The NHL schedules opens back up with eight games Thursday night, and over half of the league’s teams hitting the ice. Most of the teams in action are battling for wins to secure their place in the standings towards the Stanley Cup playoffs, while a few teams are well out of contention and are just playing out the season (Arizona, Toronto, Dallas). When going through the games to build teams for daily fantasy hockey lineups, there are a lot of great players to target at Center and the Wings, while it gets trickier to select your Goaltender and Defensemen. In this article we’ll dive into stats and analysis, and piece together the puzzle for winning DFS hockey contests tonight.

Top Teams to Target Thursday for Daily Fantasy Hockey

Tampa Bay Lightning – The Lightning are big favorites tonight against the struggling Maple Leafs, and they are the one team that stands out above the pack in daily fantasy hockey. The Lightning are the top team in the NHL for goals, and they have two strong lines that can score. You’ll want to get three Lightning players in your cash game lineups, and potentially split them between the top two lines. For tournaments, either of those lines could be stacked together, along with any of their top defensemen - Victor Hedman, Anthon Stralman, Jason Garrison.

Recommended Plays for FanDuel

TOP LEFT WINGER PLAYS

Daniel Sedin ($6,200) – Sedin has been a very consistent scorer this year, recording points in most of his games this season. He’s picked up the pace lately as well with 10 points in his past eight games. The Coyotes’ defensive struggles are well documented (more on that above) and the Canucks are favored to score at least three goals this evening. They are also mostly a one-line team offensively, so if they do score there is a high probability that Sedin and his linemates will be involved in the scoring.

Marcus Johansson ($4,000) – Johansson is now on the Capitals’ top line, along with the top powerplay unit, and he is a major bargain considering that and getting a lot of chances to produce offensively. He’s scored in each of the past two games, and using him in your lineups is a great way to get cheap exposure to the Caps’ explosive top line.

TOP CENTER PLAYS

Steven Stamkos ($8,400) – Stamkos is a near must-play on Thursday night and should be the first player you put into your cash game lineup. He’s scored eight goals in his past nine games, and is firing a high pace of shots as well. The Lightning face the Leafs tonight at home, and Toronto has lost 16 of their past 17 road games. Use Stamkos in all game formats tonight, he is worth his high price.