This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
We're going into the final night of NHL action before the Olympic break. There are seven games on the docket, with five of them starting at 7 p.m. ET (Pittsburgh at Buffalo, the Islanders at New Jersey, the Rangers hosting Carolina, Ottawa at Philadelphia, Nashville at Washington), followed by a game at 7:30 p.m. (Florida at Tampa Bay) and 10 p.m. (Los Angeles at Vegas).
SLATE PREVIEW
Nashville, Florida, Los Angeles and Vegas all played Wednesday, so they're playing on the second half of a back-to-back, which might cause fatigue to hinder those squads. That matters less in the case of the Kings and Golden Knights, given that they're playing each other, but Nashville and Florida are on the road against Washington and Tampa Bay, respectively. The Lightning (minus-188) and Capitals (minus-182) are considered significant favorites against the Panthers (plus-155) and Predators (plus-150), respectively, per the FanDuel moneyline.
GOALIES
Brandon Bussi, CAR at NYR ($8,000): Bussi has won his past six games while stopping 124 of 136 shots (.912 save percentage). The Rangers have a 3-12-2 record across their past 17 games, and they traded star forward Artemi Panarin to Los Angeles on Wednesday, so this is a very favorable matchup for Carolina.
Linus Ullmark, OTT at PHI ($7,700): Ullmark rejoined the Senators on Sunday after missing time for personal reasons. He's been strong since returning, winning his past two starts while stopping 40 of 43 shots (.930 save percentage). The Flyers are 3-8-3 over their past 14 games.
VALUE PLAYS
Yegor Chinakhov, PIT at BUF ($5,000): Chinakhov has found the back of the net in each of his past two outings, which brings him up to five goals and seven points over his last seven appearances. It helps that he's serving in a top-six role alongside Evgeni Malkin ($7,000).
Jack Quinn, BUF vs. PIT ($4,900): Quinn has been fantastic recently, supplying two goals and 11 points across his past 10 appearances. The 24-year-old is up to 36 points in 56 outings this campaign, which puts him within striking distance of his 39-point career high from the 2024-25 regular season.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Lightning vs. Panthers
Nikita Kucherov (W - $8,500), Brandon Hagel (W - $7,400), Jake Guentzel (W - $7,000)
It's awkward that this line doesn't include a forward with center eligibility, but I have to highlight Kucherov, who has an unreal 16 points (four goals) in his past five outings, including back-to-back four-point games. He's also on a nine-game scoring streak (six goals, 17 assists) and has been held off the scoresheet just once in his past 20 outings (16 goals, 32 assists).
He's the star of this line, but Guentzel has 25 goals and 59 points in 54 outings this season, while Hagel has 26 goals and 53 points in 49 appearances in 2025-26, so all three members of this trio are fantastic.
Predators at Capitals
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $6,800), Steven Stamkos (W - $5,800), Luke Evangelista (W - $5,200)
Last year, the Lightning looked smart for moving on from Stamkos when they did. This season, it's not quite so clear-cut. Stamkos isn't reliving his glory dreams, but his 28 goals and 44 points through 56 outings in 2025-26 are nothing to sneeze at, and it already puts him one goal ahead of his total from the 2024-25 regular season. Stamkos also seems to be improving as the campaign goes on, collecting seven goals and 11 points across his past seven outings.
O'Reilly is heating up as well, supplying two goals and five points over his past two outings. He's up to 20 goals and 56 points in 56 outings in 2025-26. Evangelista rounds out the unit with eight goals and 42 points in 55 appearances this season, including a goal and four points over his past two games.
DEFENSEMEN
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF vs. PIT ($6,900): Dahlin is on a six-game scoring streak in which he's collected four goals and 11 points. He's up to 11 goals and 47 points, including 16 with the man advantage, in 52 outings in 2025-26.
Jake Sanderson, OTT at PHI ($6,400): Sanderson has been held off the scoresheet just once in his past four outings, providing a goal and five points over that stretch. He now has 11 goals and 46 points in 56 appearances this season. At this rate, he'll surpass his career high of 57 points in 80 regular-season outings from 2024-25.
