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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 seven games scheduled for Thursday. Keep in mind that in the current climate, players might end up being unavailable due to the COVID protocol and games could end up getting postponed, so be sure to double check your roster close to game time.
Forwards:
Sebastian Aho (Carolina) – C - $9,700 FanDuel, $7,500 DraftKings, $33 Yahoo
Aho is one of the higher priced players available today, but it’s not hard to see why. He’s having a terrific season with 15 goals and 32 points in 26 contests. To make things better, he’s red hot at the moment, recording multiple points in each of his last five games, which makes him a particularly appealing option at the moment.
J.T. Miller (Vancouver) – W - $8,500 FanDuel, $5,500 DraftKings, $19 Yahoo
The Canucks had five straight games postponed, but once they finally resumed playing on Wednesday, Miller was able to pick up right where he left off. He scored a goal and an assist last night to extend his point streak to seven games. He’s up to 11 goals and 34 points in 32 contests, which makes him a great deal on DraftKings and Yahoo.
Filip Forsberg (Nashville) – W - $7,400 FanDuel, $7,100 DraftKings, $23 Yahoo
Speaking of players entering tonight’s action on extended point streaks, Forsberg has chipped in for the Predators in five straight games. That gives him 14 goals and 23 points in 22 contests this season. Between him and Miller, I’d recommend prioritizing Miller on DraftKings, but Forsberg has the edge on FanDuel due to the price difference.
Brayden Point (Tampa Bay) – C - $7,400 FanDuel, $7,900 DraftKings, $26 Yahoo
Point was sidelined for more than a month due to an upper-body injury, but he hit the ground running in his return on Tuesday, scoring two goals and registering an assist. When healthy, Point has been great this season with nine goals and 16 points in 17 contests.
Bargain Bin: Johnny Gaudreau (CAL) - $6,900 FanDuel/$6,700 DraftKings/$25 Yahoo, Tomas Hertl (SJS) - $6,700 FanDuel/$5,100 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Teuvo Teravainen (CAR) - $6,700 FanDuel/$6,200 DraftKings/$19 Yahoo, Mathew Barzal (NYI) - $6,500 FanDuel/$6,600 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Alex Iafallo (LAK) - $6,000 FanDuel/$5,900 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Anders Lee (NYI) - $5,900 FanDuel/$5,400 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo
Defensemen:
Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay) - $7,400 FanDuel, $7,900 DraftKings, $26 Yahoo
Hedman registered two assists on Tuesday to extend his point streak to four games. He’s been one of the league’s top defensemen this season with seven goals and 33 points in 31 contests, making him well worth his price on all sites.
Quinn Hughes (Vancouver) - $6,900 FanDuel, $5,300 DraftKings, $18 Yahoo
Hughes isn’t quite as good as Hedman, but he’s not that far off and given the price difference between the two on DraftKings and Yahoo, he’s a viable alternative if you can only have one of them. Hughes has been particularly effective lately, recording at least a point in five of his last six games, bringing him up to two goals and 27 points in 31 games this season.
Bargain Bin: Erik Karlsson (SJS) - $6,300 FanDuel/$6,600 DraftKings/$20 Yahoo, Tony DeAngelo (CAR) - $5,800 FanDuel/$6,500 DraftKings/$19 Yahoo, Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) - $5,700 FanDuel/$4,100 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo, Matt Roy (LAK) - $5,200 FanDuel/$4,600 DraftKings/$18 Yahoo, Noah Dobson (NYI) - $5,100 FanDuel/$5,500 DraftKings/$17 Yahoo
Goaltenders:
Ilya Sorokin (NY Islanders) - $8,300 FanDuel, $7,800 DraftKings, $29 Yahoo
Although the Islanders have had a rough 2021-22 campaign, Sorokin has managed to largely hold his own. He has a 7-7-5 record, 2.49 GAA, and .926 save percentage in 19 starts. The Islanders are partially depleted due to COVID, but so is their opponent, Buffalo, so if this game does happen it wouldn’t be surprising if it ends up being a low-scoring affair.
Bargain Bin: Antti Raanta (CAR) - $8,000 FanDuel/$8,300 DraftKings/$32 Yahoo, Jacob Markstrom (CAL) - $7,600 FanDuel/$8,200 DraftKings/$38 Yahoo