Thursday offers us an action-packed 10-game slate, featuring four games with playoff-bound teams looking to keep or elevate their positioning over each other within the division. As the 2020-21 NHL regular season winds down, expect the intensity to pick up and the more talented teams to bury pucks in the back of nets, leading to massive production on all three lines. I’ll be targeting some of the lower-salaried options, including second and third-line skaters, who can provide a safe floor with the potential for huge upside.
Let’s take a look at a few players who will produce in your lineups without having to spend your full salary, leaving room for you to roster higher-tier skaters to cash out during Thursday’s massive 10-game slate.
Check out today’s Breakaway NHL contest from FanDuel 
Center
Nico Hischier (NJ): $4,700 vs. PHI
The 22-year old centers New Jersey’s second line and is heading into his third-straight game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Hischier lit the lamp during a power play in the first period of Tuesday’s 6-4 win over Brian Elliott and the Flyers, marking back-to-back games with a point for the young Swiss center. The Flyers are expected to roll Elliott back out tonight, making this matchup too prime to pass up. The 36-year old goaltender has a 2.98 GAA and .982 SV% across 22 starts this season. That means Hischier should have plenty of chances to extend his point streak to three games, and he makes a great value addition to your lineups tonight.
Wing
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM): $5,600 vs. CGY
Coming off of a multi-point outing against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a fantastic value play. The 28-year old skates on the second-line unit, benefiting from center Leon Draisaitl, who ranks as the top center across all second-line units in the league. Nugent-Hopkins has at least a point in three consecutive games, but he has a challenge in projected Calgary goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The netminder has allowed just two goals in three straight outings, but the Flames’ offense ranks sixth-worst in offensive scoring, earning just 2.67 goals per game. This translates into increased opportunity for Nugent-Hopkins and the Oilers in the offensive zone, making him a solid value in Thursday lineups.
Defense
Mikhail Sergachev (TB): $4,600 vs. DAL
The Lightning dominated the Blackhawks on offense in their previous win on Tuesday. They totaled seven goals, and Mikhail Sergachev set up two of them, earning a pair of assists. Despite skating on Tampa Bay’s third-line defensive unit, Sergachev earns additional minutes on the second power-play unit and saw increased minutes (24) in their win on Tuesday. While he is not a high-volume shooter, the 22-year old Russian makes up for it with blocked shots, logging two in his most recent performance. Sergachev is a great salary-saver who has an innate ability to set up goals, as he now has 26 assists in the year. Get him into your lineups against Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars.
Goalie
Braden Holtby (VAN): $7,100 at TOR
Rostering Braden Holtby against the best team in the North Division seems a bit suspect at first. However, Holtby posted over a .920 SV% and earned wins in his previous games against the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier last week. Toronto is a high-powered offensive team led by Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, so Holtby will probably face a flurry of shots and thus will rack up points in your lineup. It’s important to roster a goaltender that will earn a win while blocking a ton of shots, as Holtby faced 39 and 40 shots from the Maple Leafs in the Canucks’ last two wins. He is amongst the lowest-salaried options for goalie and has the potential to produce massive points to help cash your lineups by the end of Thursday night.
View daily consensus odds from all major sportsbooks for the NHL at BettingPros
Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
