Daily Fantasy Hockey Playoff Preview: 04/13/18

Each day of the NHL Playoffs, Dylan and Brock will be collaborating on a full preview of that night’s playoff action. Dylan will break down each game from a Daily Fantasy Hockey perspective, giving you some of his favourite targets. Brock will provide his Daily Fantasy Notebook after morning skates, including Projected Lineups, Injury Updates, Goalie Rankings and DFS Value Plays. Enjoy playoff hockey and the best time of the year!

By: Dylan Berthiaume

Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild

The Jets and Wild played out a wildly entertaining game 1 on Wednesday, exchanging the lead three times before a seeing-eye slapshot from Joe Morrow proved to be the difference. The Jets needed their depth to carry them Wednesday after their top line was all but shut down by the Wild’s second line. A powerplay goal from Mark Scheifiele late in the second period was the line’s only saving grace on the night. It isn’t surprising that Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, and Mikael Granlund were able to maintain Winnipeg 1 as well as they did, but the fact that Paul Maurice opted for this matchup as frequently as he did certainly was.

We know that Maurice likes to avoid matching best on best with the last change but the serious mismatches against the bottom six of the Wild rarely occurred. Instead Scheifiele, Blake Wheeler, and Kyle Connor were forced to poke and probe against a stout defensive line that surrendered just 17 scoring chances per 60 in the regular season. There will be plenty of reason to fade Winnipeg 1 tonight if Maurice goes back to this matchup, and if that is the case then you’ll certainly want to shift your attention to Winnipeg’s second line. Paul Stastny, Patrik Laine, and Nikolaj Ehlers were the beneficiary of the line-matching game on Wednesday as they saw an extended amount of time against the bottom-six of the Wild. Maurice has no reason not to stick with the line-matching strategy that gave his team a win on Wednesday, so if you are looking to stack the Jets tonight the second line should be your primary target.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

The Penguins smothered the Flyers early and often on Wednesday night, getting contributions from all over their top-six. Their powerplay wasn’t as prominent as we had expected, but they did go a modest 1 for 4. Instead it was the second line, featuring Evgeni Malkin, that took over the game in the first period before Sidney Crosby buried Philly with a natural hat-trick. It was a hell of a performance put on by the Penguins and they made it nearly impossible to cash in GPPs without stacking them in your lineup. They come into Wednesday’s slate as the most obvious target for DFS players and fading them completely could once again prove difficult to overcome. The Flyers’ goaltending is a hot mess right now and it’s hard to justify not using some sort of powerplay stack in this matchup.

If the Flyers are going to have any success tonight they will obviously need a lot more from their top line. As I mentioned on Wednesday, this is still one of the best two-way lines in hockey and stacking against them has been a risky play all season long. They actually did an adequate job of maintaining the Crosby line for the majority of the game, only to watch him pad his stats once the game was already out of hand. If a powerplay stack isn’t in your MO and you really want to play one of the Penguins’ top two lines, I would recommend the Malkin line despite Crosby’s magnificent performance on Wednesday out of pure respect for Philadelphia 1. Sean Couturier has bested Crosby numerous times before and it’s hard to imagine him losing the matchup that decisively two games in a row, but if the Flyers can’t get better play out of their goaltenders it might not even matter.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings

If you read Wednesday’s Daily Fantasy Preview then you know we recommended fading the Kings and Golden Knights series entirely. The first lines of either team will be head-to-head for the duration of the series, a matchup that plays out as a wash at 5v5. Throw in elite goaltending on either side and above-average defending and you’re looking at the lowest scoring matchup in the first round. That obviously all rang true on Wednesday night as a first period goal from Shea Theodore was the all the Golden Knights needed to best the Kings 1-0. As long as the goalies are playing as good as they are there’s no reason to expect an offensive burst in this series anytime soon. You can continue to fade the top lines of either team with confidence, but don’t overlook the potential value that the depth of either team can provide. I wouldn’t recommend any full stacks but there a lot of nice punt options in both lineups.

As an aside, I love Jonathon Quick in GPPs so long as he’s priced as low as he is, currently just $7,500 on DraftKings. As Wednesday’s game shows these are two evenly-matched teams playing low-event hockey. There’s a good chance Quick will be able to offer decent value even if the Kings go down 0-2 on Friday, as his 4.4 fantasy points in a losing effort on Wednesday show. He makes for a low-risk value play that can push your lineup over the top if the Kings are able to steal one tonight.

By: Brock Seguin

Injury Updates

GAMETIME DECISION

– Mathieu Perreault (upper-body) will be a game-time decision for Game 2.

– Tobias Enstrom (lower-body) will be a game-time decision for Game 2.

– William Carrier (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision for Game 2.

OUT

– Drew Doughty will miss Game 2 because of a suspension.

– Jake Muzzin (upper-body) is expected to miss Game 2; skated in a no-contact jersey at the morning skate.

– David Perron (undisclosed) will not be available for Game 2.

Projected Lineups

Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Los Angeles Kings

Goalie Rankings

✅ – Confirmed
????️ – Probable
????️ – Projected

Value Plays