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NHL Plays will highlight the best and the most underrated daily fantasy options among forwards, defensemen and goaltenders.
Please note, these players were chosen early in the day, so make sure to check NBC Sports EDGE’s player news for any lineup changes, injuries and potential changes in the crease for starting goaltenders.
Additionally, it is worth reminding everyone that FanDuel allows you to roster nine players (2C, 2W, 2D, 2UTIL 1G) with a salary cap of $55,000, while DraftKings has a cap of $50,000 for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 1G, 1UTIL) and Yahoo has a $200 budget for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 2G).
There are 10 games scheduled for Thursday, not including the Maple Leafs-Flames game that has been postponed.
Forwards:
Connor McDavid (Edmonton) – C - $9,900 FanDuel, $9,600 DraftKings, $38 Yahoo
McDavid has been held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games and has three assists in his last five contests, which for him is a significant slump. That’s made him an interesting choice in FanDuel though, where his price has dropped from $10,600 to $9,900. His price has stayed the same in DraftKings and Yahoo so you wouldn’t be getting him at a discount on those sites, but McDavid is always worth considering regardless. Granted, he hasn’t done as well lately, but he’s never held down for long, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he has a big game tonight.
Mikko Rantanen (Colorado) – W – $9,000 FanDuel, $8,700 DraftKings, $33 Yahoo
Rantanen is a step below the highest end players tonight in terms of price, but he’s up there with them when it comes to skill. He’s on a fantastic run with three goals and nine points in his last five contests. He’s having a strong season overall with 13 goals and 28 points in 23 games.
Mark Stone (Vegas) – W - $8,000 FanDuel, $5,500 DraftKings, $25 Yahoo
Stone’s price on FanDuel isn’t bad, but it’s incredible on DraftKings and Yahoo. In fact, his DraftKings price is so good, it looks like a typo. He’s been very consistent, recording at least a point in each of his last nine games and is up to four goals and 21 points in 16 contests this season.
Drake Batherson (Ottawa) – W - $7,800 FanDuel, $4,800 DraftKings, $21 Yahoo
Batherson is another one who is fairly price on FanDuel but is particularly worthwhile on DraftKings and Yahoo. He’s had a fantastic season with nine goals and 28 points in 21 contests. He’s on a nice run too, recording at least a point in each of his last six contests and 12 points over that span.
Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa) – W - $7,400 FanDuel, $6,200 DraftKings, $19 Yahoo
Tkachuk had a hat trick on Saturday and followed that up by scoring another goal on Tuesday. He was good earlier in the season, but lately everything seems to be going his way. He’s up to eight goals and 11 points in his last seven contests.
Chandler Stephenson (Vegas) – C - $6,500 FanDuel, $3,900 DraftKings, $20 Yahoo
Stephenson contributed four assists on Sunday and then added another three assists on Tuesday, so it’d be an understatement to say that he’s doing well lately. He has seven goals and 29 points in 27 contests, which is great considering his price point.
Bargain Bin: Tomas Hertl (SJS) - $6,400 FanDuel/$5,000 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Mats Zuccarello (MIN) - $6,400 FanDuel/$5,400 DraftKings/$21 Yahoo, Brock Boeser (VAN) - $6,200 FanDuel/$4,500 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo, Jesper Bratt (NJD) - $6,100 FanDuel/$5,300 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Joel Eriksson Ek (MIN) - $6,000 FanDuel/$5,300 DraftKings/$23 Yahoo, Claude Giroux (PHI) - $5,800 FanDuel/$5,100 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Anders Lee (NYI) - $5,300 FanDuel/$5,000 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo, Logan Couture (SJS) - $5,300 FanDuel/$4,700 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo, Alexandre Texier (CBJ) - $5,200 FanDuel/$2,500 DraftKings/$15 Yahoo, Oliver Wahlstrom (NYI) - $5,200 FanDuel/$3,600 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Phillip Danault (LAK) - $5,000 FanDuel/$3,300 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo
Defensemen:
Cale Makar (Colorado) - $7,100 FanDuel, $7,900 DraftKings, $28 Yahoo
Makar’s 13 goals in his last 23 games doesn’t seem like a sustainable pace for a defenseman, but he hasn’t shown any signs of letting up yet. He added another goal on Tuesday, giving him four goals over his last six contests alone.
Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas) - $7,000 FanDuel, $6,600 DraftKings, $22 Yahoo
Pietrangelo is entering Thursday’s contest on a four-game point streak. He got off to a slow start in 2021-22 with just an assist over his first nine contests, but he’s bounce back in a big way with five goals and 19 points in his last 19 games.
Bargain Bin: Shea Theodore (VGK) - $6,300 FanDuel/$5,000 DraftKings/$19 Yahoo, Quinn Hughes (VAN) - $6,200 FanDuel/$5,300 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Erik Karlsson (SJS) - $6,000 FanDuel/$6,200 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo, Thomas Chabot (OTT) - $5,900 FanDuel/$5,500 DraftKings/$19 Yahoo, Tony DeAngelo (CAR) - $5,700 FanDuel/$5,900 DraftKings/$19 Yahoo, Moritz Seider (DET) - $5,300 FanDuel/$4,800 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo
Goaltenders:
Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) - $8,600 FanDuel, $8,500 DraftKings, $38 Yahoo
Vasilevskiy is on a five-game winning streak and has allowed just 11 goals over that span. He’s one of the safer bets in the league with a 15-4-3 record, 2.15 GAA, and .927 save percentage in 22 contests. His price is high, but reasonable given what he brings to the table.
Thatcher Demko (Vancouver) - $7,500 FanDuel, $7,400 DraftKings, $28 Yahoo
If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative, Demko has been pretty good lately. He’s won his last four starts while allowing five goals over that span. Vancouver has been playing well since Bruce Boudreau took over as the team’s bench boss and Demko has been one of the main benefactors of that.
Bargain Bin: Juuse Saros (NAS) - $7,200 FanDuel/$7,300 DraftKings/$32 Yahoo, James Reimer (SJS) - $7,100 FanDuel/$7,900 DraftKings/$36 Yahoo, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) - $6,600 FanDuel/$6,700 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo
