We've got a busy night ahead of us with nine games on the docket. The slate skews toward East Coast-friendly starts with four beginning at 7 p.m. ET (Ottawa at Boston, St. Louis at Buffalo, Montreal at New Jersey, Minnesota at Carolina), one at 7:30 (Washington at Pittsburgh) and two at 8 p.m (Philadelphia at Nashville, Anaheim at Dallas). After those games begin, there's a gap until the final two games of the night start at 10 p.m. (Tampa Bay at Vegas, Florida at Los Angeles).
SLATE PREVIEW
Carolina is considered a clear favorite over Minnesota based on the FanDuel Moneyline, which puts the squads at minus-188 and plus-165, respectively. Carolina is 8-4-0, so it's not as if the Hurricanes have done anything to make fans question the high expectations that were assigned to them before the campaign began. By contrast, the Wild have been a shaky 5-6-3, though Minnesota has won its past two games, so perhaps the squad has turned a corner.
Dallas (minus-175) is also a heavy favorite over Anaheim (plus-160). The Ducks might not be getting enough respect, though. While not much was expected of the Ducks going into this season, they are 8-3-1 and have won six of their past seven games. Although Dallas is a strong team as well, which certainly plays into tonight's odds, perhaps it's time for people to adjust how they see the Ducks.
GOALIES
Akira Schmid, VGK vs. TBL ($7,900): Schmid is coming off a 24-save shutout over the Red Wings on Tuesday. He's 6-1-0 with a 2.31 GAA and a .908 save percentage in seven outings this year. Tampa Bay has some dangerous forwards, but the Lightning's offense has produced mixed results this season — Tampa Bay is in a three-way tie for 19th in goals per game with 2.85.
Dan Vladar, PHI at NAS ($7,600): Vladar has done well this campaign with a 5-3-0 record, 2.33 GAA and .912 save percentage in eight appearances this year. He has hit a rough patch in which he's allowed eight goals on 39 shots (.795 save percentage), but a game against Nashville might help him rebound. Nashville ranks 30th in goals per game with 2.53 in 2025-26, and Vladar stopped 32 of 33 shots en route to a 4-1 victory over the Predators on Oct. 30.
Lukas Dostal, ANA at DAL ($7,500): Dostal has been a significant part of Anaheim's strong start. He's won his past four games while turning aside 109 of 117 shots (.932 save percentage). That winning streak brings him up to 6-3-1 with a 2.59 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 10 outings in 2025-26. Dallas is certainly far from an ideal adversary, but it wouldn't be shocking for the red-hot Ducks to best the Stars.
VALUE PLAYS
Ivan Demidov, MON at NJD ($5,000): Demidov has four goals and 12 points in 13 appearances in 2025-26. Some rookies are streaky, but the 19-year-old's offensive production has been steady. He hasn't been held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games so far this year.
Bobby Brink, PHI at NAS ($4,700): Brink will look to build off Tuesday's two-goal game against Montreal. He's up to five goals and nine points in 13 appearances in 2025-26. It helps that Nashville is tied for 26th in goals allowed per game with 3.40 this year.
Viktor Arvidsson, BOS vs. OTT ($4,400): Arvidsson has found his rhythm after a slow start to the campaign. He has four goals and six points across his past eight appearances. He's still searching for his first power-play point of 2025-26, but he's averaging a healthy 1:58 with the man advantage.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Sabres vs. Blues
Ryan McLeod (C - $4,300), Tage Thompson (W - $7,000), Alex Tuch (W - $6,600)
This isn't a bad trio on a normal night, but the fact that Buffalo is facing the Blues is a big part of this recommendation. St. Louis has been terrible in its own zone, ranking last in goals allowed per game with 4.14. The Blues don't seem to be getting better either. St. Louis is 1-6-2 across its past nine games and has surrendered 4.44 goals per game over that stretch.
Thompson will look to take advantage of St. Louis' struggles. His five goals and 10 points in 13 outings are a touch below what's typically expected from the high-end forward, but he is trending in the right direction with four goals and six points over his past six appearances. Meanwhile, Tuch is a strong linemate for him with five goals and 12 points through 13 outings.
McLeod's production is fine but not great. He has three goals and seven points in 13 outings after setting a career high with 53 points in 79 appearances last year. That's perfectly fine for his price, and when his competition is factored in, he's a solid pickup tonight if you want to round out Buffalo's top line.
Ducks at Stars
Leo Carlsson (C - $7,500), Troy Terry (W - $6,400), Chris Kreider (W - $6,400)
If you're taking Dostal, this is a nice line to grab for additional synergy, but even if you decide against taking Anaheim's goaltender, this forward trio is still worthy of consideration.
All three are red hot right now. Kreider has found the back of the net in each of his past three games, which brings him up to seven goals and eight points in eight appearances. Meanwhile, Carlsson is on a seven-game scoring streak in which he's collected three goals and 12 points, and Terry has been held off the scoresheet just once in his last eight games while supplying five goals and 12 points over that span.
If you can afford it, Cutter Gauthier (W - $7,700) is also tempting. He's on the second unit, but he shares the ice with the other three forwards on the power play. Gauthier has seven goals and 13 points in his past seven games. You also could consider subbing out Kreider for Gauthier. While Kreider has obviously had success as well, it's hard to pass on Gauthier right now.
DEFENSEMEN
Jake Sanderson, OTT at BOS ($6,600): Sanderson has three goals and 11 points, including six points with the man advantage, in 13 appearances this season. He's been especially effective recently, supplying two goals and six points across his past five outings.
Lane Hutson, MON at NJD ($5,900): Hutson is going into Thursday's action amid a seven-game scoring streak. He has a goal and nine points in that span, which brings him up to a goal and 13 points in 13 appearances in 2025-26.
Erik Karlsson, PIT vs. WAS ($3,000): Karlsson provides tremendous value at his rock bottom price. He has a goal and 11 points in 14 appearances this season. Even at the age of 35, Karlsson is a candidate to reach the 50-point mark by the end of the campaign — he also surpassed that milestone in each of the previous three regular seasons.
