Daily Fantasy Hockey Playoff Preview: 04/20/18

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

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

After being walloped by the Penguins without their number one centre in game 4, things won’t get any easier for the Flyers as the series shifts back to Pittsburgh. After missing Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury, Sean Couturier is once again a game-time decision for tonight’s matchup. Making matters even more difficult for DFS players is Couturier is expected to take warmups regardless of whether or not he plays, so there’s a good chance we won’t definitively know his status until moments before puck drop. Obviously, you’ll want to fade Couturier and the Flyers’ top line in general if you don’t have the time to properly monitor the situation.

Like I said before game 4, Pittsburgh 1 becomes a much more enticing target if Couturier is unable to go. Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each netted a pair of points on Wednesday and you can expect similar production from the two of them tonight if they’re spared from the defensive play of Couturier. If Couturier does end up playing, then you’ll want to shift your attention to either a Pittsburgh 2 or powerplay stack. Either way you’ll want to be as up to date on Couturier’s status as possible in the half-hour or so before puck drop, and of course, we’ll update you accordingly.

Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild

Winnipeg 1 was finally able to net a 5v5 goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over the Wild, but that doesn’t mean things will get any easier for them tonight. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau is expected to play Mikael Granlund in his more familiar spot on the second line alongside Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter. Together at 5v5 this season Granlund and Koivu surrendered just 18 scoring chances per 60. Winnipeg 1 has been matched up against the Koivu line all series, both at home and away, so you can once again expect them to draw the stiffer matchup tonight. As I’ve suggested all series, Winnipeg 2 is once again my preferred stack in this matchup. Dustin Byfuglien is a great add to this stack and would give you three integral pieces of the Jets’ top powerplay unit.

On the flip side of the matchup, Minnesota 1 offers the most upside. Eric Staal and Jason Zucker will be joined on the Wild’s top line by Charlie Coyle, who hasn’t played over 14 minutes in a game yet this series. Coyle’s expected output obviously skyrockets with this promotion to the top line, and he adds even more value to a stack that’s already been dropping in price after each game this series. Together the three of them cost less than $15,000 to stack on DraftKings, meaning you can comfortably fit them with any of the high-priced options available tonight. Even though the 5v5 matchup isn’t the best, it’s hard to ignore that kind of value. If you’re really feeling Minnesota tonight and you want to make it a full stack, Matt Dumba is the way to go.

Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche

With the series heading back to Nashville for game 5 we no longer have to worry about Colorado 1’s egregious splits at home. Both Nashville 1 and 2 are very much in play tonight as the Preds look to punch their ticket to the second round against backup goaltender Andrew Hammond. Hammond will start in place of the injured Jonathan Bernier in what will be just his second ever appearance for the Avs. His .923 career SV% across 56 games is largely inflated by a phenomenal 24-game stretch he had with the Senators in the 2014-15 season, as he’s posted just a .907 SV% in the three years since. Regardless of what you make of Hammond’s numbers he should no doubt be seen as a downgrade in goal from Bernier, and certainly raises the expected output of Nashville’s offense tonight.

You can go back to confidently fading Nathan Mackinnon and Colorado 1 for game 5 on the road and should instead focus your energy on deciding which Nashville line you like most tonight. Nashville 1 undoubtedly has the higher ceiling as they see more ice time at 5v5 and on the powerplay, but they come at a steeper price and will still be tasked with handling Mackinnon and company at even strength. Nashville 2 has put up strong possession numbers all series against the depth of the Avs but their counting stats haven’t yet reflected that. My advice would be to let your budget dictate which line you go with tonight; if you prefer one of the high-priced options in the earlier games then you’ll want to go with Nashville 2. Of course, if you really love Nashville tonight, a five or six-man stack featuring components of both lines is certainly in play as well. If you’re considering adding a defenceman to either stack, P.K. Subban has better powerplay compatibility with Nashville 1, while either Roman Josi or Ryan Ellis would be a better fit with Nashville 2.

By: Brock Seguin

Injury Updates

IN

– Tyler Myers (lower-body) will be back in for Game 5.

GAMETIME DECISION

– Sean Couturier (lower-body) will be a game-time decision for Game 5.

– Sam Girard (upper-body) will be a game-time decision for Game 5.

OUT

– Patric Hornqvist (upper-body) will not play in Game 5.

– Josh Morrissey (suspension) will not play in Game 5.

– Ryan Hartman (suspension) will not play in Game 5.

– Jonathan Bernier (lower-body) will not be available for Game 5.

Projected Lineups

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Penguins	Flyers

Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild

Jets	Wild

Nashville Predators vs. Colorado Avalanche

Predators	Avalanche

Goalie Rankings

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

Value Plays