This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's another 10-game slate on Thursday night in the National Hockey League. While it might not necessarily be as high scoring as Wednesday's three-game slate, there are some high-octane offenses taking to the ice. Vegas is expected each of the three late-night games (10 p.m. ET or later) to be rather light-scoring contests, with the total line set at five goals. However, the sharps are expected plenty of lamp lighting in the early slate of games. That's where a lot of your focus should be for daily play, too.
Let's get started.
GOALIE
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR at CAR ($8,200): King Henrik is the most expensive option on the board for a reason. The Rangers are road warriors, winning 35 of their past 51 games away from home. They also like to pick on the lower-echelon teams, going 38-15 in their past 53 against teams with a losing record. The Rangers have also won nine of their past 12 trips to Raleigh, and they're 37-17-1 in the past 55 meetings; go along for the winning ride with Lundqvist.
CENTER
Nazem Kadri, TOR at PHI ($6,300): Kadri enters play with a goal in two straight games. He'll look to extend the streak to three against a Flyers team that ranks 25th in the NHL in high-danger save percentage (.854). The center also sees plenty of time on the power play, and the Flyers own a very ordinary 80.8 percent on the penalty kill (17th in the league. This is a very favorable matchup for the streaky Kadri despite being on the road.
Ryan Kesler, ANA at CHI ($6,300): Kesler is scoreless over his past two outings, so his ownership percentages should be down thanks to noobs avoiding him. However, he's a great option facing a Blackhawks team tied for 27th on the penalty kill (.769). Kesler leads the Ducks with seven power-play goals, and he has 17 total points on the man advantage. For a contending team, the Blackhawks yield plenty of goals.
WING
Alex Burrows, OTT at ARI ($4,600): Burrows is pulling top-line duty in his new digs, so he's a tremendous value at this price level. While he was held scoreless in Wednesday's win in Dallas, Burrows has three goals and four points over his past four outings and he even has a handful of blocked shots as an added bonus. He'll see plenty of power-play time against the league's 26th-ranked penalty-kill unit, so he has that going for him, too.
Filip Forsberg, NAS at LOS ($5,500): Forsberg has been explosive over the past nine games, lighting the lamp 11 times while adding five assists and a plus-3 rating. Sometimes, you need to strike while the iron is hot, disregarding the venue and opponent. The Kings are tied for the fifth-fewest goals allowed in the NHL, but the difficulty of the opponent hasn't mattered to Forsberg. He's been that hot.
Taylor Hall, NJD at COL ($6,100): Hall is a tremendous value in this game despite the fact that he's gone without a goal in seven straight games. The Avalanche are the worst team in the NHL in terms of goal differential at minus-89, and they rank 29th in the league in high-danger save percentage at .839. Meanwhile, the Devils are the lightest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference, but they could have a rare offensive explosion led by the playmaking Hall in this one.
DEFENSE
Ivan Provorov, PHI vs. TOR ($4,500): Provorov has proven to be a strong low-priced DFS value, rolling up 133 blocked shots to check in 13th overall in the category. He'll be facing a Maple Leafs team averaging 32.7 shots per game, third in the league. That means Provorov will be called upon to sacrifice his body plenty, racking up fantasy points in the process. He is also no slouch on the offensive end, posting a respectable 24 points.
Jaccob Slavin, CAR vs. NYR ($3,900): Slavin carries a five-game point streak into Thursday's game, adding eight blocked shots during that span. He's emerged as one of the most productive rearguards in Raleigh over the past few weeks. Look for Slavin to step in front of a handful of shots, as the Rangers are averaging 29.8 per game. Slavin has 60 blocked shots through 30 games in front of the home fans.
