Below are game breakdowns and Optimal Lineups for Thursday's three-game NHL DFS slate. 

CBJ @ BUF

All three games tonight have clear favorites, but the Jackets are the only favorite playing on the road, so they have the lowest implied goal total among the three favorites. But of those three favorites Columbus arguably has the best matchup from a fantasy perspective. Only Carolina has worse goaltending among the teams in action tonight (assuming Robin Lehner starts for Buffalo), but Carolina is a heavy shot suppression team, while the Sabres allow shot attempts at a slightly above average rate.

You’ll want cash exposure to the Jackets, and Artemi Panarin is their most productive skater/ He’s a bit overpriced though on both sites, so there’s no need to roster him in GPPs. The best option to stack with him would probably be on the blue line as both Zach Werenski and Seth Jones join Panarin on the top PP unit and generally play with his line at even strength.

Value options for the Jackets are Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand on FD. Jenner plays on the second line and second PP unit, and Bjorkstrand leads the team in primary points per 60, though he sees fewer minutes playing on the third line.

The Sabres don’t have a great matchup against Bobrovsky and the Jackets, but it’s not a prohibitive matchup, so they could be an option in GPPs. Mini-stacks like Jack Eichel/Kyle Okposo or Evander Kane/Jason Pominville are options as those pairs play together at even strength and on the PP.

In net the only option to consider is Bobrovsky in cash games. He’s the most expensive goalie on DK, but he’s a few hundred cheaper than the goalies of the other favored teams on FD< so he’s most appealing there.

CAR @ WAS

Washington is the second biggest favorite of the day at -155. As mentioned above, the Canes heavily suppress shots, which mitigates their bad goaltending and keeps them from being an excellent matchup for opposing skates. That said, they’re still an above average matchup for the Caps. But the Canes also have a good matchup in my estimation based on the Caps allowing the most shot attempts per 60 at even strength among teams on this slate. And the fact that Braden Holtby has been good but not elite this season makes Carolina a viable play. They’re by far the underdog from which I’m most likely to roster skaters.

For the Caps Ovechkin is unsurprisingly the guy you have to go with in cash games. Relative to production, he’s a better value than Nicklas Backstrom on both sites. Kuznetsov and Oshie also have some appeal because they play on the top PP unit with Ovi/Back, but they’re split up on the second and third lines and not playing with great linemates. Of the two, Oshie has more value appeal. John Carlson is a good option on the blue line, but he’s a bit overpriced on both sites. He’s priced better on FD than DK.

As for the Canes, their top line of Aho, Staal and Lindholm  is a good GPP option tonight given that they’re a road dog but with a better matchup than Vegas is giving them credit for. That entire line stays together on the top PP unit as well. They’re priced better collectively on DK, but you should be able to fit them in just fine on FD as well. They’re joined on the top PP unit by D-man Justin Faulk who has long stretches of point-less games this season but who has the ability to bust out a multi-point game at any time. He’s a bit underpriced on both sites, so he’s in play.

Carolina also offers plenty of value options that can be used in GPPs or as salary relief in cash. Jeff Skinner and Justin Williams (who do not play on the same line but do play together on the second PP unit) are both priced very well on both sites. Defensemen Noah Hanifin who plays on the second PP unit is priced well on FD.

Don’t go anywhere near Carolina’s awful goaltending, but Braden Holtby is in play. Lean towards the slightly cheaper Bobrovsky on FD in cash, but Holtby is $100 cheaper on DK. If you need the extra hundo, you can go down from Bob to Holtby there. Holtby is a GPP option tonight as the Canes are an above average fantasy matchup for opposing goalies. The fact that the Caps allow the most shot attempts among teams on this slate also adds to Holtby’s upside.

CGY @ TB

Tampa Bay is the biggest favorite of the night at -205. From a pure fantasy perspective, I like their matchup with the Flames the least among the three favorites, but you still have to have cash exposure to them due to Vegas. In GPPs though, they could be avoided, especially their popular, expensive studs. As for the Flames, they have the one matchup among the six teams in action tonight that makes them a stay away so long as Andrei Vasilevskiy starts in net for the Bolts. If he doesn’t you’ll see an update to this write-up posted later today.

If you’re going to pay for one of Tampa’s studs, go with Kucherov, but the second line could be the better option tonight. The Flames second line is a much better possession trio than Calgary’s top line. Calgary’s top line can score, but they’re also much more likely to be scored on that the second line. Tampa tends to let Brayden Point’s second line face opposing top lines in home games, while Stamkos’ line tends to get opposing second lines, which makes for a tough matchup for Stamkos and Co. in this case.

Both Point and winger Ondrej Palat are playing on the top PP unit right now and are both priced well on FD, while Palat is closer to reasonably priced on DK. The other member of the line, Tyler Johnson, is coming off a hat trick and he has been on fire since mid-December when he was moved into the top six. On the blue line, Mikhail Sergachev continues to be underpriced on FD. He plays with Point’s line a lot at even, and he plays on the second PP unit. Dan Girardi should also return to the lineup tonight, and he’s a salary relief option on both sites.

In net, Vasilevskiy is a cash option, though you’re likely going to want to go with a cheaper option on FD, and Bobrovsky, who is $100 cheaper on DK, is slightly more appealing. Mike Smith for the Flames makes for an interesting GPP option. He’s nice and cheap on both sites, especially on DK, and he has a ton of upside in his matchup.