There are 15 games on tap Thursday, as only Calgary and the New York Islanders are not in action. There are two games one tired team as Montreal, off a 4-2 loss to the Islanders, host Boston, while San Jose, 3-1 losers in Calgary, are in Edmonton. St. Louis and Dallas play the second game in back-to-back nights after the Stars defeated the Blues 5-2 on Wednesday. Ottawa plays in Buffalo, Pittsburgh finishes its season in Columbus, Florida hosts Carolina, Toronto travels to New York to play the Rangers, Detroit is in Tampa Bay, New Jersey goes into Washington, Nashville is home to Minnesota, Philadelphia completes its season in Chicago, Winnipeg plays in Colorado, LA travel across town to play in Anaheim, Arizona hosts Vancouver and Vegas plays in Seattle. Below, you’ll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Frederik Andersen, CAR at FLA ($27): The Hurricanes need to win in order to remain in first place in the Metropolitan Division as they are only a point ahead of New Jersey with the Devils holding the tiebreaker. Andersen has lost his last two starts — both on the road – giving up five goals on 54 shots. Overall, the 33-year-old netminder is 20-11-1 with a 2.43 GAA and .904 save percentage this season. A Florida win would set up a first-round matchup with the top seed in the Metropolitan, while a Florida loss would force the Panthers to face Boston. Carolina is the second-best defensive team in the NHL, giving up only 2.54 goals per game, boding well for an Andersen victory.
GOALIE TO AVOID
James Reimer, SJ at EDM ($20): Reimer has given up six goals in each of his last two starts, including Saturday versus the Oilers. Reimer is 12-20-8 with a 3.44 GAA and .891 save percentage, not exactly inspiring stats when facing the best offensive team in the NHL. Reimer is 0-1-1 this season against the Oilers, giving up 11 goals on 87 shots.
CENTER
Elias Pettersson, VAN at ARI ($31): It has been a career year for Pettersson, who surpassed the 100-point mark Tuesday with a pair of helpers. He previous best was 68 points set last season. Pettersson has 38 goals and 63 assists with 256 shots on goal, all career highs. He has been strong against the Coyotes with a goal and three assists in two games this season.
CENTER TO AVOID
Patrice Bergeron, BOS at MON ($27): The Bruins have been resting their 37-year-old captain a lot of late, as he has missed four of the last nine games. Don’t be surprised if he is a healthy scratch once again. Should he play, Bergeron has only one assist in his last five contests, giving him 27 goals and 58 points in 77 games. It has been his worst offensive output since the 2016-17 season when he garnered 21 goals and 32 assists in 79 games.
WING
Tim Stutzle, OTT at BUF ($24): Stutzle has been scoring of late, picking up a goal and three assists in his last two games. Overall, the 21-year star has 38 goals and 88 points in 77 games, both easily career highs. He has also managed a career high 227 shots on goal.
Viktor Arvidsson, LA at ANA ($19): Arvidsson has 26 goals and 56 points on a very good LA team. He has been outstanding with the man advantage, potting 10 goals while adding 13 assists, by far his best performance on the power play in his nine-year NHL career. He has three goals in two games versus the Ducks in 2022-23.
WINGS TO AVOID
Brad Marchand, BOS at MON ($29): The Bruins could also rest Marchand on Thursday, so do not be caught by surprise. Marchand is coming off a three-point effort versus the Capitals on Tuesday, but he had previously gone seven games without a point. Marchand has 21 goals and 66 points in 72 games this season, his worst stats since the 2015-16 campaign, when he managed 61 points in 77 contests. There are better options considering his salary.
Martin Necas, CAR at FLA ($21): Necas has a goal and two assists in his last nine games as he has been struggling. The 24-year-old is having the best season in his young career with 28 goals and 71 points in 81 games, but he has really slowed down of late.
DEFENSE
Quinn Hughes, VAN at ARI ($20): Hughes is having a marvelous campaign with seven goals and 66 points in 73 games. He is expected to receive some consideration as the NHL’s top defenseman this season. Hughes has been great on the power play with two tallies and 31 assists. He has two assists in a pair of contests against the Coyotes this season.
Brandon Montour, FLA vs. CAR ($24): Montour has been the Panthers’ top offensive defenseman this season with 16 goals and 73 points, smashing his career best set last season of 11 goals and 37 points. He is on a seven-game point streak, scoring three times while adding nine helpers. Montour has been especially strong since the beginning of March with six tallies and 19 assists in 19 games, including eight multi-point contests. He has three assists in two games versus Carolina this season.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Dougie Hamilton, NJ at WAS ($26): Hamilton has been battling an illness of late, but has not missed a game. He has 21 goals and 73 points in 81 games but has gone pointless in his last three contests. Whether or not the illness has been affecting his game of late, don’t take a chance and look elsewhere if you need a high-priced blueliner.
John Klingberg, MIN at NAS ($17): Klingberg has been okay since coming over from Anaheim at the trade deadline. He has two goals and nine points in 16 games with the Wild, after picking up eight goals and 16 assists in 50 games with the Ducks. He has played well with the man advantage, scoring once and adding three assists in Minnesota. He did not pick up a point in his lone game versus Nashville this season.
