This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.

There are a whopping 11 games tonight, but only one contest takes place after 8:30 p.m. ET – the only exception being the Flyers in Seattle, which starts at 10 a.m. Even if you’re on the East Coast, you should have a pretty good idea of ​​how your lineup performs before you head in for the evening. Here are my FanDuel picks for the upcoming promotion.

SLATE PREVIEW

Buffalo and Los Angeles both play back-to-back second periods, so fatigue could be a factor. This is especially true for the Kings, who are preparing for their third away game in four days and their fifth away contest in a row to start the season. In addition to Thursday’s game against Chicago, San Jose will play in Winnipeg on Friday, which could influence the Sharks’ lineup decisions.

GOALKEEPER

Jake OettingerDAL at WAS ($8,000): Oettinger left something to be desired in the 2023-24 season with a 2.72 GAA and .905 save percentage in 54 regular-season contests, but this looks to be a rebound campaign for him. He certainly couldn’t have asked for a better start – the 25-year-old goaltender has a 3-0-0 record, a 1.63 GAA and a .948 save percentage in three starts. Washington is a solid opponent, but I still like Oettinger when he’s this hot.

Devon LeviBUF at CLM ($7,800): Levi struggled at the NHL level last season with a 10-8-2 record, a 3.10 GAA and an .899 save percentage in 23 games with Buffalo. However, the 22-year-old shows promise and is off to a solid start to the 2024-25 season, stopping 57 of 62 shots (.919 shooting percentage) in two games. I would still be hesitant to start him against a strong opponent at this point, but Levi has a good chance of coming out on top against the resurgent Blue Jackets.

Andrei VasilevskiyTBL vs VGK ($7,700): Vasilevskiy had a fantastic performance from the start, stopping 46 of 48 shots (.958 percent) en route to the win in his first two starts. Vegas is certainly a tough opponent, but the Golden Knights on the road make things easier. Vegas was a far better home team than the away team in the 2023-24 regular season, going 27-12-2 at home compared to 18-17-6 away.

VALUE GAMES

Jordan EberleSEA vs PHI ($5,000): Eberle got off to a fantastic start, contributing three goals and four points in four games this season. He’ll have his cold streaks too – he finished the 2023-24 regular season with 17 points and 44 points in 78 contests – but Eberle is a solid option while he’s hot.

Stefan NoesenNJD at OTT ($4,700): Speaking of above-average striker performance right from the start: Noesen has already collected two goals and six points in six games. Interestingly, as a member of the top power play unit, he averages 2:38 of ice time on the man advantage, which is a significant task for him, but so far he only has one power play point. Noesen isn’t expected to put up big numbers this season, but he should start putting up some power play points if he stays on the first unit.

Jason SugarBUF at CLM ($4,400): Zucker remained on the scoresheet in the first three games of the 2024-25 season, but turned things around with three assists in his last two appearances. He’s in a good position to continue that streak against the resurgent Blue Jackets, who rank 23rd defensively with 3.67 goals allowed per game.

FORWARD LINE STACKS

Rangers at Red Wings

Vincent Trocheck (C – $8,000), Artemi Panarin (W – $8,800), Alexis Lafreniere (W – $6,600)

Panarin set career highs with 49 goals and 120 points in 82 games during the 2023-24 regular season. Considering how he has performed early this year, he could reach a similar level of production in 2024-25. He has already scored two goals and seven points in the Rangers’ first three games this season. Panarin is expected to play alongside Lafreniere, who has performed well so far, opening the season with a three-game points streak in which he has scored two goals and four points.

It was comparatively quiet at Trocheck, but one goal and two points in three games is no reason to complain. After finishing the 2023-24 regular season with 25 goals and 77 points in 82 appearances, he will likely have another strong season.

Senators against devils

Tim Stützle (C – $7,700), Brady Tkachuk (W – $8,300), Claude Giroux (W – $6,300)

New Jersey acquired Jacob Markstrom over the summer in hopes that he would stabilize the goaltending situation, but so far he hasn’t been the hero the Devils needed, with a mediocre 2-2-0 record, a 2.78 GAA and a .904 save percentage four starts. If he gets the starting nod tonight, it will be another difficult task because the Senators’ top line is red hot.

Stützle led the team with three goals and six points in three games. He set a career high with 39 goals and 90 points in 78 games in the 2022-23 season before regressing in the 2023-24 season with 18 goals and 70 points in 75 appearances. However, the 22-year-old is an incredible striker and it is entirely plausible that he will reach the 40-goal and 100-point mark for the first time this season.

Playing next to Tkachuk helps. The 25-year-old finished the 2023-24 season with 37 goals and 74 points in 81 appearances and is off to a strong start this year with five helpers in three appearances. In contrast, Giroux didn’t get on the scoresheet in Ottawa’s first two games, but he did score a power-play goal in the Senators’ last game, so perhaps that’s what’s getting the 36-year-old forward going.

DEFENDER

Seth JonesCHI vs. SJS ($6,600): Jones has already scored one goal and five points in four appearances this season, including three points on the man advantage. Chicago has not performed well offensively this year, ranking 29th with 2.25 goals per game. So we’ll see if Jones can keep up. At least he’s a good option tonight considering the Blackhawks are facing the weak Sharks.

Jake SandersonOTT vs NJD ($6,100): Sanderson scored 10 goals and 38 points in 79 games in 2023-24. The 22-year-old defender has the chance to take a step forward in terms of performance this year. He’s off to a strong start with a goal and three points in three games, with all of his offense coming from the power play.

Mike MathesonMON vs LAK ($5,500): Matheson collected three assists in four games during the 2024-25 season. He’s a low-cost option after contributing 11 goals and 62 points in 82 games last season. As in the 2023-24 season, Montreal is relying heavily on him this year – he has averaged 25:49 of ice time so far in 2024-25, including 4:44 with the man advantage.

The authors of this article may participate in daily fantasy contests, including but not limited to games on which they have provided recommendations or advice in this article. When playing these games with their personal accounts, it is possible that they may use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations given above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Ryan Dadoun participates in daily fantasy contests on the following accounts: FanDuel: Terakai, DraftKings: BTerran, Yahoo: Ryan-SPJ9H.