NHL DFS Plays: August 5th (Day 5)

I’m going to do things a little bit differently for Day 5.

Instead of listing my favourite lines to target, I’m going to give a brief breakdown of each game and what to expect. I will outline some of my favourite line stacks and plays throughout, given my expectation for the matchup.

Coyotes vs. Predators – Game 3 [2:30 PM ET]

After losing Game 1, the Predators bounced-back in a big way on Tuesday, winning Game 2 by a score of 4-2. Nashville’s top-line was once again on display, with @Filip Forsberg ($5,800), @Ryan Johansen ($4,300) and @Viktor Arvidsson ($4,500) combining for two goals, one assist and 10 shots on goal. I’ve touted them in the first two games and I’m not afraid to go back to the well a third time. Along with @Roman Josi and @Ryan Ellis, NSH1 has been by far the Predators best line and really the only line I’d be interested in targeting in Game 3.

One thing that will change today is Arizona will get last change, which could lead to more matchups with the @Brad Richardson ($2,500) line. They’ve been terrific in the series and most of the regular season but are still prone to giving up the occasional scoring chances (23.9 SCA/60 in the reg. season).

From an Arizona perspective, there is not a lot to love. Their top-line of @Taylor Hall ($6,300), @Christian Dvorak ($4,400) and @Phil Kessel ($3,900) have struggled in the series, posting a ScoringChancesFor% under 40. Nashville was much tighter defensively in Game 2 and I’d expect that trend to continue in Game 3.

Burins vs. Lightning – Round Robin [4:00 PM]

This was a high-scoring matchup during the regular-season with Tampa Bay averaging 3.25 goals and Boston averaging 2.50 in four meetings. I would typically be very eager to play Tampa Bay’s top-line but they will likely see a lot of the @Charlie Coyle ($4,100) line and they’ve been extremely stingy at 5v5. They’re still a fine play because their price-tag ($18,00 full-stack) isn’t as high as it usually is but don’t expect a typical dominant TBL1 performance, especially without Stamkos.

Boston’s top-line is in a similar position. They did not look good in their first round-robin game (vs. PHI), which could give them extra motivation tonight but I still don’t love them. They’re extremely expensive ($22,400 full-stack) and the Lighting is really strong defensively, ranking 4th in xGA during the regular-season. Their so-so matchup will help keep their ownership down but you’ll have to find a lot of value to make it worth playing them.

Stars vs. Avalanche – Round Robin [6:30 PM]

Another round-robin matchup and this was one that was very lopsided during the regular season. Dallas swept Colorado 4-0, outscoring the Avalanche 12-6.

The Stars are tweaking their lines after blowing a third-period lead vs. the Golden Knights in their first game. @Roope Hintz () will move up and play with @Tyler Seguin () and @Jamie Benn (). That bumps @Denis Gurianov () to the third-line. Their top-line didn’t spend a lot of time together but they were really good in a small sample size. Their likely won’t be a lot of hard matching in this contest, so DAL1 should find some success against an Avalanche team that isn’t great defensively.

Colorado’s top-line will be in play on most-nights but Dallas is a tough team to score against. I wouldn’t suggest full-stacking the line but @Nathan MacKinnon ($8,400) is a solid single-bullet play. Of the six goals Colorado scored vs. Dallas in the regular-season, MacKinnon factored in on three of them (1G / 2A) while firing an absurd 28 shots (7.0 SOG/gm) on net.

Canadiens vs. Penguins – Game 3 [8:00 PM]

In Game 2, the Penguins did a much better job of getting @Sidney Crosby ($6,900) away from @Phillip Danault ($3,700) and it paid off. Crosby, @Jake Guentzel and @Conor Sheary ($3,800) combined for two goals, three assists and nine shots in the game. Now, Montreal has last change though. So expect Claude Julien to get Danault out there vs. Crosby as much as possible.

That has me turning my focus to PIT2 once again. They had a little bit more trouble in Game 2 but @Evgeni Malkin ($6,700) still managed to get seven shots on goal. I like a full-stack on PIT2 as they should continue to get plenty of chances while Danault focuses on PIT1. If you don’t want to go with the full-stack, given his price tag Malkin is probably the best single bullet on the slate–despite not having a point, he’s still scored 29.8 DraftKings points thanks to his 15 shots in two games.

For Montreal, there really isn’t too much to like as of right now. They are expected to make changes to their forward lines, which could a player like @Max Domi ($3,900) more appealing but Pittsburgh is so strong defensively, they likely won’t get many looks regardless of the lineup.

Blackhawks vs. Oilers – Game 3 [10:30 PM]

The last game of the day will obviously garner the most DFS attention. There have been 19 goals in the first two games of the series with @Connor McDavid ($8,700) and @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6,700) posting back-to-back three-point games. In a 6-3 win, @Leon Draisaitl ($7,700) was held without a shot or a point, just the second time all season he had no shots. Don’t expect that to happen again in Game 3. The Oilers’ big-3 are in play but you’ll need to get creative with the rest of your lineup. If you don’t pay-up for @Oscar Klefbom ($6,200), @Ethan Bear ($3,400) is once again in play. He’s played 24 minutes in each of the first two games and has two shots and six blocked shots (8.4 DK Pts/gm).

For Chicago, @Dominik Kubalik ($5,700) failed to post a point in Game 2 after recording five in the series opener. However, it was @Patrick Kane ($7,500) that was all over the ice. Kane was double-shifting with regularity and picked up two points (1G / 1A) and five shots. He played more with @Kirby Dach ($3,200) and @Alex DeBrincat ($4,800) in Game 2, so that would be the line I would target on the Chicago side of the puck.

Given the high-scoring nature of this game, do not hesitate to game stack.

Goalies

Matt Murray – PIT ($8,000)

Murray was a lot stronger in Game 2, stopping 26 of 27 shots to earn 20.7 DK Points. He’s expected to go again in Game 3 and Pittsburgh is once again the biggest favourite on the slate. I like @Juuse Saros and the Predators again as well but Murray is $100 cheaper. Saros will come with lower ownership though.

DAL – Ben Bishop ($7,100) / Anton Khudbobin ($7,100)

The Stars have not announced a netminder but they’re both the same price, so just plug one in and check our Starting Goalies page when warmups start at 6:00 PM ET. The Stars should be hungry after unceremoniously dropping their opener. Colorado has a powerful offence but defence and goaltending is the Stars calling card, so I’m fine playing them in this matchup as the cheapest goalies on the slate.