This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
There are four games in the NHL on Thursday. Montreal plays in Carolina, Vancouver hosts Philadelphia, a tired Vegas team travels across town to play LA, who hosted the Sharks on Wednesday and a tired San Jose team takes on Edmonton. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Thatcher Demko, VAN vs. PHI ($39): Demko had a tough 2022-23 campaign, but he has turned things around this season, going 17-7-1 with a 2.46 GAA and .917 save percentage. He has been a big reason why the Canucks are atop the Western Conference standings and tied with the New York Rangers for the top spot in the NHL with 49 points. Demko will face the Flyers, who are fifth in shots on goal in the NHL, averaging 32.9 per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Kaapo Kahkonen, SJ vs. EDM ($21): Kahkonen picked up Wednesday's start versus the Kings and is in line to start Thursday, if Mackenzie Blackwood (illness) is unable to go. Kahkonen is 5-9-1 with a 3.71 GAA and an .898 save percentage this season. Should Blackwood recover quickly and get the start, I would not start him either. The Oilers lead the NHL with 34.2 shots per game and are seventh in the league, averaging 3.45 goals per game.
CENTER
Connor McDavid, EDM at SJ ($38): McDavid has been outstanding of late with eight goals and 31 points in his last 15 games. He has been held off the scoresheet only once in the 15 contests. McDavid is tied for seventh in NHL scoring, but he is third overall in points per game, averaging 1.52 as he trails only Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon. He will face the Sharks who are the worst defensive team in the league, a recipe for a big game for number 97.
CENTER TO AVOID
William Karlsson, VGK at LA ($20): Karlsson has only a goal and two assists in his last six games. Karlsson is having a good season with 14 goals and 31 points in 36 games, but he will have a tough matchup versus Cam Talbot and the Kings in a battle of two of the top three teams in the Western Conference.
WING
Zach Hyman, EDM at SJ ($25): It's a great move to combine Hyman with linemate Connor McDavid on Thursday. Hyman has 19 goals and 31 points in 30 games, including 11 goals in his last 13 contests. Hyman had a career year in 2022-23, scoring 36 times while adding 47 assists and could be on his way to bettering, or at least equaling last season's totals.
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR vs. MON ($22): Svechnikov spent the end of last season recovering from knee surgery as he last played March 11. Recovery took seven-and-a-half months, forcing the 23-year-old to miss the first eight games of the 2023-24 season. He has a pair of goals and three assists in his last four games, giving him three goals and 14 points in 20 outings this season. He has come on of late and has shown why he was selected second overall in 2018. Svechnikov plays on the top unit as well as seeing first-line power-play time with the Hurricanes.
WINGS TO AVOID
Evander Kane, EDM at SJ ($21): Kane had a goal Friday in his last game before the Christmas break, snapping a five-game point drought. Kane has 13 goals and 23 points in 31 games this season, but most of his offense came earlier in the season as he has only two goals and an assist in his last 10 games.
Brock Boeser, VAN vs. PHI ($28): Boeser is the highest priced winger in Yahoo on Thursday, as he has 24 goals and 38 points in only 35 games. He is off to his best start in his seven-year NHL career, but a closer look at his stats show that he has only two goals (and no assists) in his last five games. Boeser was held off the scoresheet in his only game versus the Flyers earlier in the season. That, and his recent slump, is reason enough to pass over him Thursday.
DEFENSE
Evan Bouchard, EDM at SJ ($23): Bouchard has been held without a point in his last four games but he had a 13-game point-streak previous to that. You have to expect Bouchard will snap out of it quickly and Thursday's tilt versus San Jose looks like a great spot. Bouchard has eight goals and 32 points in 31 games, including 16 power-play points as he quarterbacks the Oilers vaunted No. 1 power play. Bouchard had a goal and three assists in four games last season versus the Sharks, and picked up an assist in his lone game this season against San Jose.
Brent Burns, CAR vs. MON ($16): Burns had a big outing Wednesday, picking up a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over Nashville. Burns has six goals and 16 points in 35 games this season. He was prolific versus the Canadiens last season, picking up three assists in three outings.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at LA ($22): Pietrangelo has failed to record a point in his last six games. He has a goal and 14 points in 30 games this season, his lowest points per game average since entering the league as a regular back during the 2010-11 campaign. Pietrangelo has five power-play assists as he continues to quarterback the top unit with Shea Theodore on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, but that could end soon.
Mikey Anderson, LA vs. VGK ($16): Anderson picked up an assist on the final Kings' goal Wednesday in a 5-1 win over San Jose, giving him four assists in his last 22 games. Anderson got off to a great start with a goal and six assists in his first nine games, but he has not been effective since Halloween as far as being an offensive threat is concerned.
