DFS NHL Series Preview: VGK-WPG

Tom Vecchio previews the NHL Western Conference Finals from a fantasy perspective.

The Western Conference Finals are upon us, and we should be in for a very entertaining series to see who will move on to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Vegas Golden Knights, in their first-ever season, have made it to the conference finals. Not sure what you can say about that, but they are doing something no other team has done before. They will be up against the Winnipeg Jets, who just ousted the Nashville Predators, who won the President’s Trophy this season. I can’t see this series going less than six games since the Jets finished second in the west with 114 points, and the Knights right behind them with 109 points. Both of these teams have been playing well throughout the playoffs, with the Golden Knights having a bit of an easier road, as they swept in the first round, and took six games in round two. For the Jets, they are coming off a seven-game series which ended just two days ago.

Vegas comes into this series with nearly a week of rest, so they should be ready to go for this one. The story for them in this postseason is balanced scoring with great goaltending. It’s truly amazing how Marc-Andre Fleury is playing right now. He has eight wins in 10 games, with a 1.53 GAA, and a .951 SV%. Those are truly elite level numbers, and while they may not be sustainable over a long period of time, he is hot right now and has the potential to keep it going in this round. I do expect this series to be the toughest test in terms of the opposing offense he is facing, so we should see some goals on the board here.

I mentioned that Vegas has balanced scoring, which has been a large part of them winning games since no one or two players need to carry the offensive load. They have nine different players with two or more goals this postseason, with three defenders on that list. They have also been amazing on the penalty kill, with an 85% PK in these playoffs. The Jets have a potent power-play, so this should be one of the more interesting matchups to look at throughout the series. Reilly Smith has been a standout for the Golden Knights, as he has 11 points, with 10 coming from assists. I do expect this to be the highest scoring series the Golden Knights have been in and should continue to see that balanced scoring which got them here.

The Jets are led by Mark Scheifele, who has 11 goals this postseason, which is leading all player this playoff. Seven of those 11 goals have come on the road, so providing trouble, and taking away the home-ice advantage. The Jets have five players in double-digit scoring, compared to the Knights three players. The Jets haven’t been as tough on defense compared to Vegas, but their offense has been showing up plenty. They have scored three or more goals in eight of their 12 games this postseason, and with the depth that they have on offense, should provide a very tough matchup for a strong Vegas defense.

The true key for the Jets will be goalie Connor Hellebuyck. In the second round, he allowed two or fewer goals four times but also allowed four or more goals three times. Those are some high highs, with great goaltending, and then some clear dips in performance. I expect to see a bit of both which will lead to a very back and forth series.