Richard Masana 
It’s time for the second round of the NHL Playoffs! Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar should be chalk but we’re fading. That and more on the 5/17 NHL DFS slate below.
5/17 NHL Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay Lightning (+140) at Florida Panthers (-160) – 7 Projected Goal Total
St. Louis Blues (+180) at Colorado Avalanche (-225) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
5/17 NHL Favorite Lines Per Dollar
Top Line – Colorado Two ” Gabriel Landeskog ($5,800), Nazem Kadri ($5,900), Arturi Lehkonen ($3,000)“
With only two games, I think we have to be creative and really consider salary. While Colorado One will be more popular, I think this line is the better play. The ownership difference gives us some edge plus we save a lot of salary. You could always add a piece from Colorado One as a one-off if you want. However, I think with pricing and the Avs status as -225 money line favorites, their second line makes the most sense. Both Kadri and Landeskog give us bargain access to Colorado’s top power-play unit.
Secondary Line – Tampa Bay One “Steven Stamkos ($6,300), Nikita Kucherov ($6,900), Anthony Cirelli ($2,700)”
Going back to the well here as we save a bit from Florida One, who gets to face Vasilevskiy in the opposing net. With Brayden Point absent, Tampa will really need its two remaining attacking stars “Hedman is a star too albeit a defenseman” to step it up. I think you can leave Cirelli off unless you really need further savings, as he has done next to nothing.
Top Defender
Devon Toews – Colorado – $5,000 – Toews is on fire right now with double-digit DraftKings points in four of his last five games and kissing twenty points or over in his last three. However, his price remains unchanged. He strikes me as a no-brainer play tonight on this slate, easily the best defenseman point per dollar.
Top Goalie
Darcy Kuemper- Colorado – $8,400 – The chalk but Colorado is the only big favorite on a two-game slate so it is to be expected. That said, he is returning from a decent absence so he could be rusty. Either way, be sure to correlate your goalie with the skaters you’re playing since this is a two-game slate and all. You probably don’t want to stack St. Louis and play Kuemper, etc.
5/17 NHL Best Bet
Tampa Bay Lightning – (+140) – 1 Unit – DraftKings – I don’t trust him but Sergei Bobrovsky has played better in net lately and Vasilevskiy is Vasilevskiy. I think these teams start off with a chess match in South Florida. That said, that sort of game lends itself to the style of the underdog Lightning, who are still the champions until beaten.
Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Rich will be there answering questions all day and all night! Follow Rich on Twitter @JFan303 and be sure to be on the lookout for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/
