Daily Fantasy Hockey Playoff Preview: 04/30/18

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

The Lightning will look to bounce back in Game 2 tonight after being lit up for six goals by the Bruins on Saturday. With the last change at his disposal, Lightning coach Jon Cooper opted to match Brayden Point and Tampa’s second line against Boston 1 and the results were disastrous. Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand combined for a remarkable three goals and eight assists in Game 1. Cooper will have to decide whether to stick with the process or follow the results of the first game. Tampa Bay 2 had held their opponents to just 24 scoring chances per 60 in the regular season, making them one of the more reliable defensive lines in hockey. Saturday night unfortunately may have been their worst performance of the season, but the expectation is Jon Cooper will go right back to the same matchup tonight. You never want to bet against a line that’s as good defensively as the Point line, but it’d be silly to ignore the lopsided display from Boston’s top line in Game 1. They’re likely to be the chalk tonight and for good reason; fading them could make or break your night.

If you still believe in Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov after their abysmal performance on Saturday night, and you should, tonight is the night to stack them. 5v5 production is going to be a lot harder to come by for Games 3 and 4 in Boston where Bruce Cassidy can hard-match the Bergeron line against Tampa Bay 1. The Lightning’s dynamic duo should continue to see favourable matchups at 5v5 against the depth of the Bruins and their prices have dropped dramatically after the egg they laid in Game 1. A full Lightning powerplay stack featuring Victor Hedman has never been more affordable and should see some reasonably low ownership tonight.

San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights

47 saves wasn’t enough for Marc-Andre Fleury and the Golden Knights on Saturday as the Sharks evened the series on a double-overtime goal from Logan Couture. Led by a three-point performance from Brent Burns, San Jose was able to split the first two road games despite losing Evander Kane to a suspension for Game 2. Tonight Kane and the Sharks are back on home ice and it should make for some more favourable 5v5 matchups for San Jose 1, though they will be without their right-winger Joonas Donskoi (lower-body). You can’t completely discredit Donskoi for the success of San Jose’s top line but he’s hardly the driving force; Chris Tierney makes for a suitable and cheap replacement alongside Kane and Joe Pavelski. The three of them should be able to avoid the Golden Knight’s suppressive top line at 5v5 and they make for a great stack tonight as a result. The line costs just $14,200 to full-stack on DraftKings, leaving you plenty of room to fit Brent Burns in your lineup with them.

On the flipside of the matchup, Vegas 1 could have a more difficult time tonight after a pair of dazzling performances in Games 1 and 2. Their top trio of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith will be up against the Sharks’ second line of Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, and Mikkel Boedker. Though they’re far from the best shutdown line in the league, San Jose 2 did post an above-average 29 scoring chances against per 60 during the regular season. Vegas 1 is red-hot right now and they’re certainly capable of finding the back of the net against any line in hockey, but at their current price it just doesn’t seem worth it to spend on them in a mediocre matchup, especially with better high-priced options available.

By: Brock Seguin

Injury Updates

IN

• – Brayden Point (maintenance) will be in the Lightning lineup for Game 2.
• – Ondrej Palat (maintenance) will be in the Lightning lineup for Game 2.
• – David Krejci (undisclosed) is expected to be in the Bruins lineup for Game 2.
• – Kevan Miller (undisclosed) is expected to be in the Bruins lineup for Game 2.
• – Evander Kane (suspension) will be back in the Sharks lineup for Game 3.
• – Tomas Tatar is expected to draw into the Golden Knights lineup for Game 3.

OUT

• – Joonas Donskoi (lower-body) will not play in Game 3.
• – Joe Thornton (knee) is not ready to play in Game 3.
• – Ryan Carpenter is expected to be a healthy scratch for Game 3.

Projected Lineups

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins

San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Goalie Rankings

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

Value Plays