There are 14 games in the NHL on Thursday with only Montreal and Washington playing the backend of back-to-back contests. The second team will be the home team. Starting with the earliest, the games are San Jose/Boston, Chicago/Detroit, Florida/Montreal, New Jersey/Philadelphia, Pittsburgh/Tampa Bay, Seattle/Toronto, the Islanders/Carolina, Minnesota/Nashville, Buffalo/St. Louis, Edmonton/Winnipeg, Colorado/Arizona, Dallas/Calgary, Washington/Anaheim and Vegas/Vancouver. Below, you’ll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Stuart Skinner, EDM at WPG ($26): Skinner’s stats are pretty bad as he is 7-7-1 with a 3.31 GAA and .876 save percentage this season, but he has won three straight games, giving up six goals on 75 shots. You get a great salary with Skinner on Thursday as he goes for his fourth straight win.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Antti Raanta, CAR vs. NYI ($27): Raanta is 6-3-0 with a 3.47 GAA and .854 save percentage after coming off one of the worst games an NHL goaltender has had. Raanta made six saves and gave up eight goals against Tampa Bay on Friday for a .429 save percentage. He will try and make amends after sitting out the last two games, against the Islanders.
CENTER
Connor McDavid, EDM at WPG ($37): There is no hotter player in the NHL right now than McDavid, who has 12 points in his last three games. McDavid was injured Oct. 21 and missed a couple of games, but was still hurting as he managed only two assists in the next six contests. He’s now back to being the best player in the game as he is on a five-game point streak. McDavid had two assists in his only game against the Jets earlier in the season.
CENTER TO AVOID
William Karlsson, VGK at VAN ($20): Karlsson got off to a great start this season and has 10 goals and 21 points in 23 games, but he has only one point in his last five games, as he has really slowed down. He had two assists in three games versus the Canucks last season.
WING
Alex Tuch, BUF at STL ($23): Tuch is on a three-game scoring binge in which he has three goals and five points. The 27-year-old has eight goals and 16 points in 19 games and is seeing action on the top line, as well as the first power-play unit this season. Tuch has flourished since his trade to Buffalo from Vegas, scoring 54 goals and 133 points in 143 contests.
Tyler Toffoli, NJ at PHI ($23): Toffoli has picked up right where he left off last season as the talented winger has 11 goals and 19 points in 20 games. He had a career-year in 2022-23,…