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These playoffs have been amazing so far! The playoffs rarely disappoint, and this year is no different. It’s great to have the full playoff atmosphere back in play, and it really does make the game completely different. Tonight, we have another four game playoff slate. One team is on the brink, and the others are pretty tight series so far. Let’s find the best NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Good luck!

Goalies

Darcy Kuemper – Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche have pushed the Predators to the brink of elimination, and it’s honestly hard to find any reason they can’t complete the sweep tonight. The Preds have just not brought any sort of fight to this series, and they are way, way outmatched. Expect the Preds to pull out all the stops tonight on home ice to try to send the series back to Colorado, creating a nice upside spot for Kuemper.

Jacob Markstrom – Calgary Flames: Markstrom has been a very solid goaltender all year, and that has continued into the playoffs. Expect him to have some upside tonight, and if he can stay solid, the Flames can definitely get a win tonight.

High Risk GPP Goalie Pick – Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars: Oettinger and his counterpart, Markstrom, have both been playing really well in this first series. Oettinger has some upside tonight, putting him in consideration for a high risk play. The Flames will be looking to rebound after a loss, and they very well could, but this series is far from over. He may not get the win, but he has been solid enough to run out tonight.

High Risk GPP Goalie Pick – Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers: The Rangers are on the road tonight against the Penguins, and they just got dominated the other night to the tune of 7-4. This play is the rebound play. We can hope for Igor to bounce back from that poor performance and be better tonight, all while facing a similar number of shots. The upside here is very nice, and if he does in fact rebound, he could be the top goalie on the slate.

Lines to Build Around

These NHL DFS lines are considered top plays for the night and can be considered the focal point of your builds. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).

Colorado Avalanche Power Play – Nathan MacKinnon/Nazem Kadri/Mikko Rantanen/Gabriel Landeskog/Cale Makar: The power play combo for the Avalanche has absolutely dominated this series so far. Expect nothing less tonight. This combination of players has a combined 26 points so far, in just three games in the series. You know that Cale Makar guy? He is very, very good, and he is leading the way with 7 points this series.

Pittsburgh Penguins 1 – Sidney Crosby/Jake Guentzel/Bryan Rust/Kris Letang: The top line for the Penguins has been very good so far this series, and that trend should continue. The top line leads the way for the Penguins in terms of points so far this series. Even though the majority of those points came in games 1 and 2, they are still in a very good spot tonight against the Rangers, especially with home ice. If they can dominate tonight, they can take a 3-1 lead in the series as it heads back to New York. Of course, if you choose Igor as your high risk goalie, don’t play these guys against him in the same lineup.

Florida Panthers 1 – Aleksander Barkov/Jonathan Huberdeau/Anthony Duclair/Aaron Ekblad: Despite trailing 2-1 in the series, these guys have been playing well. They have been contributing nicely to the cause, but they find themselves down in the series. Expect them to rebound tonight, and this should be the line to help them do that.

High Risk Lines

These are NHL DFS plays that carry significantly more risk, but could pay off at low ownership. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).

Dallas Stars 1 – Roope Hintz/Joe Pavelski/Jason Robertson/John Klingberg: The Stars have been better all year on home ice, and this top line has played well so far. The problem with this line, and this series, even, is that it has been brutally tight and low scoring. Because of that, we have to consider these guys risky, from a DFS standpoint.

Calgary Flames 1 – Elias Lindholm/Matthew Tkachuk/Johnny Gaudread/Rasmus Andersson: We can consider the top Flames’ line high risk for the same reasons as the Stars’ top line. Most of the scoring from this set of series has come from the other three games. However, if there is a time for a line to make a statement in the series, it could be tonight. With the Flames dropping their last game in the series, they will be looking to rebound, and they very well could tonight.

New York Rangers 2 – Ryan Strome/Artemi Panarin/Andrew Copp: The second line for the Rangers has contributed 7 of the 34 points that have been tallied by the Rangers so far this series. That isn’t a majority, but that’s enough to consider them for value. The top Ranger line is in play here too, so you can consider running a power play look.

Washington Capitals 3 – Lars Eller/Conor Sheary/Connor McMichael: This one is about opportunity more than it is about production. The Caps’ third line should be up against the opposing third line for a good bit of the night, which creates a really nice matchup for them.

NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: NSH3, WSHPP, NYR1, PIT2

Value Options – DraftKings

Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!

Center: Nicklas Backstrom ($3300) – Washington Capitals

Wing: Frank Vatrano ($4200) – New York Rangers

Defense: Christopher Tanev ($3100) – Calgary Flames

Value Options – FanDuel

Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!

Center: Nicklas Backstrom ($4900) – Washington Capitals

Wing: Kaapo Kakko ($4000) – New York Rangers

Defense: Jani Hakanpaa ($4000) – Dallas Stars

Cash Considerations – DraftKings and FanDuel

Consider these NHL DFS plays for your cash lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. Cash lineups do not need to be stacked, and it is recommended to play no more than two players from a given team.

Center: Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche

Wing: Jake Guentzel – Pittsburgh Penguins

Defense: Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche

Goalie: Darcy Kuemper – Colorado Avalanche

Player Props

In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.

Jake Guentzel (PIT): anytime goal scorer

Nathan MacKinnon (COL): over 1.5 points

Artemi Panarin (NYR): anytime goal scorer

BOLD PICK – Lars Eller (WSH): anytime goal scorer

Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Jon and the NHL team will be there answering questions right up until lock! Be sure to be on the look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/

All line combinations are courtesy of www.dailyfaceoff.com, and any advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.

THE PLAYOFFS ARE FINALLY HERE!!! Hockey is an amazing, exciting sport. PLAYOFF hockey is about as good as it gets! Even if you don’t have a team in the tournament, this is the best time to watch hockey. The excitement gets ratcheted up 10-fold in the playoffs, as does the intensity. There is truly nothing like playoff hockey, and today, we start the best tournament in sports. Not only will we have an NHL DFS breakdown, but we will also preview the 4 series that start tonight. Let’s find the best NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Good luck!

Playoff Notes

Best of the Best

The playoffs mean that each team will be throwing their best lines together, with their best players. Many guys will play pretty banged up during the playoffs, but that doesn’t always slow them down. This means that we don’t have to worry about line shuffling too much, unless a team gets down big in their series and gets desperate.

Schedule

From here on out, there will be no more than 4 games in a given NHL DFS slate, and, there will be no back-to-backs to worry about. We now have an ‘easier’ breakdown for each night. The matchups will be the same every other night, so for example, LAK/EDM play tonight, and will again on Wednesday, then Friday, and so on.

Home Ice Advantage

Home ice matters more for teams, now that they changed the line change rules, but home ice in the playoffs gives a slightly better edge. The intensity of the home crowd can energize a team and help swing momentum just a bit. You don’t get that element in a game in October.

NHL DFS in the Playoffs

How does all of this affect the NHL DFS aspect? In the playoffs, trends are huge. The first couple of games is kind of like a new season, where we can only use the stats and rates from the regular season. But as the games go on, trends will come out. If you follow these trends, you can have a ton of success playing NHL DFS in the playoffs. A good example is last year, when Tampa Bay got a lot of scoring from their third line. Not only did that depth scoring help lead them to a title, but it also helped when playing DFS. If you pick up on these trends, it can give you a slight edge on the field, who may not be following as closely.

Goalies

Mike Smith – Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers start out at home tonight against the Kings, who struggled to score on the road all year long. This is a really nice spot for Smith and the Oilers tonight.

Jack Campbell- Toronto Maple Leafs: There is some inherent risk involved in playing a goalie from this series, but there is also a lot of upside. The Leafs and the Lightning can both score, but Campbell has been the better of the two goalies towards the end of the season. He should see plenty of shots, and if he can stay solid, this is a great DFS play.

High Risk GPP Goalie Pick – Linus Ullmark – Boston Bruins: The Bruins are headed to Carolina to open their series against the Canes tonight. The matchup here is risky in itself, as the Canes have been playing well lately. This play is purely based on the shot volume. The Bruins can win this game, which would be a nice bonus for Ullmark. He played well to end the season, so let’s see if he can carry that over to the playoffs.

Lines to Build Around

These NHL DFS lines are considered top plays for the night and can be considered the focal point of your builds. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).

Edmonton Oilers Power Play – Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Zach Hyman/Tyson Barrie: The Oilers have arguably the best matchup on the board tonight. Yes, the Kings got hot at the end of the season, but the Oilers really got it together and are just a better team overall. This power play unit gets you access up and down the lineup, and playing McDavid/Draisaitl together is never a bad thing, especially in the playoffs.

Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner/Alexander Kerfoot/Morgan Rielly: The Leafs’ top line has a very, very nice matchup tonight. This game should be high event, and they will have plenty of chances. With the way that Vasilevskiy ended his season, this line should be able to ride the energy of their home crowd and pot a few goals tonight. You can consider running a power play look here also.

High Risk Lines

These are NHL DFS plays that carry significantly more risk, but could pay off at low ownership. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).

Boston Bruins 2 – Erik Haula/David Pastrnak/Taylor Hall: The second line for the Bruins has a nice little matchup tonight against the Canes. This line was doing a bunch of damage before Pasta went out. Now that he is back and the B’s are healthy, they should be able to get back to their scoring capability.

St. Louis Blues 1 – Robert Thomas/Pavel Buchnevich/Vladimir Tarasenko: This line is becoming “Old Reliable”, in that we can almost count on them for every slate they are on. They get a matchup tonight with the Wild where they should see their chances. The goalie matchup for them is favorable, so expect them to be in the mix tonight.

Minnesota Wild 1 – Ryan Hartman/Kirill Kaprizov/Mats Zuccarello/Jared Spurgeon: The Wild top line is also in a good spot in that STL/MIN game, and they should see their chances. Husso for the Blues was a little shaky to end the season, so this one could go either way. This top line became primary scoring for the Wild, and you can expect that to continue into the playoffs.

NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: CAR1, BOS1, LAK2, MIN2, TBL1, TOR2

Value Options – DraftKings

Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!

Center: Erik Haula ($3100) – Boston Bruins

Wing: Brandon Saad ($2900) – St. Louis Blues

Defense: Jake Muzzin ($2700) – Toronto Maple Leafs

Value Options – FanDuel

Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!

Center: Erik Haula ($4400) – Boston Bruins

Wing: Kailer Yamamoto ($4100) – Edmonton Oilers

Defense: Hampus Lindholm ($4200) – Boston Bruins

Cash Considerations – DraftKings and FanDuel

Consider these NHL DFS plays for your cash lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. Cash lineups do not need to be stacked, and it is recommended to play no more than two players from a given team.

Center: Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs

Wing: Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning

Defense: Tyson Barrie – Edmonton Oilers

Goalie: Mike Smith – Edmonton Oilers

Player Props

In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.

Vladimir Tarasenko (STL): anytime goal scorer

Steven Stamkos (TBL): over 0.5 points

Connor McDavid (EDM): anytime goal scorer AND over 1.5 points

Auston Matthews (TOR): anytime goal scorer

Series Previews

LAK v EDM

What a terrible draw for the Kings. This team scratched and clawed its way to a playoff spot, and then they get matched up with the only other hottest team in the West. The Kings, you have to give it to them, they really made a push there. However, this matchup just looks bad. On paper, the Oilers are a way better team up and down. The Kings have been somewhat streaky and those consistency issues can wreak havoc on your playoff chances. They might be able to put up a fight, but their path to winning this series appears to be very, very rocky. Oilers in 5.

TOR v TBL

This series should be a fun one to watch. The Leafs have been known for their early playoff exits recently, and they will be up against the criticism all series long. The Lightning are battling for their THIRD STRAIGHT title, and it will be a tall task for both teams. These teams are star-studded, and they both know how to show up. Expect this one to be an exciting, wide open series, with a good bit of scoring. The Lightning are great, of course, but they are facing some goaltending issues. If Vasilevskiy continues like he did at the end of the season, the Lightning are going to struggle. Leafs in 7.

BOS v CAR

The Bruins/Hurricanes series should see a little bit of everything. This one is going to be for more of the middle of the road fans, with a little bit of old time hockey mixed with some of the new speed and skill of the here and now. Both of these teams offer depth scoring, and they both have very good team chemistry. Boston is a good team at home, and it is tough to play in the Garden as an opposing team. They have a team that can slow down the Canes, and they may very well do that. However, this does not feel like the Bruins of the last few years. They have some holes in their game that the Canes might be able to exploit. In the end, this is going to be a tight series. Canes in 7.

MIN v STL

The Blues/Wild series is going to be an interesting one. On the Blues’ side, you have some playoff veterans who have been there (and even won a cup together). On the Wild side, you have a team that has been relying on its youth to get to where they are. Both teams play a different style. The Blues are a little more grind-it-out, and the Wild are a little more wide open. That should make for an interesting series. The keys here will come down to goaltending and depth scoring. Both teams have struggling goaltending, but only the Blues have more depth scoring. The Blues’ veteran “been there, done that” presence should give them a slight advantage in this one. Blues in 6.

Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Jon and the NHL team will be there answering questions right up until lock! Be sure to be on the look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/

All line combinations are courtesy of www.dailyfaceoff.com, and any advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.

On this final Monday of the regular season, we have a single game showdown slate. Tonight’s game features the Philadelphia Flyers taking on the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago at 8pm Eastern. Let’s find the best NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Good luck!

Slate Notes

Tonight, we have a showdown slate! These can be super fun, but they are also very volatile. In the breakdown below, we will highlight the line matchups as well as some intriguing value plays. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out our NHL DFS Showdown Strategy Guide for guidance on building your lineups for tonight.

Philadelphia Flyers @ Chicago Blackhawks

Implied Vegas Totals: PHI 3.1 / CHI 3.6

Tale of the Tape: Well, what a game to have for a showdown. These are two teams who are well outside the playoff hunt, so this game basically means nothing. Philly played yesterday afternoon, while the Hawks last played on Friday. Both of these teams come into this game giving up over 4 goals per game in their last five, and they are both in the bottom of the rankings on special teams.

Poor defensive play means variance, which just adds volatility to the already volatile nature of showdown. The reality is, scoring can come from anywhere tonight, so it will be a tough one to play. It is safe to assume that there will be a lot of goals tonight, so power play stacks (see Showdown Guide) may be the way to go.

The reality is, this game is way up for grabs, and either team can win, realistically. If you are looking to bet the game, a bet of over 6.5 is probably a safe one. Chicago probably gets a slight edge here, with the Flyers traveling on a back to back, but that is a risky bet.

Goalie Matchup: Felix Sandstrom vs. Kevin Lankinen

YUCK! These goalies tonight are not what we would consider good. Starting with Sandstrom, he is an AHL goalie who has been called up due to an injury to Carter Hart. He is basically backup to the backup, and he is still very green. He only has three NHL games under his belt, and a career GAA over 3.

On the other hand, Lankinen comes into this game around the same age (26), but with plenty more experience at an NHL level (67 games). Lankinen carries a 3.62 GAA this season, which is massive, and just has not been very good.

With all of that being said, one of these goalies has to get a win. Both teams are 1-4 in their last five games, and it really is a coin flip. However, from a DFS standpoint, it is very possible that neither goalie is optimal tonight.

Line Matching Notes

With this game being in Chicago, we have to go by what the Hawks do with their line matching.

Top Line: The Hawks’ top line generally matches the bottom two D pairings of their opposition on home ice. That being said, this will generally set them up against the depth of the opposing team. They still spend a few minutes per game against the top line, but their focus is the second and third lines.

Second Line: The Hawks’ second line tends to spend their time mostly against the opposing top line. We can’t quite consider this a hard match, as they spend a little bit of time against the second and third lines, but it is minimal.

Third Line: The Hawks’ third line fills in for the second line when needed, so they see a little bit of time against the opposing top line. Otherwise, they see a lot of the opposing third and fourth lines.

Fourth Line: The Hawks’ fourth line is used occasionally in the same spot as the third, but will mostly see the 3rd and 4th lines for the Flyers tonight.

Put it all Together: These matchups put both the Philly second line and the Hawks’ top two lines in play tonight, and will be a good place to start your lineups.

Lines to Target

CHI1 – Dylan Strome/Patrick Kane/Alex Debrincat/Seth Jones: The top line for the Hawks has a very solid matchup tonight against the depth for the Flyers.

CHI2 – Jonathan Toews/Tyler Johnson/Dominik Kubalik: The second line for the Hawks has arguably the best matchup on the board tonight, from an even strength perspective.

PHI2 – Joel Farabee/Bobby Brink/James van Riemsdyk: This second Philly line is in a decent spot, but they have lacked scoring recently. However, keep in mind that the whole team was allergic to scoring until yesterday’s game against Pittsburgh.

Others to Consider: PHI3 has gotten a lot of scoring recently

The Build Options

These are build recommendations based on the NHL Showdown Strategy Guide

Chicago Power Play – Patrick Kane or Alex Debrincat captain

Sandstrom Captain/PHI2

Philly Power Play – Farabee or Brink captain

Value Plays

These are value plays that offer upside at a very low salary

Caleb Jones (D)

Noah Cates (W)

Ronnie Attard (D)

Taylor Raddysh (W)

Bobby Brink (W)

Player Props

These are some interesting player props for tonight’s showdown

Patrick Kane (CHI): anytime goal scorer

Alex Debrincat (CHI): over 1.5 points

Ivan Provorov (PHI): over 0.5 points

Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Jon and the NHL team will be there answering questions right up until lock! Be sure to be on the look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/

All line combinations are courtesy of www.dailyfaceoff.com, and any advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.