Minnesota Wild Vs. St. Louis Blues
The Minnesota Wild leaving 2-1 in the series and are hoping to take a commanding 3-1 lead before the end of the night. St. Louis is a good hockey team, but they need to find a way to score a few more goals.
For Minnesota, Their top line continues to be unstoppable. Ryan Hartman and Kirill Kaprizov have been really good in this series and that trend should continue tonight. Kevin Fiala is still searching for his first point of the series and tonight could be the night. Minnesota’s entire second line hasn’t been good, but in a GPP, I’d take a chance on all three.
On defence, Jared Spurgeon is the only defenceman worth considering. He’s seeing time on the top power play unit, but his point total doesn’t reflect it. If you need a defenceman who’s affordable, he’s a name to consider.
In goal, Marc-Andre Fleury is playing some pretty amazing hockey. He struggled in his first start but has been really good ever since. St. Louis will generate some shots on goal, but it won’t be enough to score a ton of goals.
Speaking of St. Louis, their second line has underperformed in this series, but that has caused their price tag to drop. Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich are both affordable and have upside in this game. If the Blues want to keep their series alive, both players will need to step up and find the scoresheet.
On the back end, Torey Krug is confirmed to miss game four and Nick Leddy and Robert Bortuzzo are both questionable. Those are three important names that could be out of the lineup. Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko become two players to play in any format if that happens. Parayko finished the last game with five blocked shots and is $3900 on DraftKings.
In net, Ville Husso hasn’t played well in the last two games and he needs to step up and be better. He’s going to see a ton of rubber, and if he can keep his goals against to a minimum, he has an outside chance of hitting value without needing the win. He’s a GPP option to consider.
Toronto Maple Leafs Vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have not been good so far in this series. They are capable of playing much better and they need to really come out ready to play game four.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are the two obvious names to consider on this slate, but Ross Colton and Nick Paul are two value players that could hit value tonight. Toronto’s depth isn’t great and they do give up scoring chances. Both players are affordable and can get you some cheap exposure to Tampa.
On the back end, Victor Hedman is by far the best option. He’s been elite in this series and that won’t change tonight. He’s worth every dollar if you can fit him into your lineup. If salary is an issue, Ryan McDonagh is a value play to consider. Toronto shoot the puck a ton, so he has a chance of blocking at least three shots. He registered an assist last game and was able to hit value. That’s all we are looking to get from a value defenceman.
Andrei Vasilevskiy just hasn’t been good in this series, but he’s still an elite NHL goalie. He’s gonig to face a ton of shots tonight, and if he can keep his goals against at two or fewer and come away with the win, that should shoot your GPP lineup up the leaderboard.
On the Toronto side, it’s all about Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting. Matthews is shooting the puck a ton and finding the back of the net. He’s expensive but is worth every dollar. To help save some salary, Michael Bunting is always an option to consider. He continues to skate on the top line and is reasonably priced at $4200.
On the back end, Mark Giordano and Jake Muzzin are two players worth considering. If the Lightning come out flying and shooting pucks, the Leafs’ blueliners will need to block a ton of shots. Both veteran players are cheap and don’t have to do a ton to hit value. It’s best to save as much salary as possible on defencemen to be able to afford some of the high-priced forwards on the slate.
Jack Campbell has played well in this series, but his price tag continues to drop. I think he’s benefitting from the Lightning playing so poorly, but at $7600 on DK, It’s worth at least considering him in a GPP if you don’t think the Lightning come out flying tonight.
Edmonton Oilers Vs. Los Angeles Kings
The Edmonton Oilers look like a team that could go really deep in the playoffs. Their goaltending hasn’t been an issue this series and their top players are finding a way to get on the scoresheet.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are going to be popular tonight, but we will focus on Evander Kane and Zach Hyman. Kane has six points and 12 shots on goal in the last two games, while Hyman has three points and 10 shots on goal. Both players are just wreaking havoc on the Kings and they aren’t going to stop tonight. Both players are also much more affordable than McDavid and Draisaitl, so you could probably get both into your lineup and still have salary left over to spend.
On the back end, Darnell Nurse is the one defenceman I’ll be looking to fit into my lineup. The Kings generate a ton of shots on goal and that means that Nurse is going to be asked to get in front of as many shots as possible. He can block a ton of shots and still shoot the puck on goal. He has a real chance at hitting the double bonus tonight.
I don’t know what Mike Smith has been eating of late, but it’s turned him into an elite goalie. He’s playing some of his best hockey, but that won’t be enough for me to consider him in cash games at $8500. He can blow up and be a disaster at any time, so I’ll limit my exposure to him to GPPs only.
For the Kings, There isn’t much I really like Anze Kopitar has been alright in this series, but the Kings have not found a way to slow down Edmonton’s top two lines and the task just may be too much for them.
If you want to get exposure to Los Angeles, do it by playing some of their defenceman. Sean Durzi had eight shots on goal and three blocked shots last game, which easily helped him exceed value. Alex Edler and Matt Roy are two other defenceman worth considering if you need to save some salary. If you want to get really creative in a GPP, I would use all three defencemen and not look back. It’s a different strategy to stack three blueliners, but if they all exceed value tonight like they did last game, that’s a great return on your investment.
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