DFS Thursday: Crown the Kings
Stephen Dotzel
2022-05-12
The hockey gods blessed us with one last four-game slate before the playoff schedule is whittled down to three games or less per day. Let's try and take advantage and go out on a high note. All prices are from DraftKings but can be applied to any site.
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Top Tier Stack to Target:
Edmonton. It's do or die here for the Oilers which means Connor McDavid ($8,700) and Leon Draisaitl ($7,600) are going to be on the ice as much as they possibly can be, which is certainly a good thing from a fantasy perspective. The duo have seven goals and nine assists between them in the series thus far and more should be expected here. Stack them with someone like Evan Bouchard ($5,000) who will also be seeing expanded minutes with Darnell Nurse suspended.
Also consider Tampa Bay. I really wanted to work the following stat into the article and this seems like the place to do it: over the last three postseasons, the Lightning are a perfect 16-0 in games following a loss having outscored their opponents 63-25. Truly incredible. The way this series has been, it deserves a Game 7 and if it's going to get there a Tampa Bay stack should do the trick tonight. Look at Nikita Kucherov ($7,400), Steven Stamkos ($6,700), and one or both of Victor Hedman ($7,100) and Brayden Point ($5,200).
Mid-Tier Stack to Target:
I call them a mid-stack because of their pricing but the Wild's top line could be a top tier stack in terms of production. I know the Blues have one won two straight and Jordan Binnington seems to have regained some of his 2019 form, however I'm still not sold he can do it again. I like the Wild to force a game 7 here and if so, leading the way will be Kirill Kaprizov ($8,100), Mats Zuccarello ($5,000), and Jared Spurgeon ($4,100).
Value Stack to Target:
The Kings second line has done some serious damage in this series. Give the trio of Phillip Danault ($4,100), Trevor Moore ($4,200), and Carl Grundstrom ($2,500) a look in lineups where you desperately need salary relief.
Cheap Power Play 1 Plugs:
C – Vincent Trochek ($3,800), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($4,000)
W – Seth Jarvis ($3,100), Alex Killorn ($3,700)
D – Scott Perunovich ($2,500), Sean Durzi ($4,200)
Goalie Picks:
When in doubt, include your goalie with one of the team stacks within your lineup in the hopes of picking up the win if your stack performs well. Otherwise, consider:
Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8,200) – It's a risky pick given the firepower Toronto possesses but you have to expect the best effort out of the two-time defending champs with their backs against the wall. If Vasilevskiy is on his game he can rack up a big score with the amount of shots he figures to see.
Cam Talbot ($7,800) – Keep an eye on whether Talbot or Marc-Andre Fleury gets the start here but writing this the day before I'd have to expect the Wild give Talbot a try having lost two straight. He was 12-0-3 in his last 15 starts of the regular season so if he can regain that form despite the long layoff, he should give you a solid score.
Be sure to double check your lineups before lock for any last-minute scratches or goalie changes. If you follow me on Twitter @SteveDotzel you can subscribe to my "DFS-NHL" list which is comprised of several team beat writers tweeting the most recent news in real-time. You can also reach out to me personally and I'll do my best to answer any questions I can. Hope to see you on top of the leaderboards!