NHL DFS Hot Shot for DraftKings and FanDuel (May 20)

This article focuses on 5/20 NHL Picks for both DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbooks and FanDuel and DraftKings Daily Fantasy. We analyze tournament tactics, statistics, pricing, and attempt to tackle this highly variable Daily Fantasy format so that we can gain an edge on the field at large. Full goal-scoring odds and rankings for each position for both sites are available below.

Thursday 5/20 NHL Slate and DFS Gameplan

Welcome back to the Hot Shot as we return for our second playoff edition. It’s a Thursday in May, featuring a trifecta of series dead even after two games, as well as a game one North of the border.

Notable Goal Scoring Odds

Note: All odds are listed +300 or below. All odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, as of the time of writing.

Main Slate – Games in Time Order

Florida Panthers (+128) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-148) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total – Nikita Kucherov (+125), Brayden Point (+163), Steven Stamkos (+180), Ondrej Palát (+188), Aleksander Barkov (+190), Carter Verhaeghe (+205), Alex Killorn (+235), Jonathan Huberdeau (+225), Anthony Cirelli (+245), Yanni Gourde (+245), Patric Hörnqvist (+265), Sam Bennett (+295), Alex Barre-Boulet (+300), Victor Hedman (+300)

Finally healthy, the defending champion Lightning is busy chewing bubblegum and kicking ass right now and get to take this series back home. That means trouble for the Panthers in what is a virtual elimination game for them here facing a 0-2 series deficit.

Pittsburgh Penguins (-106) at New York Islanders (-110) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total – Jake Guentzel (+155), Sidney Crosby (+163), Brock Nelson (+215), Bryan Rust (+220), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (+225), Kyle Palmieri (+225), Evgeni Malkin (+230), Mathew Barzal (+240), Anthony Beauvillier (+250), Jordan Eberle (+250), Jeff Carter (+265)

I’m going to try to put personal feelings aside here. After two extremely close games, this series now travels to Nassau Coliseum. You wouldn’t know it from the first game, but the goaltending has been spectacular. That is why I am hesitant to really attack either side of this matchup. That being said, with some of the marksmen involved, a shutout is unlikely, thus also limiting goalie upside.

Later Games

Montreal Canadiens (+170) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-200) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total – Auston Matthews (-132), Tyler Toffoli (+150), Mitch Marner (+175), Zach Hyman (+185), William Nylander (+185), John Tavares (+185), Brendan Gallagher (+205), Nick Foligno (+250), Josh Anderson (+260), Alex Galchenyuk (+265), Cole Caufield (+270), Nick Suzuki (+285), Tomas Tatar (+285), Wayne Simmonds (+300)

As mentioned earlier, this is the only game one of the night as all of the other featured series have had a pair so far. Toronto comes in heavy favorites understandably. I was sort of surprised not to see this total at six as of the time of writing. Either way, the Leafs are far and away the heaviest favorite tonight. Auston Matthews should easily have the highest ownership of any skater on the slate on both sites and in all formats.

Las Vegas Golden Knights (-112) at Minnesota Wild (-105) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total – Max Pacioretty (+150), Kirill Kaprizov (+163), Jonathan Marchessault (+180), Alex Tuch (+180), Mark Stone (+195), Kevin Fiala (+200), William Karlsson (+240), Reilly Smith (+265), Tomas Nosek (+265), Joel Eriksson Ek (+285), Mats Zuccarello (+300), Chandler Stephenson (+300)

Much like the Penguins/Islanders series, this has been another one with a pair of close games so far to open things up. Headed to Minnesota, the Golden Knights come in much smaller money line favorites than for the previous two games.

5/20 NHL FanDuel Rankings

Centers

1. Auston Matthews – Toronto – $8,800
2. Sam Bennett – Florida – $4,500
3. Aleksander Barkov – Florida – $7,800
4. John Tavares – Toronto – $7,100
5. Brayden Point – Tampa Bay – $7,700

Wingers

1. Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay – $8,300
2. Max Pacioretty – Las Vegas – $7,800 – GTD
3. Alex Tuch – Las Vegas – $4,500
4. Zach Hyman – Toronto – $4,700
5. Blake Coleman – Tampa Bay – $4,300
6. William Nylander – Toronto – $5,800
7. Mitchell Marner – Toronto – $7,600
8. Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay – $7,600
9. Jonathan Huberdeau – Florida – $7,500
10. Jeff Carter – Pittsburgh – $5,200

Defense

1. Alex Pietrangelo – Las Vegas – $6,700
2. Alec Martinez – Las Vegas – $4,800
3. Mackenzie Weegar – Florida – $4,300
4. Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay – $6,500
5. Gustav Forsling – Florida – $3,500

Goalies

1. Marc-Andre Fleury – Las Vegas – $8,400
2. Jack Campbell – Toronto – $8,100

5/20 NHL DraftKings Rankings

Centers

1. Auston Matthews – Toronto – $9,200
2. Sam Bennett – Florida – $5,400
3. Brayden Point – Tampa Bay – $6,600
4. Aleksander Barkov – Florida – $8,000
5. Jeff Carter – Pittsburgh – $5,000

Wingers

1. Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay – $8,300
2. Alex Tuch – Las Vegas – $4,500
3. Max Pacioretty – Las Vegas – $7,300 – GTD
4. Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay – $6,400
5. Zach Hyman – Toronto – $5,500
6. William Nylander – Toronto – $5,400
7. Kirill Kaprizov – Minnesota – $6,600
8. Jonathan Huberdeau – Florida – $6,800
9. Blake Coleman – Tampa Bay – $3,900
10. Mitchell Marner – Toronto – $7,600
11. Jonathan Marchessault – Las Vegas – $6,200

Defense

1. Alex Pietrangelo – Las Vegas – $6,400
2. Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay – $6,300
3. Alec Martinez – Las Vegas – $5,500
4. Justin Holl – Toronto – $3,400
5. Noah Dobson – New York Islanders – $3,200

Goalies

1. Marc-Andre Fleury – Las Vegas – $8,100
2. Jack Campbell – Toronto – $8,400

Cash Considerations “DraftKings”

Auston Matthews, Marc Andre-Fleury/Jack Campbell, Alex Tuch, Blake Coleman, Alex Pietrangelo, Justin Holl, Noah Dobson

Cash Considerations “FanDuel”

Auston Matthews, Marc Andre-Fleury/Jack Campbell, Alex Tuch, Zach Hyman, Blake Coleman, Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez

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 look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/