Daily Fantasy Hockey Playoff Preview: 04/28/18

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

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins

Thanks to the NHL’s bizarre playoff format, the Eastern Conference’s top two teams will square off in round two on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins bested the Lightning head-to-head in the regular season, winning three out of the four games they played. Much of this series, at least the first two games, will be decided by how well Tampa Bay’s second line of Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, and Tyler Johnson handles the onslaught of Boston 1. All season long Lightning coach Jon Cooper has opted to match the Point line against the opposition’s best at home, and for good reason. Tampa Bay 2 managed to produce an elite 37 scoring chances per 60 during the regular season while surrendering just 24 scoring chances per 60 to the opposition. They backcheck as well they forecheck and it’s no wonder why Cooper will be hard-matching them against the likes of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron. The numbers suggest the matchup will be a wash at 5v5, meaning a fade of Boston 1 might be in order for games 1 and 2 of this series. If you are still considering Boston 1, realize at least that they’ll need to rely on the powerplay to have a big game, and it’s therefore best to play either Rick Nash or Torey Krug alongside them.

On the flip side of the matchup, Tampa Bay 1 makes for an excellent stack for all home games this series. They’ll have a harder time in games 3 and 4 when Bruce Cassidy can use the last change to hard-match the Bergeron line against them, but for now they should see some much more tolerable matchups against the depth of the Bruins at 5v5. Both Boston’s second and third lines have posted admirable 5v5 numbers all season long, but they simply don’t have the skill or the speed necessary to contain the likes of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov for a full 60 minutes. As always, you’ll want to have as much powerplay compatibility as you can alongside Tampa Bay 1, which right now means targeting both Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks

After a nightmare start to the series on Thursday night, things won’t be getting any easier for the Sharks on Saturday. San Jose lost Evander Kane amidst their seven-goal embarrassment in game 1 after he received a game misconduct for a high cross-check on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare out front of the Golden Knights’ net. Kane promptly received a one-game suspension and will miss Saturday night’s game as a result, leaving a massive hole on the Sharks’ top line. Timo Meier has jumped back up to replace Kane on the wing of Joe Pavelski, a regular spot for him before the Sharks’ acquired Kane at the deadline. While San Jose 1’s numbers with Meier are nothing to scoff at (37 scoring chances per 60), the void in skill left by Kane’s absence should be made glaringly obvious by the stifling play of Vegas 1 at 5v5. Against a line where scoring chances are going to be harder than usual to come by, you want as much skill and scoring touch as possible to capitalize on the few chances you might get. It’s hard to imagine a bounce-back performance from San Jose 1 without Kane, and it’s best to fade them until they have him back on home ice for game 3.

Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith make for another strong play at home tonight. Finally freed from the suppression of Anze Kopitar at 5v5, the three of them combined for nine points in game 1. It’s hard to imagine things getting any easier for the Golden Knights after a 7-0 win, but Kane’s suspension certainly suggests that might be the case. Vegas’ second line of Erik Haula, Alex Tuch, and James Neal makes for one of, if not the strongest, value stacks on today’s slate. The trickledown effect from Kane’s absence on the Sharks’ second and third lines makes for some much more favourable matchups at 5v5 for Vegas 2. They’ve averaged 38 scoring chances per 60 so far in the playoffs, and you can expect them to maintain that elite pace of production tonight against the depleted depth of the Sharks. As far as the blueline options go for the Golden Knights, powerplay compatibility suggests you play Shea Theodore with a Vegas 1 build and Nate Schmidt with Vegas 2.

By: Brock Seguin

Injury Updates

IN

• – Joonas Donskoi (lower-body) will play in Game 2.

GAMETIME DECISION

• – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision for Game 2.

OUT

• – Evander Kane (suspension) will not be available for Game 2.
  – Joe Thornton (knee) remains day-to-day; will not play in Game 2.

Projected Lineups

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins

Lightning	Bruins

Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks

Golden Knights	Sharks

Goalie Rankings

Value Plays