This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There are five games scheduled tonight, including some interesting ones if you're a fan of the Hart Trophy race. The Maple Leafs will host the Lightning, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET, pitting Auston Matthews, who currently sits at 62 goals, against Nikita Kucherov, who is tied for the scoring lead with 127 points. Once that game finishes, you can switch directly to Edmonton visiting Dallas, featuring Connor McDavid, who has 126 points and is just three helpers away from becoming only the fourth player in NHL history (joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr) to record at least 100 assists in a season.
Let's take a closer look at our DFS options tonight to determine which of those stars might be great plays tonight as well as how you should build out the rest of your roster.
SLATE PREVIEW
New Jersey and Vancouver both played Tuesday, so fatigue might be a factor. In particular, it's a potentially big issue for Vancouver because Casey DeSmith started Tuesday, stopping just 24 of 30 en route to a 6-3 loss to Vegas, while Thatcher Demko (knee) remains unavailable. That leaves Arturs Silovs, who has just six games worth of NHL experience, as the projected goaltender. On the plus side, the Canucks are playing the lowly Coyotes, so at least Silovs would be getting a favorable assignment. The tired Devils have a much tougher adversary ahead of them in the Rangers.
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. NJD ($8,400): Shesterkin hasn't been as good as he was in years past, but he's still having a strong campaign with a 32-16-2 record, 2.64 GAA and .911 save percentage across 32 contests. Meanwhile, the Devils are going through a bit of a down stretch, dropping their last two games while scoring a combined five goals, and might be a bit easier to deal with than usual, given that they're in the second half of a back-to-back. Still, it is worth noting that this pick also speaks to limited options, and the reality that there are a number of strong offensive teams playing tonight, so your goaltending options are far from ideal.
Cam Talbot, LAK vs. SEA ($8,100): In terms of favorable matchups, Talbot is basically the best choice, given that the Kraken rank 29th offensively with just 2.62 goals per game. It helps that Talbot's having a good season overall with a 2.48 GAA and a .915 save percentage through 48 appearances.
VALUE PLAYS
Matthew Knies, TOR vs. TBL ($4,100): Knies' rookie campaign has gone through some rough patches, leaving him with 13 goals and 33 points through 72 contests. However, he's on a good stretch right now, recording at least a point in each of his last four contests, totaling a goal and five points in that span. He's got a solid shot at continuing that momentum tonight against the Lightning, who rank 22nd defensively with 3.26 goals allowed per game.
Josh Doan, ARI vs. VAN ($3,600): With the Coyotes' playoff hopes gone, Doan was recalled from AHL Tucson on March 24 to receive an early audition for the 2024-25 campaign. Based on his play so far, it's fair to believe he's going to make next year's team out of training camp. Doan has an incredible two goals and five points across three contests. As noted above, he'll be facing a tired Canucks team that will be sending out a relatively inexperienced goaltender in Silovs, so Doan is well-positioned add to continue his offensive production tonight.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Maple Leafs vs. Lightning
Auston Matthews (C - $10,400), Tyler Bertuzzi (W - $5,500), Max Domi (C - $4,800)
As noted above, you could also build your team around Kucherov (W - $10,200) or McDavid (C - $10,100) tonight. I ultimately shied away from McDavid because the Oilers will be up against Dallas, which ranks 11th defensively with 2.91 goals allowed per game. By contrast, Tampa Bay has struggled defensively this year, ranking 22nd while surrendering 3.26 goals per contest, so that's part of the motivation for taking the Leafs' top line. Meanwhile, Toronto's a bit better than Tampa Bay by that metric (3.09 goals allowed per game), and the Leafs have the benefit of playing at home.
Playing in Toronto increases Matthews' appeal -- he's recorded 34 goals in 36 home games compared to 28 markers in 37 road contests. He's also seen some success against the Lightning this season, providing two goals and three points across two outings.
All three of those elite forwards are hot right now with Matthews specifically collecting seven goals and 16 points across his past eight contests, bringing him up to 62 goals and 98 points through 73 games.
One interesting thing that separates Toronto's top line from McDavid's or Kucherov's is the lack of another star forward. Tampa Bay's unit comes with Brayden Point (C - $9,300) while Edmonton's includes Zach Hyman (W - $9,300). Under normal circumstances, Matthews would be paired with Mitchell Marner, but the winger is unavailable due to an ankle injury, and the result is you have two cheaper options to go along with the league's top goal scorer.
The silver lining is Bertuzzi has provided great value recently, contributing seven goals and nine points over his past nine outings. Domi has done well too with seven assists over his last seven contests as well as three goals and 15 points across 19 outings this season. He's been a bit inconsistent, though, and he's listed as a center, so you could also consider upgrading by replacing Domi with William Nylander (W - $9,700), provided you can work it into your budget. Nylander has been amazing this campaign with 40 goals and 95 points across 74 outings. He's not expected to play alongside Matthews at even strength, but the duo should share the ice on the power play.
DEFENSEMEN
Quinn Hughes, VAN at ARI ($7,300): Hughes scored two goals Tuesday, bringing him up to three markers and 14 points over his past 13 outings. He's leading all blueliners this season in the scoring race with 84 points (15 goals) across 75 appearances.
Mattias Ekholm, EDM at DAL ($5,700): Dating back to March 19, Ekholm has been the league's most offensively productive defenseman with four goals and 13 points over his last eight games. His active hot spell has propelled him to nine goals and 41 points in 71 outings overall.
