Montreal Canadiens  Vs. Winnipeg Jets

After a historic comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens now travel to Winnipeg for game one. This series isn’t as big of a mismatch on paper, but it should still be an amazing series. 

Let’s start with Montreal, mainly their second line of Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. All three players are worth considering in any format because they are the only line that can really mustar any kind of offence.

If you want to get real creative tonight, Corey Perry and Eric Staal play together on the fourth line and were very good in the first round. Perry even sees time on the top power play unit, so that does give him a nice boost in value. I’m not expecting either player to do much, but at such a discount, even just one point helps us hit value.

In goal, It’s all about Carey Price. He was amazing in the first round, and he will need to repeat that magic if Montreal wants a shot at winning this series.

For Winnipeg, I’ll lean more to their top line, specifically Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. After seeing what Montreal was able to do to Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, I’m not confident that Winnipeg’s top line is going to do much, but in a GPP, we can take the risk.

If you’ve been reading the playbook this season, you already know how I feel about Neal Pionk. As usual, he isn’t seeing top power play minutes, but he’s affordable and is worth considering.

In goal, Connor Helleybuck is elite, and I really think he can steal a few games for his team. Montreal hasn’t generated a ton of chances so far in the playoffs, so Hellebuyck’s upside is a little limited. I’d probably only consider him in a cash game lineup.

 

Vegas Golden Knights Vs. Colorado Avalanche

It’s crazy what Colorado has been able to accomplish up until now. They look like they are in a league of their own, and I don’t know if Vegas can really slow them down.

Let’s start with Colorado and their top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. I expect all three to be chalk, but right now, how can we fade them? If we don’t play them, then we might as well just flush our money down the toilet. I don’t care that MacKinnon is $9K on DK-- he’s worth every penny. 

If you want to go with four forwards in this game, Joonas Donskoi joins the top line on the top power play unit. He would complete your four-man power play stack.

In the last playbook I did, I told everyone to not pay up for Cale Makar, so naturally, he burned me by scoring a goal and adding three assists. I won’t make that same mistake twice. He will be in all my lineups.

In goal, Philipp Grubauer is benefitting from playing on the best team in the NHL, which means he has a great chance at picking up the win tonight. He needs the win to hit value, but I don’t think that will be an issue here.

For Vegas, I’m just staying away from all their forwards. I know they are going to score goals, but I don’t know who will, and I don’t see how any of their forwards can hit value without finding the scoresheet. Their best players weren’t good in game one, and on a two-game slate, we can’t be wasting salary on players who might not perform. 

On defence, I’m going back to Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez. Theodore is going to shoot the puck a ton, and Alec Martinez is going to be busy trying to block shots. On DK, I’m chasing the bonuses with both players, because that might be the only way either one hits value for us without registering a point.

In goal, Marc-Andre Fleury should be the starter for game two, but I’m not confident that he can shut down the Colorado team. Robin Lehner is a good goalie, and the Avs made him look like Martin Jones. If you are fading the Avalanche, you might as well play Fleury and hope he goes off. It’s unlikely, but hey, we’ve seen a lot of crazy things happen in the playoffs.