florida in its playoff opener, Hedman did show up on the scoresheet with a power-play assist. He's up to three goals and 13 points across his past 12 outings. He's been particularly effective against the Panthers, collecting six assists across five appearances in 2024-25 between the regular season and playoffs.
