This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The NHL will be taking off American Thanksgiving, but before that, they have 15 games scheduled for tonight. That's a ton of players to sift through, so let's discuss who I think your best options are for FanDuel lineups.
SLATE PREVIEW
The natural result of this many games is a fair number of players whose status is undetermined going into tonight's action. One of the biggest unknowns is Auston Matthews, who hasn't played since November 3rd due to an upper-body injury. He skated between William Nylander and Pontus Holmberg during Tuesday's practice and might be available to face the Panthers on Wednesday. At $7,600, the elite goal-scorer is being offered at a tempting price, but be very careful and monitor his status. I'm not recommending him below because of his injury, but if he has been cleared by the time you build your lineup, he is worthy of serious consideration.
GOALIES
Jake Oettinger, DAL at CHI ($8,500): Oettinger is having a fantastic campaign with an 11-4-0 record, 2.43 GAA and .912 save percentage in 15 appearances in 2024-25. He did have a rough time against Carolina on Monday, allowing five goals on 33 shots, but Chicago ranks 31st offensively with 2.33 goals per game, so this is a good opportunity for him to rebound.
Joey Daccord, SEA vs. ANA ($8,300): Daccord has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his past six appearances and has been phenomenal throughout the campaign with a 10-4-1 record, 2.28 GAA and .922 save percentage across 15 outings. He turned aside 21 out of 23 shots en route to a 3-2 victory over the Ducks on Monday. It wouldn't be surprising to see a similar result tonight. Anaheim ranks 27th offensively with 2.50 goals per game.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at LAK ($8,000): Hellebuyck had a rough patch from November 12th to November 19th, surrendering 11 goals on 90 shots (.878 save percentage) across three starts. He's put that behind him by saving 60 out of 62 shots (.968 save percentage) over his past two appearances. He's been one of the league's top goaltenders with a 15-2- record, 2.06 GAA and .929 save percentage in 17 outings. Although L.A. isn't the easiest of opponents – the Kings are 11-8-3 and rank 17th offensively with 2.95 goals per game – Hellebuyck still is hard to pass up.
Ilya Sorokin, NYI vs. BOS ($7,500): When it comes to affordable goaltenders, Sorokin is very interesting. The Islanders have a middling 8-9-5 record, so that's the downside, but Sorokin has held his own with a 5-5-3 record, 2.52 GAA and .917 save percentage in 13 appearances. Although we're used to Boston being a difficult adversary, that hasn't been true this year. The Bruins are dead last offensively with 2.22 goals per game and have managed just three markers over their past three contests. On top of that, Boston is playing on the road and in the second half of a back-to-back, so everything is stacked in Sorokin's favor tonight.
VALUE PLAYS
Connor Zary, CAL at DET ($4,900): Zary is going into tonight's action on a three-game scoring streak, collecting a goal and two assists, both on the power play, over that span. He's been merely okay thus far with four goals and 11 points across 22 outings this season, but Zary is a solid option while hot.
Yegor Sharangovich, CAL at DET ($4,700): Although Sharangovich set career highs in 2023-24 with 31 goals and 59 points in 82 outings, he missed the start of this campaign due to a lower-body injury, which might have disrupted his early rhythm. Sharangovich was limited to two points (both goals) across his first 12 games of the season. However, he seems to have turned a corner, supplying three goals, including two on the power play, and an assist over his last three appearances.
Dmitri Voronkov, CLM vs. MON ($4,200): Like Sharangovich, Voronkov missed the start of the campaign due to injury and got off to a sluggish start once he was healthy. That appears to be behind the 24-year-old forward now, though. Voronkov has four goals and six points over his past five outings.
Brock Boeser, VAN at PIT ($3,000): Boeser missed seven games from November 9th to November 23rd due to an upper-body injury, but he's healthy now. He's coming off a 40-goal campaign and has done well this season with six goals and 11 points across 13 outings. He's also projected to serve on the first power-play unit tonight, which is rare to find for someone at this rock-bottom price point.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Elias Pettersson (C - $6,200), Jake DeBrusk (W - $5,200), Kiefer Sherwood (W - $4,700)
Pittsburgh ranks last defensively with 3.96 goals allowed per game. Tristan Jarry, who is slated to start for the Penguins on Wednesday, has a 4.41 GAA, so Canucks forwards are in a great position.
Pettersson will seek to take advantage of that. He had a quiet start to 2024-25 with two goals and five points across 12 outings but has rebounded by scoring four goals and 10 points over eight appearances. It seems we have the Pettersson we're used to back.
His linemates aren't nearly as impressive, but they're affordable and have done well recently. DeBrusk has three goals and four points across his past two appearances, bringing him up to six goals and 14 points over 20 outings this season. Meanwhile, Sherwood has three goals and five points over his past five games, which gives him six goals and 12 points in 20 appearances overall.
Hurricanes vs. Rangers
Sebastian Aho (C - $6,900), Seth Jarvis (W - $6,000), Martin Necas (W - $8,500)*
The asterisk is next to Necas because he's not on the top line with Aho – Jack Roslovic (W - $6,000) is. Necas will share the ice with Aho and Jarvis on the power play, though, and he's been a far better option than Roslovic this campaign.
Necas has a superb 12 goals and 35 points in 21 outings in 2024-25 and has shown no signs of slowing with three goals and nine points across his past five appearances. By contrast, Roslovic does have 12 goals, but just one assist, through 21 outings this year.
Aho has seven goals and 23 points in 21 appearances in 2024-25 and is coming off back-to-back multi-point efforts. Jarvis missed seven games from November 11th to November 23rd due to an upper-body injury. He returned Monday and supplied a goal and two assists to help Carolina in its 6-4 victory over Dallas.
In summary, if you can afford to take all three of Aho, Jarvis and Necas, you'll be employing a fantastic trio.
DEFENSEMEN
Zach Werenski, CLM vs. MON ($7,100): Werenski is one of the league's hottest defensemen, supplying an unreal 10 points, including three goals, over Columbus' past five games. He also ranks second among all blueliners in shots with 76, and he has blocked an impressive 19 shots over his last seven appearances. Being strong in those two categories gives him some extra value in FanDuel on top of his scoring production.
Roman Josi, NAS vs. PHI ($6,600): Josi has collected three goals and 10 points over his past nine outings, bringing him up to four goals and 17 points across 22 appearances this season. He'll be up against one of the weaker defensive teams in the Flyers, who are tied for 27th with 3.45 goals allowed per game.
Brandon Montour, SEA vs. ANA ($6,300): Montour has seven goals and 15 points in 21 appearances this season, putting him just one marker away from his 2023-24 total. He's never recorded more than 16 goals in a single campaign, but the blueliner is on a three-game goal-scoring streak. Montour is also a good source of shots, ranking fourth among defensemen this campaign with 69.
Jake Sanderson, OTT at SJS ($5,800): Sanderson is on a three-game scoring streak, providing four assists — two on the power play – in that span. The Sharks rank 26th defensively with 3.38 goals allowed per game, so Sanderson is in a good position to extend that run.
